Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I got a couple of reports in June of 2017 that this place had closed. I actually did drive out there to get some pictures, and found that they were actually closed for upfitting as they were adding a Planet Smoothie operation.

In the event that must not have worked out for them, as they are closed for good this, with their Facebook page citing "Many factors" in the decision.

To me, the location appears pretty good as it is catty-cornered from the Sandhill movie theaters, and would be a good place to get a snack while waiting for your movie. Of course that only works if your movie is pretty early.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 17 June 2021 -- Now a Poke Brothers:

I did not know this, but Crazy 8 was part of Gymboree, with the second bankruptcy of that chain taking out these stores as well.

According to Wikipedia:

Crazy 8 was started in August 2007. It features lower priced clothing and is Gymboree's direct competitor for The Children's Place and Old Navy.

In the event, I guess that didn't work out too well.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

I was not aware of Things Remembered, but apparently it is a personalized gifts store, with a complicated history with ties to Sears, Pearl Vision & Yankee Candle.

They filed for Chapter 11 on 6 February 2019 "as part of a plan to be acquired by Enesco, a giftware, home décor and accessories company". Here is a Forbes article that explains the problems, and then, oddly, turns into a Shinola commercial.

There is another local Things Remembered in Columbiana Centre, and I am not sure what its status is.

Just for reference, here is the current status of The Village At Sandhill as per their public directories on 18 February 2019:

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

A little hard to get a good picture of this place due to the tree, but this is the Sandhill location of Gymboree.

Assuming they stick to their announced plan, both this place and the Richland Mall location should start their final closing sales tomorrow (18 July 2017).

UPDATE 7 October 2017 -- Still open but posting a closing sign & sale now:

Ultimately I can't go regularly to any place that does not have fresh brewed ice tea. Somehow or other I ended up going to this Which Wich twice however. I forget what brought me back the second time -- perhaps I was thinking my subpar first experience was a fluke. In the event, they managed to get my order wrong both times, despite having a system based on minutely specifying orders in writing. That, along with the tea and the odd decor means this chain is just not a concept that's up my alley.

(Hat tip to commenter cheryl)

Update 4 May 2022: Now Mimsy's a Vegan & West African Fusion restaurant:

Also adding map icon.

Well, the last time I drove out to Sandhill, I got a picture (above) of the vacant Wet Seal storefront so that I could add it as an update to the Wet Seal post, which I distinctly remembered making..

Except that apparently never happened..

So anyway, Wet Seal has closed. The teen retailer went into bankruptcy in 2015, and never really made a go of it again after coming out. Business Insider has the story. The final closing was announced on 20 January 2017, and the first pictures were taken on 29 January, so I would suspect the end came for this store in early or mid February.

Somebody has bought the web site, but it's not clear exactly for what.

Given the amount of unleased space like this in Village At Sandhill proper, I was surprised to still see new buildings going up, as was discussed briefly in the comments for Family Christian Stores.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

East Coast Pizzeria was the follow-on operation to Brixx in this Sandhill corner apartment block. Honestly, I was not impressed the one time I ate there. It seemed like the ordering process to just get the toppings I wanted on a pizza was unnecessarily complicated, and the resulting pizza was nothing special. Perhaps I should have given it another shot, but the reason I was a semi-regular at Brixx was because they were open late-night, which East Coast was not.

It will be interesting to see if Sandhill is able to get another restaurant in here. Probably the residents upstairs will be just as glad if not, as Brixx set the place on fire once..

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

This closing is a fallout from the chain's bankruptcy which includes the shuttering of 113 of its 739 US stores:

If you're a teenager shopping for clothes, you're probably not going to Aeropostale, a fact that became glaringly obvious when the apparel retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.

Maybe they shouldn't have put stale in their name..

The location of trees in front of this Sandhill storefront, and the desire not to be in the window's reflection made getting good pictures iffy, but you can see the standardized Store Closing and discount placards that show up at many of these managed sell-outs.

(Hat tip to commenter James R)

I've always enjoyed the food at the various Al-Amir locations over the years, though they have sometimes seemed to operate on rather an amateur basis, where you might not get the side-items the menu said came with your meal, or get your glass refilled in a timely manner. Still, I'm sad to see this one (in the old Shane's Rib Shack location, and which was, I believe basically a replacement for the Sparkleberry Crossing one), or indeed any one close.

I think that at current, the one in the old Stuffy's location at University Corner on Main is the only one open.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. Hat)

UPDATE 14 July 2017 -- Now Blaze Pizza:

Commenter Jason points out that pet supply store Pet Basics at Sandhill has closed. This store was just down from the old Village Bistro/La Fogata location.

I'm not sure exactly when they closed (other than sometime this year), but their web site says they opened on 7 December 2011.

(Hat tip to commenter Jason)