Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

The State says that Yamato was established here in Columbia in 1975 and moved into this building sometime during or after 2000. From what I have been able to tell, the original location was 736 Saint Andrews Road in St. Andrews Shopping Center.

There doesn't seem to be a reason for the closing given either by the restaurant, or by The State, but folks in the comments have speculated on SC ongoing restaurant liability insurance problems. I will note that the opening of Miyabi some years back just a block or so away on the same street can't have helped.

(Hat tip to a commenter Andrew [not the usual one])

I don't know much about Mikino's -- I believe the only place I've eaten at Seven Oaks Shopping Center is Zorba's, but it seems to have gotten good reviews.

Commenter Heath noted it was closed, and commenter Gypsie found a Facebook page to the effect that it was permanent.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

Since I am not a seafood person, and definitely not a raw seafood person, I wasn't really aware of Sushi Yoshi in Five Points. Online reviews suggest it was a quirky little place with a small staff and idiosyncratic seating arrangements. As nearly as I can tell from those reviews, they probably closed late in 2021, as a January review mentions that a "temporarily closed" sign had been up for several months by that point.

(Hat tip to commenter Deana)

While I was checking out Bi-Lo, I noticed that this Hibachi storefront in the same plaza was vacant. I can't find out much about it -- there is only one Yelp review, but I'm going to guess it was another COVID-19 casualty.

I read recently that Richland County had totally dropped the ball on redevelopment of Columbia Mall, and had no idea what they were going to do, despite already buying all the anchor locations. Certainly on a brief partial walk through last Sunday, many shops were shut during regular mall hours, and the number of vacant spaces continues to grow. Stocking even looked a bit sparse in Macy's.

When I visited the food court, it appeared to me that only one vendor, Cynthia's Soul Food, was actually open at the time, though I think at least two other storefronts looked to still be populated and would probably be open on weekdays. I don't know anything about Sarku Japan, but google suggests that there is still one at Columbiana Mall.

I think the King Pizza sign can come down now..

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

I've been in this building at least once, back when it was Doc's Gumbo Grille, but as I view Sushi as Superman views Kryptonite, it never even occurred to me to visit TakoSushi. I see from the various writeups on the closing that they had a Southwest component, which I might have guessed from the Tako, except that sounds very like a Japanese word when spelled that way. While I have not been inside, I have admired the very visible and shiny ventilator for years. I also notice that the Yin/Yang mural is a Blue Sky creation.

According to the Takosushi website and statements to the press, the restaurant considered the building to be unsafe. The State says the owner disputes that, and says that any interior damage would be the tenant's responsibility to fix. Here are two more takes from ColaDaily and WLTX

In a sign of the times, I could not get close enough to the front door to get a good picture of the posted notice (though you can probably read it on the click-through) because there is already someone sleeping in the doorway.

(Hat tip to commenter Beth)

UPDATE 12 November 2020 -- Now Crabby's Cajun:

Kaboto Express was the follow-on in this storefront to Schlotzsky's Deli, and opened around September of 2011.

I notice that their initial signage did not include the phrase Hibachi Grill, and I wonder if they just weren't finished putting up the sign, or if that was a later direction shift.

(Hat tip to commenter brian)

UPDATE 13 March 2019 -- Work is on to open as Slice Of Columbia pizza:

UPDATE 7 February 2020 -- Slice of Columbia is open (and has been for a while):

Apparently I never got around to doing a formal closing, though I did mention it in one of the flood posts, but Sakura Japanese Restaurant has been closed since they lost their storefront behind Coplon's to the great flood of October 2015.

Now it seems that they will be making a comeback in the former location of Fujiya Japanese Restaurant at the foot of Rosewood Drive. The State has the story here.

Here is Sakura in operation at its old location:

and here are a few pictures from not long after the flood:

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

Here's another Great Flood of 2015 casualty.

This little restaurant on the Fort Jackson gate off I-77 has been there under one name or another for years. Originally, it was Saki, then when the current owner, who was working for the former owners, bought it out, he changed the name to Saky. This is what The State had to say:

“Who expected all this rain and the flood?” Sun Suk said as repairs continue on the eatery on Fort Jackson Boulevard at I-77.

The 7,500-square-foot structure housing Saky was damaged by the same flash flood Oct. 4 that inundated homes in the King’s Grant neighborhood.

Saky bore the brunt of the flood on its side of the road.

Two feet of water came inside and a tree fell on part of the restaurant after the bank of a nearby creek eroded in the rush of water.

“I walked in and it was a little wet, so I thought maybe it wasn’t too bad,” Sun said. “Then I went in back and could see the sky from inside of the building, so I knew I had a big problem.”

The first picture is from some years ago, the others from after the flood, though I could not get too close.

Hopefully they will be back soon.

I had not noticed until recently that Sato on Beltline took major flood damage and is closed for repair. In retrospect it makes sense as the restaurant is located at the low point of Beltline as it comes down from Forest Drive and before it starts back up towards Trenholm Road. Looking at google maps, it appears that the nearby creek which presumably did the damage is called Orphanage Branch, a name I can't ever recall hearing.