Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I ate at this Five Guys a number of times, probably most memorably on a group trip from work to go downtown and buy some decent office chairs. Come to think of it, that may have been the last time I ate here, and that would have been probably ten years ago now. I like Five Guys (though the price is now amazing), but tend towards Columbiana or Forest Drive.

At any rate this one was caught up in the same property buyout that Monterrey was, and is now half demolished. In fact since these pictures are at least a week old, it is probably all demolished now.

Mel's (originally mooted to be Mo's) replaced Zesto in this location which closed in December of 2024. They got going in the summer of 2025, and so lasted about a year. I had not stopped since then, but was looking forward to a soft-serve chocolate dip to close out August. In the event, they have been closed several weeks, and a (mysterious) new concept is supposed to debut here in September.

You can read about it in The State, The Post & Courier or on WIS.

This building was built as a McAllister's Deli, and most recently before Chicanas was Allena's Southern Kitchen which closed in 2023. Chicanas apparently moved into the location from somewhere on Spears Creek Church Road, something I did not know until reading the media articles, and set up in 2025, lasting about a year.

None of the stories give the exact cause of closure, but judging from the door sign, they initially had some hopes of continuing. In the event, I had this place on my mental list of restaurants to try, but with closer options during the week and usually hitting other parts of town on the weekends, never got around to it.

Although clearly a lot of the furnishings have been moved, there are still a good few remaining, and there is not yet a for-sale sign on the property, so what will happen next is not clear.

You can read about it in The State, The Post & Courier or at ColaDaily.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

When I went by this location on 11 July 2026, they still had the World Cup promotional signs up as if the closing caught them by surprise. I don't believe I ever ate here, so I don't have much to say about it, though I will note that the Post & Courier story on the closing namechecks Columbia Closings.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

You can also read about in The State.

I was unaware of Chayz Lounge on Meeting Street until commenter Gypsie mentioned that it is closing after nine years. Judging by the webpage, it looks like a very interesting place: A small venue with fine dining and the musicians right in front of the diners.

The WIS story is here, and from that, and looking at the schedule, you still have until late this year to pick up a show.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

I noticed going down Decker the other day that longtime Korean restaurant O-Bok was gone, and a new place called Sura was operating in the building. As far as I can tell, the new place does not have a web site, but you can get the menu on google.

Here's another longtime downtown spot I was unaware of. Apparently Hampton Place Cafe had been serving up sandwiches for 35 years, closing in late July.

You can read about it in The Post & Courier or The State.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

As mentioned in this WIS story the Harbison Jimmy John's was rammed by a care on 31 July, causing a good bit of damage. This WLTX story amplifies a bit, and implies a cause for the crash. When I drove by on Sunday 9 August, it appeared that the restaurant was back in operaiton with temporary plywood up to cover the damage.

This is the second Columbia Jimmy John's to be rammed in recent years, with the Garners Ferry location undergoing something similar in 2022.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

This little pizza storefront was in the Food Lion plaza in Red Bank. Apparently they are hoping to move, but that does't seem to be planned out at current (or as of a few weeks ago, anyway). Their Facebook was last updated in February, and the chain's Locations page doesn't have them listed.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

Local Soul Food and Chicken & Waffles chain, Kiki's Chicken and Waffles closed their Harbison location on 28 June. The closing letter was rather interesting in that it acknowledged that the location hadn't lived up to their standards lately, and responded by closing the store rather than addressing those issues. On the other hand, the chain's ownership has had some recent legal woes that might make it difficult to put resources into a marginal operation.

This location opened in 2019, and the chain maintains several other locations in the area and one in Charleston. You can read about the closing at The State or on WIS or at the Post & Courier.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)