A national Christian bookstore plans to close a Midlands location. What we know
A national Christian bookstore plans to close a location along a busy road in the Midlands.
Mardel Christian & Education is closing at 2305-A Augusta Road in West Columbia, according to signage in the doors and windows at the location. The faith-based bookstore and gift shop, which has been open in West Columbia since 2019, is next door to Hobby Lobby in a large shopping center that also includes a Harbor Freight store and a number of other shops.
“Store closing, everything must go!” read posters in the windows at the Augusta Road Mardel store as of Thursday morning. “Our West Columbia location is transitioning to online only. We look forward to continuing to serve you at mardel.com.”
A poster on the door as of Thursday touted discounts up to 90% off. Many of the shelves inside the store now sit empty, though there are still some aisles lined with merchandise. An exact closing date for the West Columbia store hasn’t been publicly announced.
There are a few dozen Mardel stores in states across the nation, according to a location tool on the company’s website. The West Columbia store is the only one in South Carolina. The stores are known for offering Bibles, books, gifts, movies and other faith-based material.
The Augusta Road corridor in West Columbia remains a high-traffic commercial corridor lined with stores, restaurants and other businesses. More than 36,000 cars per day travel down the section of Augusta Road east of Interstate 26, per state Department of Transportation data.
