Popular Mexican restaurant chain closes Columbia-area location. Here’s where it’s moving
A well-known local Mexican restaurant chain has closed a location in a high-traffic area near Columbia and is moving operations to another location.
The San Jose Mexican restaurant at 5400 Forest Drive has closed, according to signage posted on the door there.
“This location will be closing on 03-10-24,” a sign on the door read at lunchtime Tuesday. “We are moving to 801 Sparkleberry Ln., Columbia, SC, 29229. Thank you for your business - San Jose.”
An opening date at Sparkleberry Lane hasn’t been publicly announced.
Workers were moving equipment and supplies out of the Forest Drive location on Tuesday when a reporter briefly stopped by.
The Forest Drive San Jose location was along a busy thoroughfare, with more than 28,000 cars per day traveling down the corridor, per state Department of Transportation stats.
There are more than a dozen San Jose Mexican restaurants in the Midlands area, according to a store locator tool on the company’s website. The restaurants are known for their traditional Mexican fare, including tacos, burritos, nachos, fajitas, margaritas and more.
San Jose has continued to expand and make moves in the Midlands. In December it opened a new location on the banks of Lake Murray, at 3340 Highway 378 in Leesville.
The site at 801 Sparkleberry Lane was previously home to a San Jose, but that location has been listed as “temporarily closed” on Google for some time. It suffered an extensive kitchen fire in May 2022, per published reports.
