A Guide to the New and Improved Trenholm Plaza
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This is not breaking news. This may not interest some of you. You may not like my point of view. ThiYou must Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.
127 comments
Too bad Richland Mall sits empty in the most affluent part of Columbia. Who wants to fight the traffic on Harbison or the trashy people at Sandhills?
Agree! It’s mind boggling that space just sits empty (for the most part) with such a great location.
Liz, that very same thought has occurred to me about some of the women I’ve dated.
Ingress and egress for that property is/was a major issue even in it’s heyday and the perceived desirability of the location is far superceded by that God awful parking garage.
It’s a dump AND a white elephant.
I haven’t set foot on the property in at least 18 years and have no current plans to do so again.
If they had left it like it was in 1967 it would be the premier shopping spot in Cola. today. The Russell Stover candy store out in the parking lot was classic!
Hear, hear!!!!!!
I miss Mr. Poppers and White’s. Oh, and the lunch counter at the back of Woolworths; grilled cheese, fries, and a Coke special, 99 cents.
Didn’t they have an Eckerd’s drug store with hones-to-God soda fountain in it, too?
Yep
Yeah like you would know. I’m sure you remember the grocery store at the back of the mall in the old days. Why don’t you tell us all what it was? Surely you remember what the name of the restaurant on the second floor of White’s was called, Oh wait, you said Belks was the big store in the “old days”.
The grocery store was a Winn Dixie but my mother shopped at the A&P on Two Notch, across from Crescent Hill Baptist. By the way, Belks official name is just Belk since about 1998.
I didn’t know where Two Notch Rd was until I was old enough to drive.
Remember when the mattress store/MoMos building adjacent to Za’s was an A and P? Yeah, right.
Hey, oldcola, remember when that store in RM that you keep calling “White’s” was named something else?
J.B. White?
Bwahahahaha! Well, at least you tried to be the Big Authority on Colatown, huh?
Seriously… why so combative, oldcola? It’s okay to be friendly to people who haven’t lived here as long as you.
Dude – I was four – I remember toys and ice cream from that era.
Was the Woolworth’s the “five and dime” at Richland?
Richland Mall is surrounded on three sides by urban ghetto.
You can really only honestly say that about areas that are 15-25 blocks away. Sure I can sit outside of my house, south of Richland mall, and hear 3 round bursts coming out of Gonzales Gardens… but I have something for that if its ever on my property :). I really see no reason for the mall to function on a favorable level, if properly overhauled.
Sorry, I really see no reason for the mall to not function on a favorable level, if properly overhauled.
I liked the old open air mall – it was completely out of date when it was torn down but today it would be this “hip current” thing. The mistake Richland’s managers made was trying to go after the high end stores rather than the urban old woman money. Dillards and Parisians couldn’t make a go of it but Belk is still going strong.
I used to live a couple of blocks from the mall when it was still newish – glad I got out before the place became a big empty hulk.
I’m trying to remember Colonel, did they ever have a Radio Shack? That was always the “man’s refuge” in most malls. If your wife/ girlfriend/ mistress, wanted to shop for purses or whatever and you just couldn’t handle another minute of it, Radio Shack was our oasis of cool stuff to look at and wish for. Unfortunately, now all they have is batteries and cell phones. BFD…
They had a killer toy store, an Orvis dealer (owned by some friends), a Radio Shack, a five and dime plus the candy store and an ice cream place. When I was little it was a great place to visit. We lived a mile or so away and my mother got her hair done there, if I was good, I got a matchbox car and I was always good (on that day at least). Later in life, the Orvis store and Radidio Shack were my normal destinations but I always found time to check out the toy soldiers in the window of the toy store, even in my twenties.
I didn’t live close by back then but from around the time it opened in the sixties, until the early eighties, it was neat. I remember coming over here with my grandmother a lot as a child and the Russell Stover store and Eckerds. Something about the Morrison’s Cafeterias was always a draw for senior citizens and my grandmother was no exception. Later, in the early 80’s, i recall driving her over to Richland Mall at least once or twice.
I seldom go there now because it is such a huge pain in the ass to find anything and just go to it, there. One night about a year ago, I was going to meet some friends who had tickets to the dinner theater. We were in contact on the phone and none of the landmarks we were giving each other were matching up with anything the other was seeing. Turned out that I had to go through Belk to get to where they were. I had no idea of this idiotic, illogical layout. When the dinner theater shut down, Belk had closed and I had to walk outside, around the mall, to get back to my car. It was no big deal for me, but for an unarmed citizen at a time when a fair number of armed robberies of individuals were happening in that area, it might have been scary if not downright unsafe.
Another time, I wanted to try the cafeteria that had been written up in the paper a few times. Again, walking around and even going through Belk, I couldn’t find the damn thing. There were signs for it everywhere but none were helpful in finding it. I said “the hell with it” and was leaving when I saw the sign on the outside just by accident and went in for an enjoyable meal. Whoever the architect was that drew this layout should be castrated.
I think the Belk is the original store and the rest was built around it.
You are a blowhard and a poser and never grew up around Richland Mall. Whites was the anchor store, Belks was never there. Remember the Colonial Store, and Petarama, or Sylvans being there? When did you move in, 1995? Oh by the way, Clemson was still a hayseed school back in those days.
You are right, it was a White, Belk moved in to the old Whites. The jewelry store I remember was on the corner across from Chastain’s but I thought it was owned by some mean old woman maybe it was a Sylvans.
Have no idea what Chastains is or was. If you don’t remember Whites you aren’t from around here.
Oh, nobody from Cola ever called it “White”. Dead giveaway. It was always Whites. Were you from the fort?
No, my tablet dropped the s. I can remember the horrid airport light towers on Main Street, worked for Todd and Moore when they were outside Sears at Columbia Mall. I remember the Davidson’s/Macy’s on Main, bought my first canoe from The Backpacker when it was still in Five Points and carried stuff like canoes, no, I’m not from around here…
Sears was on Harden St.
In 1981 it was in Columbia Mall, where was there a Sears on Harden? You must be older than rocks, cause I’m older than dirt…
Food Lion. Last answer for you tonight, Jr. Gotta go to bed. Ask me more about “old cola” tomorrow.
Didn’t know that but it makes sense. I didn’t know where Five Points was till I started at USC.
Last comment. Growing up, five points had a fish store, two bakeries, an Edisto Dairy ice cream shop, etc. No bars until the Coal Co. and Greene Streets kinda got that going in the mid ’70s. Kennys Auto was about where Goatfeathers is. There was a Roses with a great toy dept between Santee and Harden. The theater was up and running but a little shabby. Point is, I’m not telling you anything that any kid didn’t know growing up here in the late 60’s/early 70’s. I’m really not that old. Well, maybe.
Kenny’s was where the Walgreens is, I bought my first trailer hitch there, they’ve moved out by the Krispy Kreme in West Columbia. I remember the Roses wasn’t it in the tabular building where the Hootie and the Blowfish monument is?
Nope. That was later. Kenny’s was along where Goatfeathers is. Wanna bet?
Who cares? Its Columbia. Whats the difference?
Sears was at one time in the shopping center where Radio Shack now is (or at least was the last time I drove by there) on Harden St.
I still have the Orvis field bag I bought at Chastains when they moved to Columbia Mall. Lived on Foxhall as a little kid and then Glenwood as a newly married semi-adult.
Orvis store was down Beltline at the front of the building where Wits End was. Of course you would remember that spot as an old downtown Cola guy, HaHa. Tell me about your memories going to the Richland Mall Theaters for summer movies when you were in school. That was of course, after the Five Points Theater closed.
Chastain’s carried Orvis goods, the family that owned it lived down the street from my parents out in Spring Valley. We left Columbia for New Orleans in ’66 and I didn’t return to live here until 1981 in the last 33 years, I’ve lived all over the US and the world as the Army has seen fit but Columbia is home. I was born in Providence Hospital under the care of the Sisters of Charity in ’62 I plan to fire here hopefully in’62, 2062…
That’s a great plan! Hope nothing fucks up your schedule.
Whites carried boy scout uniforms, I should have remembered that.
I don’t think Colonel is a poser. That said, I do remember the Pet-A-Rama. That was one of my favorite places to visit when we went there when I was a kid. I recall a red squirrel they had that I tried to get my folks to buy for me. They didn’t.
Proper overhauling, IMHO, would necessarily include fixing that idiotic layout where you are required to go through an anchor store (is it Belk?) to get from one side of the mall to the other. How retarded! I wish they could go back to the old layout from the 60’s thru the early 80’s with the open-air aspect to it. Hey, at least it would draw a lot of us old farts for the nostalgia.
How soon before some of the stores get their ‘nicknames’ — Scout & Molly (S&M)..?? Selling items by “Black Halo” sounds sinister to me, but then…..
…and morning power walking and ogling hawt blue haired widder women…
Hanes Mall in Winston Salem has a similar layout, you have to walk through JC Penny to get from one wing to the other. Hanes Mall has the Piedmont Triad’s only locations of “upscale” stores as Pottery Barn, Brookstone and Coach. I think the real issue with Richland Mall it that it’s being controlled by Kahn Development Company. His interest and commitment is to that retail dump in the Northeast, The Village at Sandhills.
Where’s the good side?!
“Where’s the good side?!”
And look at you – the article actually generated some comments and conversation – and you are participating – good for you, Mike.
And you know, it is fine to act all macho and not want to be associated with these “fluff pieces” but I’ll bet that you have a soft side too – it makes you more of a man to show that sometimes.
Believe me, if I thought simply ignoring the articles would put an end to them, I would. They’re easy enough to skip over if one is busy. As for the “macho” nonsense, you are the one *constantly* prattling about our cock size, manhood, boy status, etc. Surely you possess just enough self awareness to see that, no? Your bizarre, baseless inferences just make you look silly. Most of us don’t know each other, which is why most of us don’t waste time with such personalized pejorative nonsense. I have a daughter, and I’ll steal a line my beautiful bride has used at cocktail parties to tell you all you need to know about my purported “macho” fixation. She says, “You know, for a guy who used to blow people up for a living, he really does a mean ponytail. Princess tea parties, too.”
Relax. Penises are OK. Vaginas are even better. Life is good.
“Relax. Penises are OK.”
I am relaxed – you always say that I am angry but that is simply not the case. And for the record I have no problem with penises – unless they usurp the role of the brain.
I’ve seen that happen…true story.
It’s a triangle
Out-freaking-standing!
don’t worry about being surrounded, just the frag you would get. Kinda sorry I said that, Just stay away from the USMC. Your pussy would not make it, sorry buddy !
Let’s face it. All of Columbia is pretty much a dump
This article: the softer side of FITS…awww
Maybe you can ask Brad and see if you can borrow Shop Tart and she can post articles about shopping in Forest Acres and dining in 5-Points.
What the fuck is happening to this blog, is this some kind of cruel joke played by Will?
What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you some kind of cruel joke? Of course you are as offensive in your posts about women as you are in your posts about non-white people.
Well,he is a Republican.That explains a lot.
And Blueballs is a tranny…such a command of the English language…Gratuitoisly not
“And Blueballs is a tranny . . .”
I don’t have to be a tranny, dumbass. And if you weren’t so preoccupied with your cock size you might actually find a real woman to be interested in you. Oh – and for the record – you’ve not impressed me as having any great command of the English language.
Ok, I went off topic…still incensed the media would hide Obama being a faggot and his boyfriend Michelle being a tranny without allowing the public to make their own minds up.
Getting back to topic, our generation has witnessed the downward spiral ensuing generations have brought to America with their “me first” millennial attitudes. Atleast Lazenby pandered to her misguided political slave owners. Gunn? How smarmy it must be on her part to feel her life is so fucking important as to tweet every last detail chronicling her self absorbed meanderings in a world filled with her “me yeasterday, me today, me after breakfast, me tomorrow” point of view…unless she knows no better and is being like totally honest. These Millennials are all about themselves at the behest of how their generation are in a key position in history to compare and contrast what the boomers did or didn’t do to advance our constitutional experiment. Rather, they advance self-indulgence as if it is a way of life without consequences. If the Boomers left any doubt on where we took our nation, just look at the ease of life our inventions and patents provided to overcome the hardships Mother Nature gives us where the Greatest Generation gave us the liberty and freedom to navigate in. No, Millennials choose to ignore their calling and purpose to advance the promises of the Constitution and decided to dwell in their vulgar and impertinent self indulged orgy of me, me, me, always me.
Really? You want to talk shit about millennials -you’re a boomer. The worst generation in history. Thanks for your excess spending and abusing the environment for future generations to spend eternity cleaning up after you. Talk about a self-absorbed “me” generation. And let’s not forget sexist, racist & homophobic. Sorry you old crank -but you’re the pot calling the kettle black. And ftr I’m Gen Y so I have no dog in this fight.
^^^^ Old bag of wind is now on record implying that Gen Y *isn’t* self absorbed.
LMAO. Look up from your smart phone once in awhile, will ya?
100 Comments and counting, and not one from Big T. I’d call that a home run by Liz. Keep up the good work.
“This post is written by a woman”
Isn’t it absurd that you need to preface your article with this, Liz? Many of the boys – and yes I mean boys as they are certainly not men – think that females are only good for one thing – and that one thing does not include females having a voice or having an opinion. Keep up the good work – your perspectives are needed on this site.
As you can see, it doesn’t stop me. Thanks for the encouragement!
“Thanks for the encouragement!”
You are very welcome.
And just FYI, I really do not like to have to go there, but occasionally I just tell some of the idiots on here to fuck off.
Let us know when one actually listens to your advice.
SCBlues, is it “idiots = men” like your usual schtick?
Yeah, thought so.
How’s your “satisfaction quotient” these days?
I bet you aren’t even good at that one thing.
“I bet you aren’t even good at that one thing”
I’ll bet you’ve never had any so how would you know?
So you’re not disputing that your a dead fuck?
Ohhh, slam dunk!
If you’re in the 8th grade.
Double day-um. U go girl!
Day-um. U go boi!
I know you’ll scream at me as usual, but it really isn’t about some weird misogynistic bent on the part of readers here. The girly pieces on breast feeding, denim jeans, and what to wear to the damn USC game are just fine if that’s what a site is all about. On a site that made its bones as a political news / opinion site specializing in outing corruption and stupidity (and doing a pretty good job of it), crap like this is simply incongruous and gets on people’s nerves. Burn your bra if you like and rail against those of us cursed with the dreaded penis all day for we care, but it’s new for this site, and it’s just a little weird. Maybe it’s the cutting edge of a trend, and all sites will feature a few of these types of stories in some lame attempt to suck up to the female demographic, but I doubt it.
“I know you’ll scream at me as usual . . .”
LOL The line about “burn your bra if you’d like” was a bit amusing – and I guess all I could say about that is been there and done that – so long ago that I cannot even remember.
There are all sorts of stories that appear on this site – just seems “a little weird” (your words) that the female writers get singled out for such harsh criticism.
” . . . .crap like this is simply incongruous and gets on people’s nerves
”
Hmm – where to begin. Not sure. Guess all I can say is that lots of things get on my nerves – articles on this site, comments made to this site, drivers on the interstate, etc. If I come across an article on this site that gets on my nerves I just close it and go to the next one – there are plenty of other articles and a good bit of variety.
I guess the best advice I’d have for some of you boys who are freaking out is to say GROW UP.
How in the world is being annoyed by girly fluff pieces on what used to be a political news and opinion site not “grown up?” I would contend that criticism directed at the content (as mine was) is pretty grown up, while criticism of individuals at a personal level (your forte, by the way) is widely considered immature.
The female writers don’t get singled out because of their gender, but because of the content. The other female writer Will had on here last year (who moved to GA and stopped appearing, thankfully) was supremely annoying (as evidenced by even a cursory glance through the comments), but it had nothing to do her being a woman. It had much more to do with the fact that she had little idea what in the hell she was talking about most of time. One more chink in your theory- which regular writer / contributor here gets pummeled more often and more thoroughly than any other? Will Folks. Will is…a dude (and apparently likes the debate through which he earns his living). I actually think it would be a little off-putting to me were I a feminist or feminist supporter when a political site adds a few female writers, only to have them write about silly bullshit like jeans and breast feeding. Maureen Dowd they ain’t…
” Maureen Dowd they ain’t…”
Well, I’m not convinced that gender does not play into the criticism – I’m really not. I’ll take YOU at your word that it is not a factor for YOU because I think you are a stand-up-guy – for the most part anyway – but based on some of the other comments they clearly cross the line. I still say that there was already a variety of themes covered on this site before the recent entry of the two female writers – some celebrity gossip type stuff for instance – and I never saw the harsh criticism that I see leveled at the females. You are talking about the content but some of the others are going way past that and making derogatory comments based on the gender of the writers.
I’ll give you that some of the gender-based comments have been rude and, well, gender-based, but you obviously read here every week just like I do. Surely you’ve noted that it’s not just gender- the comment boards here are a pretty tough neighborhood! They kill everyone with fairly equal measure, and it’s often inappropriate, bordering on insane…
I am pretty certain, though, that if Will hired me next week to write the new weekly column “Mike at the Beach’s GQ Fashion Tips for the Sartorially Challenged,” I would get skewered just as hard as your girl Liz.
Harder.
One would hope…
I didn’t say it, of course, but if FITS adds a fashion column from a dude it would *obviously* be penned by Will’s “Bromancing the Stoner” bud down around Charleston way. We’d all learn to pop collars, slide the tie down, and generally dress like a self-absorbed adolescent.
Amen
I agree with you, real men know they are good for cooking, cleaning, and washing clothes and dishes, not just sex.
That’s freaking horrible…
and extremely funny (don’t tell SCB I said that).
Plus we get paid more for doing the same job.
The name of this blog has changed from FITSNEWS to PinterFITS.
once again a bunch of dumbfucks who just ‘hate’ this new blog on FITS won’t stfu and comment on everything Liz writes, fukn hilarious!
Tazza – big maybe, good food, flaky waiter, inconsistent hours.
Went there for brunch two or three Sundays ago – they decided for some odd reason to not open until 1200. Brunch for the benefit of the owners is a combination of the words breakfast and lunch. I eat breakfast around 0600 most mornings and as the “Jody” is called, “…Up this morning for the day, I don’t like it no damn way, eat my breakfast way to soon, I’m hungry as hell, way before noon…”. Try the Cuban “samich”
Rosso’s – dinner place, very good, good wait staff, pricey.
Eat off the specials menu – the normal menu is good but the specials are usually fabulous to use one of my “swishy friends” term.
If you need flowers, the best place in town to buy them is the Fresh Market (according to my wife)
See Liz, we’re interested if you write about something important – like food. I’m sure Will is drooling over the spikes photo.
This chick is high maintenance. Can she use a 10 key blindfolded? Make delinquent account calls? Use Quickbooks and MS Office? Hand out paychecks to supervisors? Run weekly statements to the outsourced payroll/human resource third party? And raise the kids? If not, then how is she going to pay for all this stuff…working freelance at Fits? One would need gross sales receipts of 1.2 million a month to keep up with her.
Wow, now you know what my sources of income are? I had no idea we were so close. You got one thing right -I am high maintenance. Never tried to hide that. Why would I?
“It would be easy to spend an entire day here, with friends or by yourself!”
How much would this outing cost or is it one of those things where if you have to ask you can’t afford it? This is in the interest of full disclosure.
With a sugar daddy, what does she care?
On the low end, I’d say at least $350. On the high end? Well, as much as someone can afford I suppose!
Is that your husband reflected in the glass door taking the picture?
pink shirt =T -Rav
Pink panties = Lindsey
Hmm…….no wonder “Diane’s on Devine” closed down. Maybe there needs to be a bistro called “La Liz” ………..??
Something that the Summit Club crowd could migrate to before late night cocktails…..
Used to live in Forest Acres. Only in a dumpy ass town like Columbia would the Trenholm Plaza be considered a destination. LMFAO!
And we are very glad you aren’t here anymore. Your yard looked like shit when you were here
You should see it now ;-)
If I visit will I be shot in the head at the ATM?
http://www.wistv.com/story/9794878/bond-set-for-three-charged-in-forest-acres-atm-shooting
I like you, Liz, but really,
This just clogs the blog.
How ’bout we just stick to unfair and imbalanced.
The only reason you’re catching all this Hell Liz is that these ol boys got nothing else to do but watch football and bitch here .
So they come here,see your article ,and the bullshit starts flowing.
If you want to get on their good side?Run an article on the latest in bras and panties.
New and improved doesn’t make sense. New means it never existed before and improved means it existed before and was improved upon. Sheesh….
I won’t shop there until they go first class and open a “Dollar Tree” store in that low rent mall.
Pub town ginny bait
Union!
A Haley Shithole she hopes to buy with your tax money when she gets booted !
Did anyone catch the Blue Dress interviewing the The Ball Coach during the game last night, wasn’t that insightful and fantastic?
One Word “INTERNET”.
Liz………
Can you get a grahic of the circle of Fitsnews…..?
Like this one here…. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/07/business/jack-ma-and-alibabas-circle-of-friends.html
Then DARE ……..the State to do the same thing or the Post and Courier..?
???
!!!!!!
Where does he find the insipid women he finds to write for this blog?
what happened to Caturra? that place was cougar central. never had the chance to go in as i am constantly accompanied by a car full of toddlers who look like me, but golly i wanted to.
Replaced by Tazza. Same concept – and same demographic so you’re in luck.
nope, still got the toddlers.
I’m new and late to this discussion. But my two cents. I grew up at the Trenholm Plaza. Heck. We went with our mom to the Grand opening. When I was old enough we would ride our bikes over there and hang. The Edisto dairy had great ice cream. We all got our hair cut at Humphries.
Fast forward. The tp fell on hard times but it came back. Boy did it come back! Publix, Fresh Market, Books A Million, etc. There has been some turnover, but it gets better. The Pancake House moved from Beltline. Starbucks? Amazing. Ross is one of our favorite places in town. I have taken out of town groups there and the same people always want to go back. These are people from places like DC, NY, Boston, Chicago, etc.
My only problem with the tp? It can be really hard to find a parking place during busy times. But I guess that’s better than an empty lot.
You’re right, and I can only imagine with the growth they’re currently experiencing it’s only going to get worse. I’m still excited about all these new shops and restaurants! It won’t keep me away.
Yes, I too am looking for something quick and local. My technique is all the rage from New York to Miami. Try me. I don’t bite when I work my lips in and out, and I clean up quickly. Oh, and I do swallow. So call me.