Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

The White Mule is another recent casualty of Main Street, following shortly after the closings of Henessey's and Kimbrell's.

I'd heard the name from time to time, but really wasn't exactly sure where it was. Judging by the stairs in the entranceway, it was a basement club, and judging from the menu on the still extant web site it was a little more upscale than your basic burgers & nachos show-pub.

The State story mentioning the closing dates it to "last week". Given that the story ran on 7 January 2012, the inference I draw is that The White Mule closed out with the year at the end of 2011.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

UPDATE 23 January 2012: Added Jammin' Java to the post title based on the comments. I recall the name, but never realized this is where it was.

I think that's it for this year, folks. I may get a year-in-review post up around New Years, otherwise, Merry Christmas and enjoy the holidays!

I've written about this building before in the closing for Black Bull Restaurant. Hard Knox Grill was the immediate follow-on operation in that building, and was, I believe a rock-and-roll nightclub as well as a restaurant. I say "I believe" because it's another of the many places in and around town that I had a vague intention to get to sometime, but never did until it was too late.

At any rate, looking at the posted operating hours, it's probably just as well I never drove over there for lunch. That sign also appears to tell a story in that apparently at some point full-week operations were cut back to weekend-only mode.

The stack of Free Times newspapers sitting by the door is the "October 13-19 2010" issue. Those would have been dropped off on the morning of Wednesday 13 October. Since they were never taken inside to the rack in the foyer, but there is no pile from the previous week, I think it's safe to say the place operated Friday & Saturday 8 & 9 October, but not since.

(Hat tip to commenter "Nobody")

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When I first started getting "into" comics -- that is seeking them out at a comics store rather than just buying one every now and then off a spinner rack, I usually went to Silver City on Knox Abbott, or Ye Olde Comic Shope on Meeting Street (with the occasional visit to the one on Devine, the one on Forest Drive near Hardees, or the one on Parklane). Either Acme wasn't around at the time (mid 80s) or I missed it somehow. By the time I moved back to town, I was getting comics mostly through a subscription service or I would stop off at Heroes & Dragons with its easy access to my I-20 too-ings & fro-ings. In the event, I think I only stopped at Acme Comics once, when it was in its Rosewood location, and I can't really recall if I bought anything or not.

I must admit that I thought they were still on Rosewood, and didn't realize they had moved to West Columbia until I heard that they were closing. That part of State Street is rather interesting and eclectic though I must admit that the antique warehouse is the only one of those shops I hit with any frequency (and that proably no more than 4 or 5 times a year). I would have thought it a good fit for a store like Acme, but i guess neither the comic nor the music business is what it was these days.

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Commenter Dennis sends this link to a bit of Columbia history I don't recall at all -- our own Cowsills / Partridge Family:

There was a family rock band (Before the Cowsills) here in town called Little Red and the Rocking Hoods. For a few years you couldn't go to many public events without seeing them play. I went to high school with a couple of the kids, Julia McGee and Eddie McGee. They graduated from Keenan in '74 and '76, respectively, I think.

Their dad and band leader actually built a sort of recording studio next to their house, which was just across Pinebelt from Keenan HS, on Upland Drive.

I painted a psychedelic design on one of Eddie's guitars.

Be sure to check out the second (1971) picture here, yet another entry in the

The 70s: What the heck were we thinking?

file!

I'd love to hear some of their stuff..

Honestly, what more can I say about Sounds Familiar? I've written about it here, here, and here: Nice Columbia based record store chain that had a good selection, and knowledgeable staff but fell victim to the Internet revolution as did most record store chains. This location, on Parklane near Columbia Mall, was the penultimate one to close, leaving the Rosewood store alone for the last month or so. Note to the almost antique "cassettes and records" slogan given on the sign. I wonder how many of either they sold in the last 10 years?

However little else I might have to say about the chain, I will say that today was a magnificent day for taking pictures, especially if you like clouds -- and I do!

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