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Archive for the ‘main street’ tag

Pita Pit, 1332 Main Street: 16 March 2020   no comments

Posted at 10:38 pm in closing

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I tried to get a daytime shot of The Pita Pit, but ended up with no parking and someone on my bumper. Actually, there was still no parking even at night, but at least I could stop for these two shots.

Pita Pit on Main, and apparently another location in Five Points, closed on 16 March due to COVID-19. I'm not sure about the Five Points store, but this one is now up for sale, so it won't be coming back.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 9 June 2022: Changing the post title and text to remove "The" from in front of "Pita Pit".

Written by ted on November 18th, 2020

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Blue Flour Bakery, 1210 Main Street: 16 March 2020   2 comments

Posted at 11:22 pm in closing

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The Blue Flour Bakery in the State House section of Main Street had been closed since 16 March due to the COVID-19 scourge, but as ColaDaily reports, they recently made the decision not to re-open.

I was not really aware of this eatery, but it sounds like it would have been a nice place to duck into for coffee & snacks, and while this storefront is closed, there remains one in Irmo at 7703 Saint Andrews Road, so perhaps I can still do that some day.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

Written by ted on October 7th, 2020

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Eckerd Drugs / Rite Aid / Walgreens, 5900 North Main Street: 11 June 2020   8 comments

Posted at 10:51 pm in closing

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This Walgreen's was originally an Eckerd's and then a Rite Aid, as you can see from the design of the building. It sits on an oddly shapped lot at the intersection of North Main & Colonial, and was the only drug store in the general vicinity.

Here is a story from The State about the closing, and how the neighborhood was very unhappy about it. Here's more from WLTX

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

Uptown, 1204 Main Street: Summer 2020 (Open Again)   3 comments

Posted at 11:32 pm in closing

Uptown gifts was the follow-on operation in this storefront to the venerable Capitol Newsstand where I made many finds back in the pre-internet age.

I had thought they set up shop in 2011, but based on this ColaDaily story, they must have moved in very shortly after Capitol closed. I never had the occasion to visit this store, but I did like the cityscape logo.

According to the linked story, they first shut down due to the COVID-19 mess, and then decided to just move on.

This makes two vacancies on the east side of this block, as there is still no action in the Persona location.

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(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

UPDATE 8 October 2020 -- As reported in the comments and ColaDaily, Uptown is open again under new ownership.

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Written by ted on July 24th, 2020

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Kmart, 748 West Main Street (Lexington): December 2019   9 comments

Posted at 11:05 pm in closing

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This is certainly not a surprise at this point. In fact, I am more surprised that this store (and the West Columbia one) have stayed open as long as this.

The State says the plan is to close in December, but I don't see how you can get through October and November without already being down to the bare walls. That said, as of Saturday, the store was not too picked over yet, though reflecting that fact the discounts were still fairly low.

You can definitely see the effects of wear and tear on this store in the floor and in other other aspects of the physical plant. Plainly there hasn't been any money for cosmetic maintenence in a good while.

(Hat tip to lots of folks, perhaps commenter Tom was first)

Written by ted on October 7th, 2019

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South Carolina Book Store, 801 Main Street: Summer 2019 (moved, refocused)   15 comments

Posted at 11:55 pm in closing

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I'm not sure how much USC still uses "textbooks" in the old sense. I haven't discussed it with anyone now in college, but my impression is that a lot of the books now are in ebook form. Since it sounds like the South Carolina Book Store is really getting out of the textbook market, that may be what happened.

At any rate, when I was in college this place was a sure visit every semester. In those, pre-internet, days this store and the USC owned textbook concession in the Russell House had a duopoly lock on the student book market. I usually tried to get all my bokos on campus, but invaribly there were one or two that were sold out and had to be tracked down here. They would also buy back textbooks, and from time to time growing up, my father would take me here with boxes of books that he had been sent in the hopes he would choose them for his classes, and would sell them, giving the proceeds to my sister and me. (I think he felt it wouldn't be quite right to take the money himself).

Aside from the texts, this place also had a heady mix of pencils, pens, notebooks, art supplies and drafting paper. There was a certain very specific smell when you walked in from all the paper and pencils. If I recall correctly, I had to get all my drafting supplies for my all-time least favorite class: Introduction To Engineering Drafting (or some similar name). I had a compass, gum erasers, drafting pencils, drafting paper and straight-edge. All of that, and after trying all day, I still could not draw a bolt in 3D perspective.

Despite driving past this store many times since college, I don't think I have been in since the 1980s, and I now it's too late to see if it still smelled the same..

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

Written by ted on August 5th, 2019

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Hummus Mediterranean Bistro By Al Amir, 610 Main Street Suite A: March 2019   no comments

Posted at 11:16 pm in closing

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I did not know Hummus Mediterranean Bistro existed until commenter Sidney mentioned that it was gone.

About all I know is that it was the follow-on operation in this spot to Uncle Maddio's Pizza and was run by the Al Amir folks. (Who rpeviously had a restaurant just up the street in University Corner at 629 Main Street.

This place got pretty good reviews, the last of which seem to be around March of 2019, so that's what I'm using for a closing date.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

Written by ted on July 16th, 2019

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The Woody, 808 Lady Street: 29 June 2019 (Moved)   4 comments

Posted at 10:42 pm in closing

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The Woody is legendary Columbia DJ Woody Windham's nightclub in The Vista. Although I was a WIS AM fan back in the day, I can't recall a time when Windham hasn't had something going on in the area.

The sign on the door confirms commenter Lone Wolf's note that this place is closing/moving, but I can't find out any further details. Curiously, the club doesn't seem to have a web site or an official Facebook page, and there don't seem to be any stories in the local media. Hopefully they will find another space somewhere.

(Hat tip to commenter Lone Wolf)

UPDATE 4 February 2021 -- Here is the new location of The Woody at 1649 Main Street, the former location of Hennessy's Restaurant & Lounge:

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Also adding "Moved" to the post title.

Yoghut, 601 Main Street: January 2019 (Rebranded)   2 comments

Posted at 11:35 pm in closing

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As The Daily Gamecock reports, Yoghut at the corner of Main & Blossom streets is now The Corner Blend with a new menu, including Acai Bowls (something I had never heard of) and Bubble Tea. The place remains under the same management, but the new name reflects the broader focus.

UPDATE 28 June 2019 -- Forgot to put some pictures with the Yoghut branding up. Here they are:

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Written by ted on June 27th, 2019

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Al-Amir, 1734 Main Street: April 2019 (Moving)   3 comments

Posted at 11:19 pm in closing

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Al-Amir is on the move again. They have had locations on Devine Street (twice), South Main, Saint Andrews Road, Sparkleberry Crossing and Sandhill.

Now they have left the old Elite Epicurean location at 1734 Main Street, and are relocating north to the old Taste Of China Hut at 2431 Main Street.

The State has two relevant articles. The first mentions the challenges of running a restaurant at that location:

"At night, the lighting here is bad and there are homeless people, and people doing drugs (along Laurel St.)," he said.

It feels unsafe, but he hears that Columbia Police are putting a substation in the former United Way location at 1800 Main St.

"After 18 years (in the business overall, Al-Amir has been on Main St. since 2014) and pouring every penny we have into the place, we've had to maneuver to keep the restaurant," he said. "We have loyal customers ... there just isn't enough to sustain the business."

To draw a bigger lunch crowd, they added some Southern specialties, but I have to think given they can't season with pork, that would be a pretty limited endevour.

The second article continues the story, with its outcome: the move down the street.

I like Al-Amir, but for me the biggest issue with this location was parking. The old Taste Of China Hut does have its own parking lot, so hopefully that will be better. I also wish that it was easier to get what I want sometimes. The way the menu is set up makes it difficult to put together my favorites.

I'm not sure when the new location will be ready. It looked very much still in progress when I drove by a few weeks ago.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr_hat)

UPDATE 20 June 2019 -- Here are some pictures from 2014 apparently not long after the opening:

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UPDATE 4 February 2021 -- The move is complete: Al-Amir is open in its new location, and this building is now home to Moms Bistro & Bar:

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Written by ted on May 17th, 2019

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