We bid farewell to these Columbia restaurants in 2019
The Columbia area saw a steady churn of business throughout 2019, with dozens of new restaurant openings and a string of closings, as well.
Pour one out for restaurants we said goodbye to this year:
Rosso Trattoria: Closed in February. Trenholm Plaza lost an upscale eatery loved by many in Forest Acres for 10 years.
Tin Lizzy’s Cantina: Closed in February. Down one Tex-Mex joint, the Vista still suffers no taco shortage.
116 Espresso and Wine Bar: Closed in March. West Columbia’s State Street bid adieu to a brunch and dinner gem when owner-chef Ryan Whittaker sold his 10-year-old restaurant to focus on spending time with his family. A new owner has erected a sign on the building, but the new business plans are still unknown.
Al-Amir: Closed in March. Main Street’s loss turned out to be North Main’s gain. After closing his restaurant in the 1700 block of Main Street, owner Mohammed Saadedden returned to business with the new Noma Bistro by Al-Amir in the 2400 block, near the Cottontown, Earlewood and Elmwood Park neighborhoods.
Local Yocal: Closed in March. The bodega-ish restaurant and shop survived only about six months on Main Street across from the county courthouse. A new arcade-bar combo plans to open soon in that space.
Newk’s Eatery: Closed in March. The casual dining chain lasted about three years in the Vista.
Blue Cactus: Closed in May. Famous for its deliciously odd Korean-Tex Mex fusion menu and its, ahem, “arrogantly slow” service, this 25-year-old Five Points fixture closed for family-related reasons.
Kraken Gastropub: Closed in July. In 2017, the Rosewood bar and restaurant took a six-month hiatus before reopening with new food specials. About 18 months later, it closed for good.
Casual Pint: Closed in November. While the taps have run dry at this craft brew bar in the Vista, there remains a Lexington location at 217 Saluda Springs Road.
Nonnah’s: Closed in November. For 23 years, the Gervais Street restaurant served some of the finest desserts in town.
TakoSushi: Closed in November. The Vista restaurant said on its website it closed because of “severely deteriorating conditions of the building,” but the building owner disputed that it was unsafe. The restaurant’s online closing announcement said it planned to relocate.
Rush’s on Decker Boulevard: Closed in November. Columbia’s homegrown fast food restaurant closed its second-oldest location because of building maintenance issues, the company’s president said. There are nine other Rush’s locations in the Midlands.
Flying Saucer: Closed in December. Sixteen years of beerknurds and pint nights came to an end in the Vista.
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy we report on business openings and closings
The restaurants, stores and other businesses that come and go in our communities have a direct effect on our everyday lives. Where you’ll take your family for dinner tonight or why your neighbor closed down the family shop — these are conversations you have all the time with one another, and The State newspaper strives to cover the things you talk about and care about.
Reporters at The State regularly drive and walk through local neighborhoods and retail centers to notice openings and closings, check public documents for hints about business moves and — most importantly — talk to our friends and neighbors about what they see, hear and wonder about in the community. Feel free to reach out to our reporters anytime to tell us what you know or ask us what you want to know about local businesses.
