Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

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)

Shopping center St Andrews Center (the former Clusters of Whitehall) suffered a fire during the night of 16 January 2023. I have not seen any update on the cause, but the initial reports were fairly sketchy. Here is one from The State with a picture of the blaze in progress.

Looking at the buildings on 21 January, it appeared to me that the damage was mostly confined to the west building, on the side that fronts Bush River Road. Basically that comes down to two businesses, a night club, Sugar Daddy's Jazz Cafe / Red Beans & Rize Jazz Cafe and a hair salon, Hair Power. The next storefront away from those two is a church, which was reported by commenter Gypsie as planning to go ahead with their next service as scheduled.

(Hat tip to commenter Homer)

UPDATE 8 February 2023 -- It looks like the smoke damage to the church was worse than they thought at first, and they are currently meeting at another location:

Well, here's another bank branch closure. This one is at the corner of Saint Andrews Road and Old Bush River Road in Irmo. The real estate listing is here.

About the only other thing I know about it is that it was robbed in early 2018.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

I've noticed this mid-century ranch house in Seven Oaks a number of times over the last year or so, but saw lately that there was a for-sale sign on the property. From what I can tell, Drigger's Photography has moved, or perhaps gone to a primarily online presence.

Given the location I would not be at all surprised to see this place razed after it sells with some sort of professional building going in, but time will tell.

UPDATE 20 October 2022 -- As mentioned in the comments, this is now Modern Roofing:

Buildings of this distinctive pattern were built as Russell & Jeffcoat locations, with Coldwell Banker acquiring the properties when they bought the firm in 2016 after the passing of founder Bob Russell. Since then, there have been a number of closings and consolidations of the offices, and this Saint Andrews Road building is currently vacant.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

Driving Old Bush River Road between Saint Andrews Road and North Lake Drive, I noticed that the train tracks which used to cross the road between Kiawah & Bilton are now gone. My surmise is that this has something to do with the changeover in Lake Murray operations from SCE&G to Dominion since the old tracks seem to go to a big facility, but that's a total guess.

UPDATE 14 June 2022 -- As mentioned by commenter Homer, here is the other end of this rail spur, also now taken up, which used to cross Saint Andrews Road near C&J Automotive:

Also adding "Railroad Crossing" to the post title as that seems more descriptive than "Train Tracks". Adding "Saint Andrews Road" as well.

C & J Automotive is nestled on a narrow strip of land in between the train tracks and Saint Andrews Road in the Seven Oaks section of Irmo. It is not too far past Sno Biz.

It appears to me that the lot remains in business while they are looking for a buyer, so I am just putting an indifinite "2022" as the closing date.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)