Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I was at Baskin Robbins the other day, and noticed that the adjacent Pizza Hut delivery/take-out storefront was empty. I'm not sure when they left, but I know for sure they were there this time last year.

I used to go to Pizza Hut all the time, but I don't think I've been in one during the last five years, and didn't even consider this place for takeout during the crisis. I'm not sure when exactly they fell off my list, but there are so many options now. (For instance, I did use Marco's up the block several times for delivery during the lockdown -- it's not bad).

This plaza used to be called Forest Park, but I'm not sure it still is. The roadside marquee used to have an "FP" logo, but lately it has been replaced by whatever grocery store is in the main slot at the time.

This spot at the Flight Deck complex has gone through a number of pizza restaurants since I became aware of it. In particular, I have done closings for Brix Bistro / The Bistro. I noticed only fairly recently that Papa Gio's was there, finding them while I was there to get pictures of something else.

Early during the COVID-19 crisis, I saw another pizza restaurant advertising by the roadside when I drove by: Ferrara Pizza & Pasta. Judging from the Yelp reviews, they started in early March 2020, so I'm guessing probably Papa Gio's moved out with the end of the year in 2019, though it could have been later.

Papa Gio's continues to have locations on Broad River Road and farther out on August Highway (US-1) in the old Allstar Pizza location.

This place started as plain Planet Pizza sometime in 2017 from what I can glean online. Around June of 2019, it was bought by King's Pizza, which was at the time in the midst of a planned build-out, though only this store and the one on Forest Drive were ever actually open. I took the vacancy pictures in early October 2019, so I'm saying it probably closed in September of that year. (The picture of it open was taken in mid-September 2019). The reviews for either incarnation are mostly so-so, but I'm guessing that King's seeming over-extension was the proximate cause here.

Well, this is an unpleasant surprise!

I had been going to Pastaria 811 since they opened in the Litchfield Exchange (replacing some sort of deli) back in the 90s. Actually I would have guessed it was longer ago than that, but their sign claims 25 years so..

They had the second best pizza in South Carolina, great bread, and good general Italian dishes. They moved to this, more visible, location several years ago after Austin's closed up shop, and always seemed to be doing a good business as far as I could tell. I think I was last there in early August, and had the usual good experience.

We tried to go by last week, and found it closed, but thought Well, the holidays.. as there was no indication of a permanent closure, but looking it up online found the website gone, and reports on Yelp that the place was no more.

As you can see, there are still no visible indications. The celebratory 25 years banner is still up, there is no sign on the door, and the rockers are still on the porch. The windows are so heavily tinted that I could not see inside, so I'm not sure what the status of the interior is.

Daggone it.

King's Pizza was the follow-on operation in this spot to Charlie's Wings & Seafood. They opened sometime in the spring of 2019, and apparently closed in September. At one time, a number of other locations for King's were mooted, but they may have tried to build out too fast, and I don't believe any, with the possible exception of a co-branding with Planet Pizza came to pass.

While I was getting the Save A Lot pictures, I noticed that the pizza joint in the same strip has now been (partially?) reflagged as a King's Pizza.

Their (officially claimed) Yelp page gives the name as King's Planet Pizza and has a link to the main King's web site, which curiously does not list the place as a location (though it does still list Marshall Street, which I think has fallen through). Does anyone know if the Columbia Mall location has come to pass?

I'm not really a Domino's fan, but it's acceptable pizza, and when you're in college, that's probably the best you can hope for. This particular location is on the sharply sloped section of Devine that leads down from Main to Assembly, requiring that the lot be terraced. You can see a shot of it in operation, with the Domino's signage at the LoopNet listing.

They moved from this building to the old Sandy's location, after completely redoing the looks of that property. I'm a little curious about all this as Sandy's had apparently sold their store to something called The USC Development Foundation, which did not lead me to expect another retail food operation there.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

I was unaware of this newish pizza joint until commenter Heath mentioned that it was closing. It's down the section of Sumter Street north of Elmwood, someplace I hardly ever go. Apparently a co-owner made himself notorious on social media recently and that hurt business, or at least that's the take at The State. Well, I don't do social media, so I missed all that, and anyway apparently that gentleman is no longer involved with the restaurant, so I decided I would check it out before it closes on Saturday.

It's a very small place, with only one lowtop table that I would pick as a favorite, but there is also some bar and hightop seating. You order at the counter, but they do bring the food to the table. They are fancy enough that they don't have pepperoni as an ingredient, so I ordered the Pizza Margherita (pictured above). I thought it was pretty good. The crust could have been a little crisper, and I whould have preferred a basil leaf on each slice, but it was quite tasty. I could never be a regular here because they do not have fresh brewed tea, but they do have some beer, wine and bottled drinks.

Here are stories on the closing from The Free Times and Cola Daily

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

Domino's at Polo Plaza has moved across the parking lot and around the corner to the freestanding building at 9814 Two Notch Road, which used to house Blockbuster Video and then A Goodnight Sleepstore.

As you can see from the pictures, they are only occupying the north half of the building, and the south half is still for lease.

(Hat tip to commenter LD)

Places in the Vista come and go before I even hear about them. All I know about Newk's is what Google has to say

Regional chain offering a menu of salads, pizzas & sandwiches in a casual setting.

It sounds like something I might have liked, but I'm not sure when I last ate lunch in the Vista.

The State has a few more details, and it looks like the only Newk's remaining in South Carolina is in Summerville.

(Hat tip to commenter Judy)