Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I don't believe I have yet successfully eaten at a Hickory Tavern. The first time I tried, at Woodhill, they had just closed the regular dining room and were serving at hightops only. Since the last time I enjoyed sitting in a high-chair, my mother was feeding me, I declined. The second time, also at Woodhill was during the tail-end of the pandemic when nobody had any staff. I sat on the patio, and after an hour nobody had taken my order, so I just left.

Anyway, they were apparently bought-out in 2025, and the new owners are evaluating all the locations going forward. Apparently this location in The Vista did not make the cut, though with the demolition of the Five Guys building it does now have a nice view of the Capitol dome.

You can see the story at WIS or read about it in The State.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie, et al)

The first time I saw The Swimming Pool Qs would have been around 1978 at the 4th of July celebration at USC's Bell Camp. If you were facing the lodge, the band set up to the right of it, at the bottom of the hill leading to the lake, and the audience was on the grass up and down the hill in the playground area. I had only discovered rock music in 1976, and hadn't made it to New Wave yet, so it was very memorable to hear these pulsing sounds & "Your baby is a big fat tractor, riding down the rows in the dust!" echoing out over the crowd & pond. I didn't quite know what to make of it, but it certainly left an impression!

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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.

I'm honestly not sure if I ever ate at this Monterrey or not. I know I did at the one on Parklane, which I don't seem to have a closing for, and the one Knox Abbott. My impression has been that they are exactly what you expect, which is good, since you expected it.

This one's last day was 30 May, and they are currently closed while they set up to move to the old Crafty Crab location at 700 Gervais Street.

The impetus for the move is the fact that the corner of Senate & Park streets is to be torn down to put up apartments. You can read about it here.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

UPDATE 1 September 2026 -- Razed:

The Post & Courier reports that Jay's liquor, beer & wine licenses were revoked on 6 May, so I'm using that date for the closing.

This place had apparently been on the edge for a while as there had been a number of incidents, such as a shooting on 29 March as reported on WIS.

Lots of businesses have come and gone in this long depot building, but I don't see that I have specifically done any postings on Suite D, and I can't recall was was here before. Anyway, its the Vista so I'm sure something new will be in before long.

(Hat tip to commenter badger)

Well, that didn't last long.

Taco Mundo replaced Liberty Tap Room (under the same ownership) opening about a year ago. I thought I might stop by eventually as I like Mexican, but in the event what with the hassle of parking downtown, other Mexican options, and frankly totally forgetting about it, I never got around to it.

I'm guessing that might have been a common set of problems, as apparently the new spot wasn't as busy as it needed to be to keep on.

The current plan seems to be for some sort of event (and catering?) space, which sounds even less like a reliable revenue stream to me, but we will see how it works out.

You can read about it in The State here.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)

Crafty Crab was one of Columbia's influx of crab-themed restaurants over the past several years, and replaced Tin Lizzy's Cantina in this Vista storefont. The recent Google reviews are interesting and share several themes, possibly pointing to the ultimate fate of the place, though I don't see any media articles on the closing.

The strip itself is quite busy: There was too much traffic to park and get a good shot of the place.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

I ran across these pictures from 21 February 2010 showing the old two building City Market & Eccentricities Books.

Here is a link on the redevelopment of the buildings which are a restaurant and gourmet shop now.

As commenter Larry mentions, Liberty Tap Room is going through extensive renovations -- so extensive that in fact it will open as a new restaurant Taco Mundo Kitchen y Cantina. This is another place I never got to, though I think I may have been to the one in Myrtle Beach, which is still open as far as I can tell.

(Hat tip to commenter Larry)

I found these pictures from April & May of 2012 -- Pretty much no change since then...

Whit-Ash has been in this location since 1974, making them a Vista stalwart before there was a Vista.

According to WIS this location was once the Murray Drug Company, and you should look at their article as it has a very nice historical picture and ad for that establishment.

Before moving to this spot, several articles mention a (non-specific) site on Saint Andrews Road as the original location for the store, and commenter Midnight Rambler found a 1973 State article listing it as at Boardwalk Plaza, which, of course was Bush River Road.

The owners are retiring, and don't have a definite end date for the closing sale, with the current plan being to sell down to the last piece of furniture.

You can read about Whit-Ash on ColaDaily, WLTX and The Post & Courier as well as the WIS link above.

(Hat tip to commenter Tom)