Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I last wrote about this space in 2008, on the closing of The Happy Bookseller. Even before that venerable institution closed, the Happy Cafe had been inside functioning as a bookstore cafe. After that they went standalone, and have had a good long run.

Unusually in this snakebit year, they are not closing due to the pandemic, but to move on to new ventures, including selling the cafe's well known caramel cake online. This ColaDaily article has the story and says:

Hodges and Reynolds said they would love to see customers dine-in, order to go and stock up on favorites like the pulled chicken barbeque, casseroles, and Sue's famous caramel in the coming months. They said their plan is to close the cafe on a celebratory note.

That would come near the end of the year. I really should try to get over there and eat lunch before 3:00 for once.

The Blue Flour Bakery in the State House section of Main Street had been closed since 16 March due to the COVID-19 scourge, but as ColaDaily reports, they recently made the decision not to re-open.

I was not really aware of this eatery, but it sounds like it would have been a nice place to duck into for coffee & snacks, and while this storefront is closed, there remains one in Irmo at 7703 Saint Andrews Road, so perhaps I can still do that some day.

(Hat tip to commenter Justin)

Solstice's web page says that they had been here 14 years; I don't know why I kept thinking of them as a new place. At any rate, during that 14 years, I never managed to make it out. I figured since I'm not really into wine, dinner might be overdoing it, but looking at their lunch menu from time to time, with some really nice looking soups, I thought I might try that someday. In the end, the hours and the distance never quite worked out -- now I wish they had.

Going by their Facebook farewell, this is another one in the COVID-19 column. There simply wasn't the money coming in, or the surety going forwards to carry on.

2020 strikes again.

(Hat tip to commenter Carlton Templeton)

To the best of my memory, I've only eaten at a Maurice's Piggy Park once, last year at the Charleston Highway location. I thought it was fine, but the chain seems to have hit a rough patch in the last few years with several locations closing. COVID-19 can't have helped, but I don't know if it were the deciding factor here.

This one is on US-1 in West Columbia to the east of the I-26 interchange and across from the Wal-Mart. I see from google maps that it is next to a Ruby Tuesday I had forgotten about, and which I did not check to see if it were open.

(Hat tip to commenter Lone Wolf)

I did a closing for the Dutch Square Ruby Tuesday back in May. At that time I took pictures of this one, on a Columbiana Mall outparcel, as well. Since, unlike the other, there wasn't any clarity that this one was permanantly closed, I held off doing a post.

I drove back by today however, and nothing has changed. The "temporarily closed" sign is still up, but at this point I suspect that is no longer accurate. At the least, it's worth a mention and if they re-open later great! In the meantime, chalk up another one for for COVID-19.

Steam & Ice seems to have been a coffee, smoothie, dessert & milkshake shop. Among other things, they were know for milkshakes topped with cotton-candy (which there is no way I can imagine liking, but your milage may vary), boba-tea, and acai bowls.

From what I can tell, they closed around January of 2020, so before the pandemic. Looking at the reviews, it appears that people liked it when it was open, but that there were ongoing staffing and early closing issues before the shutdown.

Bone-In was the only restaurant in the Bull Street stadium complex, for which big things have often been promised. They announced in early February of 2020 that they were terminating regular meal service, but would still be open for special events. By the end of the month that had changed to being completely closed, though they would still be doing catering.

I took these pictures on 13 September 2020, and while I was driving around the State Hospital area, I noticed a burnt out looking building and a WLTX news crew. Apparently someone set the old Babcock building on fire Saturday morning. Last I saw, they are now looking for persons of interest.

(Hat tips to commenters Beth & Heath).

See here for the story.

I'm not sure how long, Yummy II has been here, but quite a while I while, I think. Initially I thought there was a real estate sign in the window, but in fact it is simply a placard for the construction company which is doing the asbestos removal and interior demolition.

Google has Yummy II marked as "termporarily closed" so I am going with that in the post title, but the absence of any "See you soon!" type of sign is not a good omen.

(If there is still a Yummy I, I don't know where it is.)

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)

UPDATE 9 September 2020: I have taken the "Temporary?" notation off the post title as it appears from the comments while that was the hope for Yummy at the start of the crisis they are now gone and this is to become a Kudzu Bakery. I have been in the Litchfield & Georgetown locations of that chain a few times and recall both of those spaces as larger than this. Also commenter Thomas calls out the previous occupant in this storefront as Little Caesars, so I have added that to the post title.

I was unaware of Bricktown Bistro until commenter Sidney mentioned that it was closing, so I can't say a lot about it other than it is gone. (These pictures were from the final day of operation).

I do notice that the roadside marquee perpetuates the confusion between Hardscrabble & Hard Scrabble that came up here a week or so ago.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)