Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Commenter Andrew point to this ColaDaily article about the closing of the Village Artists gallery in Sandhill.

Apparently the site had been open since 2009 and had the use of their space at no charge as long as no paying customer needed it (an instance where the general situation at Sandhill was actually a plus). In the event, somebody finally did want to rent the space for expansion, so the gallery had to close.

I had noticed the place a number of times over the years, generally when I was going to Atlanta Bread Company/Panera, but for one reason or another never actually went inside.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

As reported by commenter Russell, this former AT&T location in Sandhill is to become a Substation II, the signage for which is already up. ColaDaily has the story.

(Hat tip to commenter Russell)

UPDATE 5 May 2022: Added Cingular to the post title.

Apprently this move took place sometime around June of 2020, but I never noticed it until quite recently. Rice Music House moved from their old Devine Street location to near the traffic circle at Sandhill in 2012, and have now moved an additional block or so to 486 Town Center Place, Suite 1.

As you can see above, as of yet there is nothing in the storefront they vacated.

Anyone know what is going on with Lowes Foods at Sandhill? They are apparently having a two day closure this week for some reason. The store has only been open a few months, it seems kind of early for a remodel.

I can't find out anything about this Sandhill Stride Rite shoe location except that it is no longer listed on the company's website, although I did learn that Sperry is a Stride Rite brand, which I had not known before.

Since I can find no other information, I'm going to list the closing date as 2020 under the assumption they might have been victims of the lockdowns.

I can't find anything in the local media about this Jos A. Banks location in Sandhill, but going by the google reviews, it closed sometime around August of 2020. The chain has had some difficulty lately, but the parent company, which also owns Mens Warehouse has Just exited Chapter 11, so perhaps things are on the upswing.

There are two remaining Banks in the Midlands, one in Harbison, and one at Trenholm Plaza.

My Gym was on a Sandhill endcap, on the Lowes wing. The last review I can find for them is about a year ago, so I am pretty sure this is another business closing we can chalk up to COVID-19.

This is the same suite that was originally home to The Grilled Cheese Company.

For some reason, I thought I had already done a closing for Justice, but I don't see it, and none of the facts I just googled seem familiar, so I guess not!

Anyway, Justice was a tween girl brand with a bit of a complicated history. It was started by The Limited as Limited Too, and was then bought by Dress Barn. Ascena Retail Group, the follow-on name for Dress Barn after a reorg, went bankrupt in 2020, and this affected Catherines stores, some Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor Factory and Justice stores.

The Justice brand was then bought by Bluestar Alliance LLC but the final stores closed on 17 December 2020. The brand now seems to be owned by Justice Brand Holdings LLC, but the web site simply says to "Stay tuned" for future developments..

When commenter Sidney tipped that this store was closing on the 19th, I thought I would have the whole day to get out there and get some inside pictures. In the event, I think they closed for good at 5, and I got there around 6. I have to say that just from what I can see through the doors, it does not look as picked-over as I expected.

This store was part of the initial troubles faced by Sandhill, as the chain went bankrupt during the great recession, along with another Sandhill anchor (Sofa Express iirc) leaving the shopping center hurting for rent income. Bi-Lo eventually came out of bankruptcy, though it certainly has not had smooth sailing since then. I have forgotten all the details about who bought whom for all the Bi-Lo locations , but the plan is for this one to become a Lowes Foods.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 14 October 2020 -- That was fast! This place is now open as a Lowes:

Apparently we have another COVID-19 casualty here. New York & Company announced on 28 July 2020 that:

store closing sales have begun at all New York & Company retail locations across the United States. The firms are conducting liquidation sales across approximately 380 store locations in connection with the recent bankruptcy filing of New York & Company's parent company, RTW Retailwinds, Inc. ("RTW").

New York & Company is a specialty women's fashion retailer which offers modern, multi-functional wear-to-work apparel at affordable prices. As part of the sale, customers can expect initial discounts of up to 60% off original prices for all in-store merchandise including women's clothing, accessories and shoes.

USA Today provides a bit more detail:

"The combined effects of a challenging retail environment coupled with the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have caused significant financial distress on our business, and we expect it to continue to do so in the future," Sheamus Toal, RTW Retailwinds CEO and chief financial officer, said in the release.

So, things weren't great before the plague, but that was the tipping point.

Frankly, I was not aware this store, or the chain, existed, so I can say very little else about it. It is definitely another hit on Sandhill, which really does not need any more problems.