Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Commenter Andrew mentioned back in 2016 that this Kleen Kare location had closing signage up, but I totally spaced on checking it out, and completely forgot about it until commenter Gypsie mentioned that the building was actually For Sale.

Kleen Kare is on an outparcel of Seven Oaks Shopping Center, not far from two other outparcels (here & here) which have also seen business shut semi-recently.

(Belated hat-tip to commenter Andrew, recent tip to commenter Gypsie)

Aside from the Hungry Howie's in Myrtle Beach, this is the only other location for the chain that I was aware of. I'm not much for take-out, and of course it's all the way out in Irmo, so I never tried a Hungry Howe's pizza. Just from the web-site, it sounds like it could be pretty good: several of those crust flavors sound promising.

I am a little fuzzy on the details, and can't find anything online right now, but this location first came to my attention several years ago when the news broke that it had been sold to a rival chain. I don't know what happened, but obviously that deal never came to fruition, and operations continued for many years after that, until mid-September of this year, when it closed for repairs, a state which officially morphed into a permanent closure recently as reported on their Facebook page.

I notice that the store is not listed on the Quail Valley marquee. That seems pretty quick -- I wonder if it were ever there.

(Hat tips to commenters Heath, Andrew & Tom)

The ATM on this site was rather odd, in that it was a walk-up ATM not associated with a branch bank, like a survival from another era. The only other one like it that I can think of is on Greystone Boulevard.

I'm not sure what the fencing around the site signifies. Perhaps they plan to replace it with a more conventional drive-up machine. At any rate, I think the current next closest location is the drive-up beside the former branch below Tram Road.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

Here's a self-service car wash adjacent to Seven Oaks Shopping Center which appears to be defunct. The name may be Seven Oaks Car Wash, Inc., or it may not.

I don't know much about Mikino's -- I believe the only place I've eaten at Seven Oaks Shopping Center is Zorba's, but it seems to have gotten good reviews.

Commenter Heath noted it was closed, and commenter Gypsie found a Facebook page to the effect that it was permanent.

(Hat tip to commenter Heath)

For a long time, it was not clear if this restaurant was closing or not. I believe they were trying to direct traffic to their other location, in the old Ruby Tuesday building at Dutch Square, but were keeping this one, in a former Wendy's, open too for a while.

In the event, it is now definitely closed, and for sale, and you should head to Bush River Road for your down-home fix.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie & co)

UPDATE 9 October 2023 -- The place has been leased:

Irmo's Blue Flour Bakery will be closing this Friday after 17 years so that the owner can retire and spend time with family. Although I rarely drive this stretch of Saint Andrews Road and was unaware of them, the story in The State makes me sad I missed out on some very good looking cookies.

Here is the announcement on Instagram, and the bakery's Facebook and web site are here and here.

The last days are this Thursday & Friday, 11 & 12 May from 11am through 1pm.

The closing for the former Main Street location is here.

(Hat tip to commener Mitchh)

Longtime Seven Oaks stalwart, St Andrews Seafood Market is currently closed. Unfortunately the owner has been having some health issues, but, judging by the posted signs, is thankfully doing better now. Nonetheless, she is taking the opportunity to retire, and the business is up for sale.

So, if you're feeling pescatory, you might want to reel in this catch.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

I don't know much about this vet operation other than, judging by the Google reviews, it seems to have closed around 2020 and is right next door to the former Liberty Tax. I also am a bit surprised to find the Seven Oaks name this far towards I-26. I generally think of Seven Oaks as starting below Tram, but then I didn't grow up in the area and didn't really know the name until recent years.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

I drove right by this place the other day when I was looking for it, because I forgot to write down the address, and I thought a vacant used car lot would be pretty easy to find. In fact I must have driven by hundreds of times while it was in business, and never noticed it. I can't find a standard review site but reviews on some of the smaller sites lead me to believe they were in business at least until fall of 2022.

At any rate it is good to see that the building is still being watched over.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)