Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I can't quite remember exactly what was in this storefront (which predates Columbia Mall) when I was growing up, but I think it was some sort of hardware or sporting goods (of the angling type) store. At any rate, Party City has been here for many years now, but the writing was sort of on the wall when they opened a new location at Woodhill in the old Pier 1 spot. They were still open the last time I drove by, but I would not expect them to last into the new year.

(Hat tip to commenter That Guy)

I actually went to this Firestone location once some years ago when I had a slow-leak I needed fixed, and could not get in that day at the place I usually used. I was pleasantly surprised that as a walk-in, I got the whole thing over with in under an hour and was able to get on with my Saturday.

As you can see here, the branding is already down on this store, but the label scars are still clearly visible, and there hasn't been enough time to get the vending machines picked up.

(Hat tip to commenter Haley)

This thrift store was the follow-on operation in this Parklane storefront to Marshall's Department Store which moved to the old Fort Jackson Boulevard K-Mart redevelopment sometime in August of 2015 (Just in time for the flood). I'm not sure why Marshall's was giving 7049 Parklane as the address here as 7121 looks OK.

At any rate, the last reviews I can find for this store say "a year ago" (google reviews are annoying that way: Why not be specific?), so I am putting the closing date as "2020".

D's Shoe Warehouse moved to Columbia Plaza from Capitol Centre at the end of January 2013. They replaced Awesome Mattress in this endcap location, and apparently remained there until around June of 2020.

At this point, the the storefront has been completely gutted, and it is unclear what, if anything, is on the way.

I find it curious that this plaza is 7201 Parklane, and Columbia Mall is 7201 Two Notch. I think someone made that happen on purpose somehow.

UPDATE 2 September 2021 -- Now Money Barbie cosmetics store:

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)

Footaction was on the lower level of Columbia Mall at the foot of the winding staircase, underneath the old Lowery Organs location, across from the former Radio Shack and adjacent to the former JC Penny.

According to their door sign, Footaction had initially closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, but rolled that into a permanent closure at some point, and they have already stripped the store. As reported by commenter Rashaad, the other Footlocker brands have also left the mall, and will probably feature here in due course.

As an aside, social distancing is not an issue at Columbia Mall:

(Hat tip to commenter Rashaad)

I never did a closing for Zale's Jewelers, but it was a long time occupant of this second level storefront, just out of Macy's going left. After that, it was Jimmy Jazz for a while, as you can barely see in the second picture above. Most recently, it was an airbrush shop for tee-shirt customization. Judging by the google reviews, they did a good job, but were gone by sometime in the late summer of 2019. I'm not entirely sure, but it looks as though they may still have a location elsewhere in the area.

Back in the day:

I did a closing for this building when I referenced that it had at one time been Andy's Deli. I ate there once that I can recall, and while it was OK, it was never going to be one of my regular stops. The current owner is not "Albert", but Adrianne Davidson, and according to this ColaDaily article, she has decided to sell the building and concentrate on catering from the 1901 Main Street location, which I was not aware of.

(Hat tip to commenter Homer)

Well, Victoria's Secret has sashayed out of Columbia Mall. Interestingly (or not) theirs is the second store-locator website I have visited lately that is very parsimonious about listing stores (though it is inspiring in other ways). At any rate, locally there are remaining stores at Sandhill and Columbiana.

I find the mall self-promotional poster interesting in that not only did they not take it down when Victoria's left, but in that it still touts Charlotte Russe, which has been gone for about a year now. I have not seen anything about the County plan for the property lately. It seems like whatever they are going to do, they should start it soon.

(Hat tip to commenter Rashaad Egister)

It seems to me I have blogged an unusual number of Hardee's closings recently. I'm not sure if that says anything or if it's just coincidence or local conditions, but here's another.

This store is on Parklane, basically in a Columbia Mall outparcel, and not too far down from the local McDonald's. I'm not sure how long it was in this location, but it's been at least since the mid-90s. I do like this google review for the place:

Once got a burger that looked just as good in the ads.

That *shouldn't* be high praise, and yet..

Are there any Red Burrito locations of Hardee's left in Columbia?

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 19 June 2021: Adding tags.