Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I wrote in 2016 about the closing of Island Cinema 7 in Fernandina Beach. Somewhat to my surprise, instead of staying vacant, or becoming a dollar cinema, B&B Theaters moved into the spot and the Island once again had a first-run movie theater.

I saw several films there under the new regime, and it was pretty nice. I know I saw one there in December of 2021, but I am currently unable to remember what it was, which is too bad, as it will be the last.

The Fernandina News Leader reports that the theaters closed on 27 January 2021, a little more than a month after I was there last. Apparently the spece is to become doctors' offices, though I saw no signs of that upfit during my visit in May 2022.

As before, the closest theater is now on A1A coming into the Island from Yulee.

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I wonder if Barberitos is struggling? As I noted here and here, both Midlands locations of the chain closed some time ago. Personally I liked this Fernandina Beach location better than either of those as it had ground beef as a topping which for some odd reason the SC locations did not (ground turkey is *not* the same thing). My only issue here (as with all locations) is that the chips were so fragile you couldn't really dip with them.

There was also a location a bit further up A1A towards Yulee FL, which also seems to have vanished in the same time-frame as this one. My guess is they were the same franchaise, which according to some google reviews was new ownership after the initial pandemic closure.

I have put 1519 for the street address here as both google & yelp agree on it and it is on the front door. However the actual number painted on the glass on the west side is 1515 for some reason, as you can see.

During my Fourth of July visit to Fernandina Beach, I noticed that the historic Crab Trap restaurant on
Second Street was closed and gutted. We never ate there growing up, as my parents knew it was a fight to get me into a seafood restaurant, but as an adult I always meant to go someday have have the key-lime pie, probably with a burger up front.

I'm not sure when they closed, but looking around google & yelp & co, it appears that the last specific reviews are towards the end of 2020. I believe I would have noticed if it had been closed during my December visit, so I'm going to guess early 2021 as the date.

Their facebook page has announced they will be re-opening, and the way it is phrased sounds like it wasn't a sure thing. I'm still not sure it's a sure thing, as the place looks somewhat gutted, and nowhere near ready. We will see. I hope they make it.

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Back again.

Always nice to head somewhere warm during the Winter months. When your blood is getting too thin for South Carolina, you know you're getting old..

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I'm not sure where the movie theater was originally in Fernandina. I know there was one, at least since the 1920s. My father told me that one of his tasks as a child was to accompany the old lady who was the theater organist to the theater for special early showings so she could see the movie and work out what she was going to play. (I'm not sure what function he performed exactly, or why this would have been a task given to a ten year old). One of the movies he always remembered with disappointment was 1925's "The Phantom Of The Opera" with Lon Cheney in the title role. Disappointment because about 20 minutes into the showing, the organist stood up and said "I've seen enough", and he never got to see the ending, something he regretted for 70 years, although I finally was able to get him a VHS of it in the 1990s if I recall correctly.

For most of my life, or at least for as long as I can recall seeing movies in Fernandina, the movie theater in town was on 14th Street near the new hospital. I know I saw probably at least a dozen movies there over the years, but for some reason the only one that I can specifically recall was a re-release of A Christmas Story with Ralphie shooting his eye out..

On my recent Star Wars pilgrimage, I was surprised and saddened to see the 14th Street theater closed. I found out later that there as a new multiplex out on A1A, complete with BigD large format screen. It appears that both theaters are Carmike properties and that there was an orderly transition, including staff retention from the closing of the old theater and the opening of the new one.

Here's the new complex, in the A1A strip next to the Winn-Dixie:

UPDATE 2 March 2016: My sister has clarified my opening anecdote somewhat. She informs me that one of my father's older brothers worked for the theater and would run the advance screenings for the music lady. He let my father sit in on those screenings, so it was the older brother's job to help out the music lady, not my father's.