Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I took these pictures in mid-May of 2024 and kept meaning to get back out to Red Bank to see that they had closed and what was there now, but in the event I go there so rarely I completely forgot about it. According to commenter Jimmy, they were scheduled to close in May (presumably at the end), and Google confirms that they are now gone.

(Hat tip to commenter Jimmy)

Tropical Grille followed Smashburger into this endcap when the burger chain closed here in 2019. I wasn't sure exactly what the theme of Tropical Grille was, but they characterize themselves with:

Savor the rich, authentic flavors of Cuban and Latin-inspired cuisine at Tropical Grille.

which sound pretty good (if a bit chicken-y for me).

Looking at their website, it's an upstate South Carolina chain with 9 other locations, this one having been the only one here in the Midlands after the Main Street location closed in 2012.
.

I like the mascot!

(Hat tip to commenter Beth)

As I believe we have discussed, Big Lots went Chapter 11 back in October, and will be closing down the whole chain, something now in progress.

This building, which featured here previously as a Bi-Lo is the anchor for this little plaza, which also has another upcoming vacancy. It's unclear exactly when they will close, but at this point I suspect they will not last another month, as they are already down to 40% off.

New York Pizza & Pasta was the follow-on in this little US-1 building to another pizzeria, Palmono's, which was a follow-on to Reds On Augusta.

According to their Facebook they appear to have closed on 31 August. The menu looks decent, but I was never in the area at the right time to try it out.

(Hat tip to commenter JamesR)

Looking at the Google Reviews, as well as the cafe's Facebook, it seems that O'Hara's was not making book as a table-service cafe, and tried converting to a counter-service bagel shop, which didn't bring in enough new traffic while alienating the existing clientele. This also invoved Rules #1 & #6.

The owners remain committed to the spot, and it sounds from the most recent Facebook post, that something new may be in the offing.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Google Maps gives the name of this place as Pops Pops Pops, just as it is on the sign, but the Welcome To Pops sign inside suggests the official name is the more sedate (and simpler) one. It also appears they may have been a Pantry Express affiliate, though I did not see that branding displayed anywhere. At any rate, looking at Google Streetview, they have been closed since at least 2021. I find it a bit odd that the building has not been re-purposed by now, and that it is in such good shape.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

It's a little hard to say the exact name of this place. Google has it as Grand Appliances•New Sales•Scratch and Dent Sales while their Facebook says Grand Appliances & Mattress•New Sales•Scratch & Dent Sales.

At any rate, their last Facebook post is from May 2024, so I'm going to list the closing date as "Summer 2024". There was some activity in the buildiing when I drove by last Saturday, so perhaps something new is coming.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

When I was getting pictures of Badcock a week or so ago, I noticed that this little Cricket storefront in the same plaza was closed. Google reviews suggest it was probably this summer as there is an owner response from "a month ago".

Commenter Heath notes that JC's Lexington Bowl has announced on their Facebook page that they are closing at the end of August. From the posted message, it sounds like they would rather not, but the economic times are just too rough. That's a shame, as they have been open since 1989.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

As we discussed a few days ago the Badcock chain is going out of business after a bad merger and bankruptcy. This is the Lexington location in Town Square.

I'm not sure of the actual closing date, but I don't see it outlasting the month, at least by much.