Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Kandy Shop was an alternative club in the Margarette H. Miller Cosmetology Center which apparently only lasted a couple of months. As I was driving by recently, I noticed that it was gone, and now the venue is another night operation Club 1509.

The Weekend seems to have been a dinner & dance club in this Spring Valley area strip mall best known for Big Lots. You can see some google photos of it in operation here.

Based on the vague "a year ago" dates on the google reviews, I'll say it closed in early 2021. According to the window signage, the next tenant is to be an even venue probably called Suite Sixty.

(Hat tip to commenter Dan R)

UPDATE 22 February 2022 -- The Suite Sixty signage is up:

Sometimes I lose track of all the names a storefront in Five Points has had, and whether I have done a closing on it, but it appears I have never done one for any incarnation of 711 Harden Street.

Cover 3 was another one of the local bars caught up in the rule tightening last year, and decided to close when their permit ran out on 31 August rather than continue to contest the new restrictions. The Post & Courier has the story, along with a nice photo of Cover 3 in full operation. The State has basically the same story.

I note that the place has now been vacant for over a year, which to me argues that the city has allowed itself to be shot in the foot. Of course, once the pandemic hit, probably it was going to remain vacant for a while in any event.

UPDATE 8 February 2022 -- The State reports this is to be Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint and will open on 21 February 2022.

This old Hardee's building has had a number of incarnations over the years. I apparently totally missed the Top Shelf Tavern phase which commenter Andrew pointed out in the Hardee's comments, but now the follow-on operation to that, Home Team Tavern is also gone and the place back on the market.

Judging by the Facebook Page, they were still doing events on 15 February 2020, so I'm marking the closing as "Mid February".

UPDATE 15 September 2020 -- As mentioned in the comments, this place is working to open as Amora Sports Bar & Grill:

I don't know much about the Freebird Lounge other than it occupied a very distinctive building on the east side of US-17 south of the Sampit river bridge in Georgetown. I would often note it as I drove to Charleston. In the years when the signage was still up, there always seemed to be a table lamp visible through an upstairs window at night.

The lounge has been closed for some years -- I'm going to say since sometime in the 90s, and I noticed last year that the building itself was for sale. I haven't driven that way in a while, so I can't say what the current status is.

I have not been able to get over here during the daytime with time to stop, but here are some night shots of the former Ozzie's on the Charleston Highway near the former Kmart.

Judging by the google reviews, it was a country sports-bar with live music. The most recent reviews are tagged, rather vaguely, 3 Months Ago, but it was reported here on 12 December 2019, so I am just calling the closing "November 2019".

To me it looks as though it might have been a restaurant at one time, and commenter badger60 suggests it was another club, called Crockett's back in the 80s.

(Hat tip to commenter badger60).

I don't know anything about The Roc other than that it is across from Columbia Mall, has not been open that I can remember, and hosted poetry open-mike nights in 2014.

Presumably there were reggae acts there, but if so, they don't seem to have left any google traces.

UPDATE 7 February 2020: Added Robbie's Pool Hall to the post title based on the comments.

UPDATE 17 September 2021 -- Here are some more pictures of the property:

When I did the closing for Latino's Bar & Grill in this location, it appeared they were setting up to open as an urban club Nuvo Rest.Bar. However, I don't think that ever actually happened. I could be wrong, of course, but I drive this stretch of Percival at least several times a month, and I don't recall ever seeing the building lit up under that name.

At any rate, they are now definitely open as Main Event Sports Bar.

UPDATE 28 March 2019: Add map icon.

Taps was for sale a couple of years ago, and I took a picture then in anticipation that I might need it, but of course now that they actually have closed, I can't find it. If you google "taps bar columbia" it will point you to a nice google streetview picture..

At any rate, this little bar was tucked in next to the Big Lots plaza on Two Notch behind Dunkin Donuts and when I was at Big Lots the other day, I noticed that it had been reflagged as R & B Bar & Grill which is rather more '&'s than usual.

The last review I see is from 10 August 2016, so I'm putting the closing as "Summer 2016".

Wet Willie's on Gervais has been mentioned in the comments lately, so I decided to swing by there after leaving Mellow Mushroom this evening to see what the state of the place is.

As reported, it is in fact closed, but the door sign leaves some hope that it may be back by 1 March 2016 after "sprucing up", although the web site given on the sign does not, in fact, have any relevant information that I can see.

I really like that building, by the way..

(Hat tip to commenter Dustin)

UPDATE 8 February 2018 -- The place did reopen some time ago:

UPDATE 9 January 2023: Well, after re-opening as described above, this location has now decided not to renew their lease as reported on their Facebook. The timing seems a bit odd, as I would have expected the lease to run to the end of the month, but perhaps they want some time to get their stuff out of there.

WLTX also has the story.

I'll get some new pictures soon, but in the meantime here is a 2010 vintage one I don't believe I have posted before:

Also, as long as I'm updating this, I'll edit the tags and add a map icon.

(Hat tips to commenters Jimmy, Gypsie & Heath)

UPDATE 3 February -- The building with the signage down: