Decker fires were set on purpose at prominent developers’ vacant Columbia sites
Back-to-back fires earlier this month at long-empty Decker Boulevard buildings tied to a prominent Columbia developer were set on purpose, the Richland County Fire Marshal’s Office has found. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is now investigating.
Fires were deliberately set June 9 at the former Olive Garden at 2551 Decker Blvd., and June 10 at the former Red Lobster at 2601 Decker Blvd., buildings immediately next to each other whose ownership is directly tied to prominent local developer Alan Kahn and his associates.
Richland County officials confirmed to The State that the Fire Marshal’s Office determined both fires were “incendiary.” That means arson, the Sheriff’s Department confirmed.
The investigation remained open and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday morning, Richland County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Bryce Hughes confirmed to The State.
The restaurant buildings have been empty since the mid-2000s and are visibly dilapidated, with chipping paint, overgrown landscaping and dingy roofs and windows. At the Red Lobster, the doors and windows have been boarded over.
It’s not yet clear what plans, if any, Kahn or his associates have for the Decker Boulevard properties, nor why the properties have been left empty for so long. The State attempted to reach Kahn on Tuesday but did not receive a response before publication.
Three fire calls in four days
The Columbia-Richland Fire Department responded to three fire calls in four days at the two side-by-side properties earlier this month. Around 9:30 p.m. June 9, fire crews found flames spreading through the inside of the former Olive Garden restaurant.
The next night, fire crews returned to the location around 8:30 p.m. for another blaze immediately next door at the vacant former Red Lobster, finding flames bursting through the windows, according to the fire department.
Then, two nights later, crews were called back out to the former Red Lobster to put out a third fire, which the department said it believes was a rekindled blaze from the Wednesday fire. The fires were contained and no injuries were reported.
Decker Boulevard exists on a roughly two-mile stretch between Two Notch Road and Interstate 77. It is Richland County’s “International Corridor,” known for its cultural diversity and wide variety of international shops and restaurants. But vacant properties have been a persistent problem.
Khan is a prominent developer with leadership ties to M.B. Kahn and Kahn Development Company, two entities that have been involved in major local projects, including developing the Village at Sandhill in northeast Richland County.
Companies associated with Kahn or his family members have owned the Decker Boulevard properties for decades, records show.
Kahn’s company also owns a now-vacant former Chick-fil-A restaurant directly across Decker Boulevard from the old Red Lobster. That building has been empty since the chain restaurant relocated to Two Notch Road in 2022. The property has since been littered with trash and tagged with graffiti.
