Lunchtime at the Arcade: Downtown Columbia’s hidden gem, thriving in plain sight
Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, the Arcade Building at 1332 Main St. is the place to be. The air is doughy and warm, thanks to lunchtime staple Swanson’s Deli, and an energy pulses through the once open-air shopping plaza.
You’re more than likely to run into someone you know stopping in for a quick sandwich to go or to meet with other friends at one of the many tables set up in the center of the mall.
Your Swanson’s order is like a passcode that gets you into the hottest noontime club north of the State House.
Matt Kennell usually gets the Bob Special (a roast beef and turkey sub with melted Swiss and bacon bits). Kennell is CEO of the City Center Partnership, the organization that runs things on Main Street. He’s here on this day being interviewed about the progress the district has made over the last two decades.
It is a little loud at Swanson’s this day, so Kennell cranes forward slightly to explain how things are much different today than they were when he first got to town two decades ago.
“There just wasn’t much confidence in Columbia” at the time, he said. “There were a lot of people who were bad mouthing it. (There was) sort of a negative attitude.”
He’s seen the Main Street district blossom from a place where no one had built a new office in 15 years, to a district that could see its housing stock double in the next few.
Those changes have been intentional. He credits former mayors Bob Coble and Steve Benjamin with recruiting housing and activities to the corridor to make it more appealing. Benjamin lobbied for Soda City Market to move to Main Street, for example.
Over time, Main Street has become more of a weekend destination, which Kennell attributes in part to Soda City Market and more student housing downtown.
As Kennell explains this, it’s relevant to note that the building where he sits eating lunch still remains a largely weekday-only establishment.
The Arcade Mall is as prominent in Columbia history as many others. The more than century-old building was the city’s first shopping center, built in 1912 as an open-air plaza to mimic Italian designs.
The building was enclosed in 1970 and in 2016 underwent a significant historic restoration that co-owner Ron Swinson said reinvigorated the building. But despite its legacy, the mall seems to hide in plain sight.
“If you’re not familiar with it, it’s very easy to miss,” Swinson said.
The State readers nominated the mall as one of Columbia’s “hidden gems” in a poll conducted earlier this year. It’s not that the building isn’t distinct. The mall’s shape was meant to make the building stand out on Main Street, according to Historic Columbia. But it’s not always easy to tell what’s inside.
“I get phone calls from people trying to find the store,” said Ben Adams, owner of Odd Bird Books, located inside the mall, next door to Swanson’s.
The hidden gem moniker is somewhat in conflict with the popularity of Swanson’s Deli. Deli patron Richard Mounce, who enjoys lunch at the Arcade Mall often, said its location is key.
“It’s really central,” he said. Plus, “They’re fast (and have) good sandwiches.”
The deli is busy and, like many places, is struggling to hire for open positions. (As such, they couldn’t speak with The State for this article.) But when the deli is closed, the mall can be pretty quiet.
Adams can speak to this as the only shop in the mall open on Saturday and Sunday. He sells a curated selection of books from a 500-square-foot space he began renting in 2020 and admits things can be quiet when the other businesses are closed.
He doesn’t complain about foot traffic, but he doesn’t rely on it either.
“Bookstore customers are very deliberate,” explained Adams. “I think I could open this bookstore almost anywhere and I’d do about the same.”
Day-to-night on the horizon
Deliberate may be the best word to describe most of the shoppers inside the century-old shopping plaza.
Among the businesses occupying storefronts at the historic Arcade are a massage therapist, a tailor’s shop, a tattoo parlor and an art gallery. Several businesses are by-appointment only.
Even the big draw Swanson’s is only open between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Local bakery Ally & Eloise uses the Arcade Mall for a second location and to more easily stage its popular Soda City Market booth, said shop keeper Murielly Watson.
Watson agreed many of the bakery’s customers come to the mall for a specific business and then realize there’s much more there than they realized.
Building owner Swinson said the mall is doing well, but he does hope the early May arrival of the restaurant Takosushi in the Main Street-facing bays of the building will help spur more foot traffic and raise awareness for other retailers at the Arcade.
Takosushi will also be open for dinner and include a bar — which Swinson said is sure to help the building transition into a day-to-night establishment.
The mall’s historic restoration is also still ongoing, Swinson added, with minor improvements planned into the future.
Like Main Street before it, the Arcade is in a phase of renewal. It’s that endurance that’s kept it a local gem — hidden or otherwise — in the heart of the city.
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
