Memories of Columbia's Past Part 3

Several people have asked why I haven't added any more restaurants to my list. Well The blasted hard drive on my computer went out and I just got the thing working again. During this hiatus I have been thinking of more restaurants to include on the list but my memory gets hazier as the number goes down. I still have a few places to write about but I am trying to collect my thoughts on the individual restaurants and why I found them interesting. In the mean time I am working on another blog which lists the old movie theaters that have been in Columbia and I am collecting information to create blogs on the old Biscayne Mall and Nowell's grocery stores.

Some people say I am wasting my time remembering stores that are no longer here, but I feel a sense of nostalgia when thinking and writing about these places. I as not satisfied with most of the stores in Columbia and feel the Columbia Mall is a wasteland for consumers. There are very few, if any locally owned stores in that mall and the chain stores located in this cesspool are the same stores located in malls all across the country. I talked to a business owner who's store had to leave the mall because a chain store was expanding. This gentleman said mall management tries to get rid of locally owned stores in favor of chain stores. That is his opinion but he was forced out. Unfortunately it is not just mall management but the nature of business. Think back when the Columbia Mall first opened and had such interesting shops: toy shops, book shops, music shops, arcades, etc. I realize the Internet and Wal-Mart have changed the way people shop but I also believe major stores and mall management tell us how to shop by charging the businesses extremely high rents limiting the types of stores that can open.

There is one good thing I must say about the Columbia Mall. They have done a wonderful job of controlling the gangs of kids that spread havoc on Friday and Saturday evenings. And with the increased security it does seem safer. Yes, I do have to shop at the mall but I try not to. I have made a better effort to shop at local stores whenever possible but there are so few offering so little. At this time my friend Mr. Ed is asking "What about the restaurants?" I will get to them in time but I must rant and rave a little. Coming up are memories of Katy Station, Haden House, Yen Ching and 63 Diner, but I will wait for another evening. A movie awaits to be watched. A person must have priorities.