Columbia

What restaurants do you miss?

1/13/26 • 3 min read

I enjoyed this article in the NY Times about the sadness that you feel when your favorite restaurant closes.

Every restaurant is a portal — a way to remember who you were and how things felt when you were, say, 19, or 27, or 35, but also to remember the particulars of a city, a neighborhood, a block.

I started to think about the restaurants that I’ve loved that are no longer open. I started with a longer list¹, but here are three that I really miss:

The West Side Bowery
Aiken, South Carolina
Closed in 2013 after a 32-year run

There weren’t many nice restaurants in Aiken when I lived there. The Bowery wasn’t exactly upscale, but the food was great. We didn’t go often when I was in high school, but I did go there for dinner before my junior and senior prom. My connection to the Bowery grew over time, though. My wife, Liz, was a waitress at the Bowery, working there in high school and then every summer when she was home from college. She’d always work the slow shift between lunch and dinner, and I’d stop by to visit her when we were dating. They catered our wedding and whenever we’d roll through town, we’d stop to grab a bite and say hi to the owners. Whenever I go to Aiken, I have to urge to stop by the Bowery, but sadly, it’s a Mellow Mushroom now.

My go to order was a Pepper Jack Steak Sandwich with fries and a sweet tea.

Birds on a Wire
Columbia, South Carolina
Closed in 2009, after a 15-year run

My first job after college was on Devine Street, walking distance from Birds on a Wire. We ate there frequently and the office would sometimes ordering catering. The whole menu was fabulous, but the rotisserie chicken was the star. Just phenomenal. It eventually moved to a new location and was sold² to different owners, who couldn’t keep it going and declared bankruptcy. When Liz and I first got married, we lived in the neighborhood and would get take out from Birds frequently. They even catered Liz’s graduation party when she earned her Master’s degree. I still tell people about how great the pulled chicken was…

My go to order was 6 oz. Pulled Chicken with Hoppin’ John, Baked Potato Wedges, and sweet black bread.

Yesterdays
Columbia, South Carolina
Closed in 2020 after a 43-year run

When my brother started college at USC, we would drive up to visit him and often ate at Yesterdays in the middle of Five Points. When I started college, my photojournalism professor, Don Wooley, held his office hours at the Yesterdays' bar. The menu featured southern favorites and there was always something for everyone. Over the years, we had lots of family dinners there when people were in town. After Liz and I got married, we’d order take out. We did get to take our kids there several times. (They loved the fish tanks.) There are plenty of other places that I can get Southern comfort food, but aren’t nearly as nostalgic.

My go to order was County³ Fried Steak, but I ordered lots of different stuff off the menu including some fabulous chicken nachos.

Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.

Is it unusual that Columbia doesn’t have an Apple Store?

3/9/25 • 3 min read

Back in 2016, I had a blog about retail developments in the Columbia, South Carolina area. And one of the most popular topics was why there wasn’t an Apple Store in Columbia.

Yesterday I was at Columbiana Mall and realized that the large Forever 21 is closing.¹ I’m always interested in Apple Store-sized vacancies in Columbia and I thought back to an analysis that I did almost 10 years ago² and wanted to see if anything has changed. Is it odd that Columbia doesn’t have an Apple Store?

Comparing MSAs

I needed to look at some population data and decided to start by looking at Metropolitan Statistic Area (MSA). An MSA is a way of classifying an urban core and its surrounding population. It’s better than using city population because it includes suburbs and outlying areas that are closely connected to the urban core.

For 2025, Columbia is the 70th largest MSA in the country. For context: Greenville-Anderson-Greer ranks 57; Charleston-North Charleston is 71; Augusta is 92. You can see the full list at Wikipedia.

I cross referenced all of the MSAs with the Apple Store list. In the top 75 MSAs in the country, only two do not have an Apple Store: Columbia (70) and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (65).

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is a geographically large area in South Texas that has a slightly larger population than Columbia but is spread out over a wider area.

Many MSAs that are smaller than Columbia have Apple Stores: Boise, ID (74); Greensboro, NC (78); Colorado Springs, CO (79); Little Rock, AR (80); Akron, OH (85); Madison, WI (87); Toledo, OH (97); Lexington, KY (109); and many more.

I looked at Combined Statistical Areas (CSA), too. CSA is similar to MSA, but includes a wider geographic area. Columbia-Sumter-Orangeburg CSA ranks 58th and is the largest CSA without an Apple Store.

So what does this mean?

Yes, it’s strange that Columbia doesn’t have an Apple Store. Most cities similar in size to Columbia have Apple Stores. Lots of cities smaller than Columbia have Apple Stores.

But why?

I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s a combination of three factors:

1. There isn’t an ideal location for an Apple Store in Columbia. In most markets, Apple locates in established shopping malls. That leaves Columbiana Mall as the only option right now, but Apple’s had plenty of opportunities to locate there and they haven’t. I assume that it’s just not centrally located enough… Maybe someday, Bull Street or whatever is taking the place of Richland Mall will be an option, but it isn’t today.

2. Greenville, Charlotte, Augusta and Charleston all have stores. These stores are a drivable distance from Columbia. Apple may assume that Columbia customers are covered by these stores.

3. Apple isn’t adding new markets any more. Apple will occasionally put an additional store in a market they are already in. Or remodel an existing store. They will build large flagship stores in international metropolitan areas. But they aren’t really adding new stores in the U.S. markets they aren’t already in. Columbia simply missed the initial expansion rush and is now just out of luck.

Columbia is big enough to support an Apple Store. We’ll see if it ever happens. I think a future location near downtown — Bull Street or Forest Acres — makes the most sense.³

Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.