Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I am a little surprised that this storefront has a Bush River Road address, as it clearly fronts onto Colonial Life Boulevard, and is quite removed from the part of this strip mall which does face Bush River (though that part doesn't have a turn-in from Bush River either). Anyway, that aside, I'm afraid I never visited this Blimpie, and can't recall visiting any Blimpie. I certainly like sandwiches, but to me Dagwood's in Surfside is the gold standard here, and it's more table service than fast food.

(Hat tip to commenter Barbara)

I hadn't checked in on Colonial Village on Colonial LIfe Boulevard for a while, and driving through the other day noticed a spa storefront I don't recall seeing before.

I am unfamiliar with this type of salt spa, but apparently it is helpful with breathing issues. In late 2016, they moved to 817 Moss Creek Drive in Cayce, and you can check out their web site and Facebook page for details.

Furniture stores are generally kind of invisible to be, so I'm not sure exactly how long Havertys has been across from Dutch Square, but cerainly for decades. Now, like everything else, it is moving to Harbison.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

UPDATE 21 March 2018 -- The Harbision location is now open:

Well, I noticed driving down Colonial Life Boulevard the other day that Nutrition Warehouse has moved again.

I had mentioned some time ago that they had moved from one side of Boozer Shopping Center to the other, but now they have moved out of that strip entirely and across Bush River Road to the old Sounds Familiar location at 422 Bush River Road #4 (this lot actually fronts onto Colonial Life Boulevard, but that is not the official address):

I admit I'm not a big supplement customer, but I have shipped a number of items at the Forest Drive location, and their contract Post Office is quite efficient.

I have to admit I was not really aware of The Village Gourmet, but according to the nice little note currently still on their web site, the place had been there over 17 years. I have to say the lunch menu looks quite good, and I wouldn't have minded trying a grilled four cheese croissant at all!

It looks as though another eatery is already setting up shop in the space, Spork Food And Beverage Cafe.

(Hat tip to commenter Jason)

Fashion's Unlimited was the follow-on operation in this building to S & K Menswear. I had noticed it several times driving through the area, but had never managed to get pictures to update the S & K post until quite recently.

When I posted them, commenter Andrew mentioned that he thought Fashion's Unlimited was already itself gone despite the prominent "Now Open" banner, so next time I was in the area, I stopped to make a closer check.

According to the door sign, it turns out that Fashion's Unlimited has moved into Dutch Square and that this building is now on the market again. Given the length of time that the old Sounds Familiar storefront has stayed vacant, I don't expect any quick turnaround.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

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All I know about Curves is that it is a franchaised gym for women. I do rather like the idea the name suggests: that being fit isn't the same thing as being a bony stick.

Colonial Village, the little strip across from Dutch Square on the way to I-126, has never really seemed to thrive. To me it seems like it should be a good location, but the only thing of note that has lasted over there is The Melting Pot.

While the Queenstown name rather intrigued me, with its New Zealand connection, everything I ever heard about the place led me to believe that it was way too seafood for me. I do seem to remember it getting rather good reviews though, and thus was a little surprised when I drove by a week or two ago and noticed that it was gone. Judging from their sign, the new operation Mayflower Bistro (just given as Mayflower in the phonebook) also seems seafood heavy for my tastes.

Before Queenstown this spot was Fatz Cafe ("Our secret sauce? Mayonaise!") a totally generic or worse place that I have never been able to warm up to despite its SC origins.

This little strip mall, Colonial Villiage across Bush River Road from Dutch Square and on the access road (Colonial Life Boulevard [which used to have a different name, I think]) for I-126 has never really seemed to thrive with about the only constant being the stalwart Melting Pot fondue restaurant.

UPDATE 20 July 2011: Added Garfield's to the post title based on the comments.

UPDATE 31 August 2020: Update tags, add map icon.

I already wrote about the S & K closing at the Two Notch Road store, so I don't have a lot to say about the Bush River Road closing. I'm still happy with the belt I got at the other store and didn't need to go inside this location, which is good as it was late Sunday and closed anyway.

I will say that if I were going too keep one Columbia store and close the other, I would keep Two Notch and close this one based solely on parking and ease of access. This little strip (which also contains a closed Sounds Familar location) is at the corner of Bush River Road and Colonial Life Boulevard. There is no parking on the Bush River side, and it's not great on the Colonial Life side. Of course, they are closing both stores so the point is moot.

UPDATE 4 June 2012 -- It's now Fashion's Unlimited: