Hot chicken, breweries, tacos: Tons of Midlands businesses have opened in 2023. Here’s a rundown

Columbia has always been a city on the move, where the retail and restaurant landscape seems to be forever changing.

After a wave of new business openings in 2022, the pace has continued in 2023, as there have been scores of new establishments popping up across the capital city and the Midlands. From shoe stores to hot chicken joints to coffee shops, residents of the Columbia and Lexington area have plenty of new spots to patronize.

But with the flow also comes the ebb, and, sadly, there also have been some spots that have closed their doors in 2023.

Here is a look at many of the retail and restaurant businesses that have opened in the area so far this year, as well as some of the spots that have closed. It is not, to be certain, an exhaustive, all-encompassing list, but rather a robust sampling of the comings and goings on the Midlands retail scene.

OPENED

After long having shops in Irmo and Columbia, a new Fleet Feet store opened its doors in Lexington. It’s located at 5594 Sunset Blvd., in one of the busiest commercial corridors in the Midlands.

Do you like your bagels steamed? Well, you’re in luck: Sully’s Steamers, the well-known bagel sandwich shop that started in the Upstate, has opened a location in Columbia at 2835 Devine St.

Busy Harbison Boulevard got a little busier, and added to its restaurant roster, when KPot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot opened its doors in June at 280 Harbison Blvd., in the former Chili’s space. Per KPot’s website, “hot pot is an Asian cooking method prepared with a simmering pot of soup stock at the customer’s table and includes a host of East Asian ingredients.”

Columbia restaurateur Kristian Niemi has done it again. Niemi’s Bourbon and Black Rooster restaurants are already popular on the Columbia dining scene. Now he’s opened The Dragon Room at 803 Gervais St. The restaurant and bar has dishes from a host of Asian nations and offers a plethora of creative cocktails.

The Boys have arrived. Banh Mi Boys, a shop that serves Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, wings, Korean fried chicken and much more, opened its doors in June at 625 Whaley St. near the massive Olympia Mills apartments.

This is a season for banh mi in the Midlands, it seems. Little Bee Bun Mee, which serves the Vietnamese sandwiches and other offerings, opened its doors in July at 904 Knox Abbott Drive in Cayce. It is the latest offering from owners Chris and Noi Souvanna, who also own Duke’s Pad Thai, which is right next door to Little Bee.

BullStreet has a new spot for suds. Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant, a company headquartered in Pennsylvania and that has locations across the U.S., opened in June at 945 Sabal St. in the growing district. The brewery is just west of Segra Park baseball stadium.

The Ivy has grown all the way to Lexington. Ivy House, which has long had a popular antique and vintage store in Elgin, has opened a second location at 4211 Augusta Road in Lexington County. The Lexington location has more than 60 vendors.

Northeast Columbia got a little more caffeinated, as Scooter’s Coffee, a national chain, opened its first Midlands location at 81 Tulip Oak Drive near the Killian’s Crossing development. Former Richland County Councilman Joe Walker and business partner Andrew Reed are the franchisees of the shop.

Residents in the Red Bank area now have a new spot that will help keep their cars running strong. Express Oil and Tire Engineers opened in June at 5449 Platt Springs Road, near a Publix shopping center. Express Oil has locations across the U.S., particularly in the Southeast.

Can you handle the heat? If so, you might want to check out Dave’s Hot Chicken, which opened earlier this year at 4601-A Devine St. in Columbia. The chain offers chicken tenders and sandwiches with various levels of spice. The hottest is “reaper,” and the restaurant asks customers to sign a waiver before getting that one.

A taste of Mexico arrived in downtown Lexington. Que! Bueno Mexican Bar and Grill opened its doors at 407 North Lake Drive, in the former Comfort Scratch Kitchen location. This is the second Que! Bueno location in the Midlands, after a spot opened in the Kennerly shopping center in Irmo in 2022.

There’s a new neighborhood spot in Irmo. The Hoot, a bar with a plant-based food menu, opened its doors this summer at 2910 Rosewood Drive, in the former location of The Kraken. One of the owners of The Hoot also was an owner of The Whig, the venerable Columbia dive bar that closed in late 2022.

A historic home in downtown Columbia is now the location of a trendy coffee shop. Knowledge Perk Coffee opened in the spring at 1527 Gervais St., in the W.B. Whaley House that formerly was the location of Dunbar Funeral Home. Aside from the coffee shop on the first level, there are apartments on the upper floors.

A busy corridor in Lexington is now home to a taste of Japan. Ichiban Japanese Express restaurant is now located at 5341 Sunset Blvd. in Topspin Plaza. Ichiban’s menu highlights items such as teriyaki chicken, hibachi chicken, filet mignon, hibachi steak, shrimp and more. The same company also owns Hokkaido Ramen House in Lexington.

Get your shine on. Kendra Scott, the national jewelry company, reopened its store in Forest Acres’ trendy Trenholm Plaza shopping center in May. The store had been closed for several months for remodeling.

Plain and simple: The Midlands loves Chick-fil-A. Just check those impossibly long drive-thru lines at virtually any of the chain’s local locations. In May, a new Chick-fil-A opened in Sumter at 375 Pinewood Road, near McCrays Mill Road.

How sweet it is: Lexington got its own Nothing Bundt Cakes shop. The national brand moved into the shopping center at 5336 Sunset Blvd. in April. That shopping center includes an Ulta, a Hobby Lobby and more shops.

The bags are flying in Cottontown. Capital City Cornhole, a facility where, you guessed it, customers can play cornhole, opened at 1223 Franklin St. in the Cottontown neighborhood. The site hosts league and open play and serves beer, wine and other snacks.

Your furry family members now have another place that will help them stay healthy. The Pet Space Veterinarian Hostpital opened at 356-B Longs Pond Road in Lexington. That’s just south of Interstate 20, next door to a Starbucks.

“America Runs on Dunkin’” was a longtime slogan of the ubiquitous doughnut-and-coffee chain. Well, it looks like West Columbia runs on Dunkin’, too. A new Dunkin’ shop debuted earlier this year at 2223 Augusta Road in the Georgetown shopping center, next door to Chick-fil-A.

Red Bank got a new place for its collective coffee fix. Biggby Coffee, a growing national company, put a drive-thru restaurant at 1424 Two Notch Road in Lexington County, near Red Bank. It is effectively located just off South Lake Drive, between a Wendy’s and a CVS, less than a half-mile south of Interstate 20.

A spot on Beltline Boulevard made the jump from meat-and-three to tacos. Moctezumas Mexican restaurant opened a new location at 402 Beltline Blvd. That space was formerly home to a Lizard’s Thicket country cooking joint. Moctezumas also has a restaurant down the street at 506 Beltline.

Trenholm Plaza got a little more fashionable earlier this year when J. Crew Factory opened up in the Forest Acres shopping center at 4840 Forest Drive. There previously was a J.Crew store in Trenholm Plaza for a number of years, though it closed in January 2021. The J.Crew Factory typically offers more discounts than the traditional J.Crew storefronts.

Everyone in the Midlands knows Harbison Boulevard is often heavily choked with traffic. If there are going to be that many cars over there, they might was well be clean. A new ModWash car wash opened at the northeast corner of Harbison Boulevard and Harban court, not far from St. Andrews Road.

For years, it seemed as if the Five Points village was aching for a book shop. It’s not aching anymore: In March, All Good Books, an independent bookshop, opened its doors at 734 Harden St. The shop sells fiction and nonfiction books, hosts author events and book discussions, and has a small cafe.

Now you can head to Five Points when you are looking for fashions that are retro cool. Vintage clothier Pannerpete Vintage opened in the spring at 738 Harden St. in Five Points, near SWIFF streetwear store and All Good Books.

CocoBowlz, which offers acai bowls, smoothies and a host of other treats, has been a fixture in the Upstate and hit the Midlands in 2022 with a shop in Five Points. And, earlier this year, it made its debut in Irmo, with a spot at 1100 Dutch Fork Road. That’s a busy shopping area that includes a Walmart and a host of restaurants.

A new restaurant with various Greek offerings hit the scene in Elgin. Gyromania Grill is at 2558 Main St. in Elgin, which was formerly home to a Hwy. 55 Burgers and Shakes. The menu features everything from a host of pita wraps to Greek salads to lamb chop platters to desserts and beyond.

National pizza slinger Domino’s opened a new spot along a busy stretch of road in Irmo. It’s located at the northeast corner of Lake Murray Boulevard and Woodrow Street. The building the pizza shop is in has the aesthetic of an old train station and sits not far from a rail line.

Red Bank is popping. The Lexington County area welcomed Popshelf in January at 1776 South Lake Drive, near a Walmart store. The retailer is known for carrying home decor items, health and beauty products, home cleaning supplies, household and specialty items, arts and crafts supplies, party planning materials, toys and more.

Late in 2022, 1801 Grille near the University of South Carolina’s basketball arena closed, as Aramark, which handles hospitality services for USC, announced it was switching operators for the space. In February, the restaurant reopened under the moniker Angell Bros. 1801 Grille. The restaurant’s menu has a range of offerings including stone-fired pizzas, various gourmet nachos, steaks and prime rib, various pastas and seafood dishes, fried seafood platters, sandwiches and burgers, desserts and more.

A new spot to satisfy the sweet tooth opened in the bustling Harbison shopping district. Crumbl Cookies, which is a fast growing national brand, opened a shop in January at 150-C Harbison Blvd., which is a complex that includes a Publix, an Old Navy, a Target and numerous other stores.

Forest Acres welcomed a fragrant new addition when Bath & Body Works opened in January at the Trenholm Plaza shopping center. There are nearly 1,700 Bath & Body Works stores across the U.S., per data company ScrapeHero. The company is known for its fragrant lotions, soaps, body sprays, perfumes, candles, sanitizers, shower gels and more.

The rides are shining over in Blythewood. Frank’s Car Wash opened a new facility earlier this year at 109 Main St. Frank’s has a large presence across South Carolina. Aside from the the Blythewood spot, there are about 20 other locations across the Palmetto State, including 13 in the Columbia and Lexington area.

Raise a glass: Peak Drift Brewing Company opened its production facility in January at 3452 North Main St., in the former Stone Manufacturing building. Peak Drift beer has since popped up in stores and restaurants across the Midlands. A restaurant and other amenities at Peak Drift are still to come.

Much like the main character in the classic arcade game Frogger, a Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Lexington crossed the road in January. Sonic’s new store opened at 461 Columbia Ave. The restaurant moved there after being located across the street, at 312 Columbia Ave., for nearly 30 years.

Drivers in the area near Columbiana Centre mall got a new place to get their car serviced. Valvoline Instant Oil Change opened at 165 Columbiana Drive in January. The oil change business is located near a Verizon store and the AMC Harbison 14 movie theater.

The yellow and black logo of Dollar General has become ubiquitous across South Carolina. Lexington County got a new location of the discount store in January. It’s located at 472 Wise Ferry Road, near the intersection of Wise Ferry and Old Cherokee roads. Old Cherokee Road, northwest of downtown Lexington, is densely packed with residential subdivisions and homes.

CLOSED

Columbiana Centre mall off of Harbison Boulevard has, despite national retail headwinds that have troubled malls, continued to remain a vibrant shopping hub. But it is not immune to closures. In January, the Gap store in the mall closed its doors.

The pig has stopped wiggling. In February, the Piggly Wiggly grocery store at 760 Highway 378 in Lexington shuttered.

A longtime Vista hotspot in Columbia bid farewell earlier this year. Wet Willie’s at 800 Gervais St. closed in January, though it teased in a social media post that it may return to the Columbia market in the future.

Game over: The Dick’s Sporting Goods location at 10204 Two Notch Road in Columbia closed its doors for good. The company’s store on Bower Parkway in the Harbison area remains open.

While Moctezumas Taqueria has opened a new restaurant this year at 402 Beltline Blvd., it also closed a location in 2023. The spot at 4341 Fort Jackson Blvd. shuttered in late January.

A fixture of the Five Points district went off into the sunset earlier this year when the Starbucks at 747 Saluda Ave. closed. It had been at that location for two decades.

Wild Wing Cafe was once a force across Columbia, with a number of restaurants in the area. But in May, the last of the company’s stores in the Midlands bid farewell when the restaurant at 729 Lady St. in the Vista shut its doors.

Esther’s Soul Food and Kitchen, which was located at 631 Promenade Place in the Village at Sandhill shopping district, closed May 21.