Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Google lists this place as temporarily closed, but as it is for sale, I think it is gone for good, though the web site is still up. I think it is safe to say this is a story that touches on news events, but I'm not going to comment on any pending issues about which I have no personal knowledge.

(Hat tip to commener John R)

I was unaware of this Lexington place, tucked away on North Lake Drive between Main Street and US-378 until commenter Heath mentioned that it had closed.

The Lexington Chronicle says that they

served breakfast items such as biscuit sandwiches and chicken and waffles, along with lunch dishes including chicken pot pie, burgers and sandwiches. The location also emphasized baked goods including cinnamon rolls and mini bundt cakes.

It's unclear exactly why they closed, but they are looking for another location, and so don't intend for it to be permanent. For now the web site and Facebook are still up.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

This storefront first featured here as Stein Mart, which closed in 2020. Last fall, it was briefly a Spirit Halloween popup, and then Furniture & Mattress Overstock opened in the spot.

It now appears that they are closing after less than a year at this location.

One curious thing is that Stein Mart was listed as 934 North Lake Drive, while Furniture & Mattress Overstock lists as 932 North Lake Drive. I'm not sure why that is, and which, if either, is actually correct.

To me, AAMCO always brings to mind a distinctive radio ad from the 60s or 70s. It went like:

Double-AY (beep! beep!) EM-CEE-OH!
AAMCO

That said, I've never been to a place that specialized in transmissions, though I might have if my '96 hadn't ended up getting totaled again. Anyway, this building is in Lexington at the point where US-378 splits away from North Lake Drive, and is now Tint World, which does "Automotive Styling and Window Tinting".

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

I have never been to either Alodia's, though from looking at their menu once, I decided if I were ever in the right place at the right time, I would like to try it. The Irmo location is a bit removed from what I generally think of as Irmo: Way out on North Lake in the Publix strip mall.

There have certainly been a lot of staffing shortages on the path out of the pandemic. In fact we found one restaurant in Myrtle Beach we were considering going to that said up-front on their web page to expect poor service! Some of that seems to be at issue here, though I am not sure what the "product shortages" would be. The only one I have heard of is chicken wings, which wouldn't be much of an issue for an Italian restaurant (and which would affect the Lexington branch as well, I would think).

Anyway, they are apparently teed up for a July re-opening here, and I certainly hope that comes to pass.

(Hat tip to commenter Ellen)

UPDATE 31 January 2022 -- Open again:

As reported by commenter JohnR, this Urban Nirvana in the Lexington Towne Centre plaza on North Lake Drive between the closing Stein Mart and Food Lion is gone.

Looking at the Yelp reviews, it was open as late as June 2020, so they actually came through the lockdown period. Perhaps the customer volume just wasn't there in these trying times.

I think the plaza name is overdoing it a bit: Misspelling *two* words for "class"?

(Hat tip to commenter JohnR)

I don't have anything more to say on this Stein Mart post than on the last one: They're bankrupt and going out of business.

This particular store is in the Books-A-Million/Food Lion plaza in Lexington and already had their closing signs up when I drove by a few weeks ago.

UPDATE 22 September 2021 -- Now a Spirit Halloween:

Well, here we are again at 1605 North Lake Drive, the former home of Dam Bar & Grill, Bentley's Beach House, and Mari's Lake House & Levi's Lake House.

I have to confess, that being so far from the spot, I have never visited any of these incarnations. It seems like a reasonable location. While it doesn't actually have a lake view, it is close enough to the lake that it will be about the first restaurant people returning to Lexington will see, and there doesn't seem to be any competition in the immediate vicinity.

Based on the history, I expect another restaurant here before long, and I wish them luck.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 27 January 2022: Updating tags.

UPDATE 19 September 2022: Hope springs eternal -- now setting up to be Tee'd Up:

UPDATE 17 November 2022: According to ColaDaily Tee'd Up is now open. Here is their site.

I believe the only time I have eaten in a Beef O'Brady's was at Pawleys Island, in the unit behind the Waffle House that became DeRoma's Pizza. I thought it was a pretty typical sports/casual dining type of place and had a decent burger.

Not only did I never eat at this one, but I'm pretty sure I have never in my life been in this spot, or near this spot before. I'm fairly sure that sites like this busy Publix plaza are a pretty new development in the area. Yelp says that this location was open at least until the end of August, so I am just tagging the closing as "Fall 2018". Interestingly, the new Yelp listing for "B's" has the same phone number as for Beef O' Brady's, and the reviews tag it as very similar, so I'm thinking that perhaps the owners just wanted to disaffiliate so they could add their own touches to the same general formula.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

Come to Lake Murray Crossfit and get your drink on. Well not exactly perhaps, but the signage is still there. Commenter John R says that they have moved to the Old Mill.

I think the last time I was at Pastime Pavilion, I had driven all the over from Forest Acres to see "Mad Max" only to find out when I got there that I had read the listings wrong, and what was playing was "Max" a movie about a dog.

(Hat tip to commenter John R)