Columbia Closings   What’s not in Columbia anymore

D's Shoe Warehouse was one of the very few stores left in Capitol Centre, the strip mall behind Columbia Mall which once held Capitol Centre Theatre, MOvies Behind The Mall, Circuit City, Cucos Mexican Cafe, Aliens & Alibis, and Jim's Discount Mall.

As of 31 January 2013, they have moved to Parklane, in the old site of Awesome Mattress.

This ladies' shoe store in Boozer Shopping Center apparently set up shop in July of 2011. I'm not sure exactly when it closed, but the storefront was papered over by the time of this 31 May 2012 shot.

As far as I can tell, the opening of I-77 hasn't really helped Landmark Square much. It's nice they got one of the new Krispy Kremes, but the rest of the place still could use a good makeover.

Looking back in the Feb 1997 phonebook, says that this little shoe storefront was founded some time after that (though there was a "Shoe City" on Garners Ferry back then..) and lasted until this year.

I don't know how I suffered this mental lapse, but somehow I convinced myself that on the day after Christmas, the Christmas rush would be over, and it would once more be safe to hit the Harbison area. Bad call!

I came up Harbison from Saint Andrews Road, and that wasn't so bad. Neither was getting into the circle for Columbiana Centre. Getting out was the hard part. It took me half an hour to merge into the counterclockwise outbound traffic and work my way to the Columbiana Drive exit. In between arriving and leaving, the mall itself was as packed as I've ever seen any mall. I guess I have been "spoiled" by the nearly empty expanses of Richland Mall, Columbia Mall and Dutch Square. I guess that makes Columbiana Centre Columbia's success story, but it doesn't make me want to go there again any time soon..

At any rate, Payless Shoe Source were in their final few days and were selling everything down to the store fixtures in preparation for clothing store Forever 21 to expand into their spot. In years past, it's always seemed to me that shoe stores are the most over-representated category in malls, but perhaps that's now changing.

(Hat tip to commenter Dustin)

Well, it's back to the Shops At Columbiana Crossing today. From their web site Fleet Feet Sports appears to be an athletic shoe and running wear store, which pretty much rules it out as a place I would ever visit, but they had quite a nice little space in this Columbiana Drive storefront. I particularly like the curvy wood (or faux wood) flooring and the somewhat canted counter.

In late September they relocated, fleetly, but probably not on foot, to a much larger space at 945 Lake Murray Boulevard next to Bruegger's.

Well, it's back to Park Centre at Two Notch & Polo Roads for this former Pic 'N Pay Shoes. You can pretty much make out the label-scar with the name if you look at it with charity, though there seems to be some issue with the street address. The Feb 1997 Bellsouth phonebook lists the Pic 'N Pay at 9714 Two Notch while the pasted letters clearly mark this unit as "9710 STE 5". However, Park Centre apparently encompasses 9710 through 9714, so it's all the same property whether they may have moved down a unit at some point.

They won't have moved after 2000 though, as the whole Pic 'N Pay chain filed for bankruptcy in March of that year. Apparently this was their second trip into Chapter 11, after one in 1996, and this one ended up in liquidation (and selling a lot of assets to Shoe Show).

Google says that 9710 #5 was also Top Nail nail salon at some point. I would say after Pic 'N Pay as nail salons seem to specialize in making a go out of failing properties.

I'm not much of a clothes shopper, so I've never made it to Weathers of Columbia on Devine Street at Woodrow Street, but it looks as if you want to do so, you should do so soon.

Of course, I thought that in 2008 too, and in fact almost did a closing on them then..

This year's sign is a bit more definitively worded, though their web site doesn't have any mention of it.

The picture isn't very good because the sun was against me, but Jack's was a local shoe store on Sunnyside Drive (which is a side street off of Forest Drive, just past Richland Mall heading towards town). The site is now either Miyo's or Leapin' Lizards -- I can't recall exactly which space it was. Growing up, we shopped for shoes in a number of places, including Gerber's at Trenholm Plaza and the shoe departments at Sears and other department stores, but I think Jack's is where we most often ended up.

I remember in particular, that Jack's was the place I got my first pair of Sebago Docksides, a shoe so comfortable that I have worn them ever since and that would be over 30 years now. In fact, that was about the only place in town I could find them. Now I either have to get them in Charleston, or order them from amazon.com (which is OK since my feet stay the same size now).

There's a classic cartoon panel from the 70s. The setting is a doctors office. A female patient is sitting on the table and the (male, which rather dates the cartoon) doctor tells her:

I'm sorry Ms Johnson, but we're all out of birth control pills, please wear these Birkenstocks instead.

Whether the shoes got better looking, or men just don't look down that far, the brand is still around.

It's not around Trenholm Plaza anymore though. I don't know if the ongoing renovations cut traffic, or if they had decided to decamp before that, but I noticed when I went to Starbucks the other day that the Birkenstock store was gone.

I wonder what the deal with the palm tree in back was?