From local bars to big chains, here’s a look at places that closed in the Midlands in 2024
All things end. Even in business.
The retail and restaurant scene in the Midlands area always ebbs and flows, with new businesses coming along and others exiting the stage. Things were no different in 2024 in that regard.
What follows is a look at many of the restaurants, bars, stores and other retail businesses that closed in the Midlands in 2024. To be sure, this is not an exhaustive, comprehensive list of every single business that closed. Rather, it is a sampling of the closings that The State wrote about in the last 12 months.
The year began with a seismic closing on the Columbia dining scene, when Rockaway Athletic Club on Rosewood Drive closed in January. The bar and grilll, which famously had no sign out front, had been open since 1982. It was famed for its pimento cheeseburgers.
Sorry, salad lovers. Verde, which specializes in salads and wraps, closed its doors on Dec. 15. It was located in Trenholm Plaza in Forest Acres.
After 29 years at 900 Main St. in downtown Columbia, Hunter-Gatherer Brewery & Ale House was scheduled to close Dec. 28. The Hunter-Gatherer Hangar location remains open.
Barrio Tacos + Tequila shuttered its location at 4420 Devine St. in Columbia in December. It had only been open since February. The Barrio location in Lexington remains open.
A fresh Mex offering in the Harbison area bowed out in November when Uberrito at 275 Park Terrace Drive closed. It had been open since 2021. An Asian restaurant called Bibimbox is slated to open in the space in 2025.
Bart’s Crazy Good Coffee closed its shop at 7949 Broad River Road in Irmo. Meanwhile, the Bart’s location at 1311 Dutch Fork Road in the Ballentine area remains open.
A longtime restaurant with vegan dishes bid farewell in October when Good Life Cafe, which was located on Columbia’s Main Street for a number of years and later moved to Taylor Street, closed its doors.
There’s one less bank in downtown Columbia. In October the Wells Fargo branch at 1441 Main St. closed. The company directed customers to the branch at 930 Assembly St.
Angell Bros. 1801 Grille, located in the 700 Lincoln development near the University of South Carolina’s Colonial Life Arena, closed in September. The university replaced it with a new restaurant, The Golden Spur, which opened in December.
Pour one out for those Cheddar Bay biscuits: The Red Lobster at 1270 Knox Abbott Drive in Cayce closed in August. There is one remaining Red Lobster in the Columbia area, on Two Notch Road.
So long, dipped cones and chicken salad sandwiches. The city of Forest Acres announced in December that the Zesto on Forest Drive was set to close its doors before the end of the year. Meanwhile, the Chapin Zesto location closed in May after 18 years. The Zesto locations in West Columbia and on North Main Street in Columbia remain open.
The final pin fell for JC’s Lexington Bowl in July. The bowling alley had been located at 5380 Augusta Road in Lexington since 1989.
The Hooters restaurant at 7711 Two Notch Road in Columbia closed in June. It was long known for, among other things, its chicken wings.
Poogan’s Southern Kitchen closed the doors on its Cardinal Crossing location in Forest Acres in May. “We want to express our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for your patronage and support since our opening in 2022,” the company said at the time. “Your presence has made our journey truly special.”
For nearly two years, the Rush’s location at 5101 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington had been listed as temporarily closed. That designation changed in May, when the company threw in the towel and said the location would be permanently closed. A number of Rush’s locations across the Midlands remain open.
Mourn those chicken and dumplings: The Cracker Barrel at 253 Forum Drive, near the Village at Sandhill in northeast Columbia, closed for good in April. Three other Midlands Cracker Barrels remain open.
Carolina Keto Cakes bakery shuttered in March. It was located at 255-B Charter Oak Road in Lexington, north of Lexington High School.
A bar and grill in the Irmo area closed up shop in March. Social Grill was located at 1002 AJ Amick Road for about 10 years. It had been known for sandwiches, seafood, burgers and more.
A Midlands restaurant known for its Southern country cooking closed after nearly a half-century. Compton’s Kitchen, located at 1118 B Ave. in the Triangle City area of West Columbia, shuttered in February after 47 years.
DeLoache Flowers and Branham Florist Supply, which had been in business for nearly 80 years, closed its doors in February. It was located at 2927 Millwood Ave. in Columbia. “It’s just time,” co-owner Jackie Branham said at the time. “We’ve been in business over 70 years. We are ready to retire. ... There’s a season for everything.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2024 at 9:52 AM.
