Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I took these pictures in mid-May of 2024 and kept meaning to get back out to Red Bank to see that they had closed and what was there now, but in the event I go there so rarely I completely forgot about it. According to commenter Jimmy, they were scheduled to close in May (presumably at the end), and Google confirms that they are now gone.

(Hat tip to commenter Jimmy)

I don't see any information online about this closing, but given that they have been in business since 1980, I suspect retirement is a factor here.

I like the lions!

For now, the webpage is still up.

(Hat tip to commenter george011210)

I was not really aware of La Cazeula, driving that section of road very infrequently, though I must have seen it a number of times.

It appears to have been a largely lunch oriented buffet operation, which will be replaced by another Mexican restaurant soon.

(Hat tip to commenter Matthew Benjamin)

I think given the complementary signage, these two storefronts on Platt Springs Road, next to the final location of Taco Cid, were clearly under the same ownership and probably run together. I can't find out much other information, but the last google reviews suggest they closed about this time last year.

This storefront is known to Google as Steve's Deli of WeCo for some reason or other, and appears to have been in business as recently as a month ago.

I don't believe I've ever had a Steve's sub, though there have been several around town for years. Jimmy Johns is my go-to, although Subway is OK. I probably ought to try one sometime, zooming in on the menu shows an All Cheese, which with Add bacon is a good place to start.

(Hat tip to Mr. Hat)

This sort of gas station, with no convenience store, and kind of isolated restrooms seems to be on the way out nowdays. For a customer it has the advantage of easy access to pay, but from the store side, there's none of the goods where they really make their money. The corner seems like a good location for *something*, so we'll see what happens.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

Here's another consequence of the Bi-Lo/Food Lion deal: The Food Lion on Platt Springs road has vacated its original location and has moved into the old Bi-Lo site on Emanuel Church Road. As of yet, there is nothing in the building.

UPDATE 10 May 2021 -- Here is the relocated store in its new location at 2916 Emanuel Church Road:

As mentioned by commenter Zach, Paul's Barber Shop in the strip at the corner of Lexington Drive & Platt Springs Road has moved. The new locaiton is 2361 Augusta Hwy Suite E, Lexington, SC 29072.

I mostly know Airport Tec Plaza as the final resting place for Taco Cid.

(Hat tip to commenter Zach)

Well, this seems to be the end of local fast Mexican stalwart, Taco Cid. This is a chain that once had a presence as far abroad as both Greenvilles, though it was recently down to one, non-custom-built, storefront location near the airport (having moved from the Charleston Highway in the summer of 2014).

I used to frequent the Decker location from time to time as part of a pre-roadtrip ritual, and thought it was pretty decent. In recent years, the chain has gotten some negative publicity over an edgy ad campaign, and some people have said here that they also lost their longtime sauce recipe to a change in food service vendors.

At any rate, while a sign inside the closed Platt Spring Road location offers some hope for the future, it appears that at this time, the Taco Cid website is down and the Taco Cid Facebook page has been closed.

For now, you can see the final cached version of that facebook page, announcing the closing, here.

(Hat tip to commenter Kc)

UPDATE 30 August 2022: Updating tags, adding map icon.

UPDATE 8 June 2023 -- Now Taqueria La Poblanta:

I have been holding off doing a closing on the Family Dollar on Platt Springs Road because I wanted to get back out there and get some inside pictures before it closed, but for one reason or another, I never did, and it looks iffy at this point, if they are in fact still open.

This closing was announced before the recent big list of Family Dollar store shutterings. I was kind of surprised at that announcement because before that, they had seemed to be a chain on the move, and recently opened a new store on Two Notch. But the same thing happened to Fred's recently -- apparently the smaller discount store market is pretty cut-throat.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)