COLUMBIA — Last call has come and gone for Wet Willie’s, the Gervais Street bar, as major changes loom over that block of the Vista.
The bar posted a farewell (for now) statement on its social media over the weekend, announcing its immediate closure.
“After 15 awesome years with you all, we are sad to say goodbye for now as we have come to the very difficult location not to renew our lease,” the statement read.
The bar hopes to reopen in a new Columbia location, the statement said.
Wet Willie’s was a popular nighttime spot to get a daiquiri, margarita or other frozen drink, with outdoor seating overlooking the Vista traffic.
The retail/entertainment area where Wet Willie’s was located is owned by the Arnold Cos., which is moving forward with revised plans that would transform the whole block.
Owner Ben Arnold is proposing to build a hotel, apartments and parking deck on the property his company owns on Gervais and on the back side of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
The proposal is a scaled-down version of his ambitious plans that included multiple hotel and a garage adjacent to the convention center. Local officials balked at the financial implications of that plan.
There are no immediate leads on a new tenant in the Wet Willie’s space, Arnold told The Post and Courier.
Real estate team-up
A major player in local commercial real estate has merged with its Upstate peer.
NAI Columbia is completing a long-planned merger that will incorporate it into NAI Earle Furman, the Greenville-headquartered real estate firm. Both are affiliated with New America International, a global network of brokers.
NAI Columbia is a spinoff of the former Edens and Avant real estate firm.
“We began this partnership four years ago with a plan to ultimately merge the companies,” Patrick Chambers, principal at NAI Columbia, said in a statement. “We could not be happier about what the future holds for our new combined company.”
In 2017, NAI Earle Furman merged with NAI Piedmont Triad, and the company continues to also serve that community.
Jon Good, CEO at NAI Earle Furman, will serve in that role for both companies.
Bed Bath & Beyond to close one store
Bed Bath & Beyond is closing its store location in Northeast Richland, according to a list published by the retailer.
Its store in the Sparkleberry Square shopping center at 10136 Two Notch Road will close, according to a company list posted Jan. 10.
A store location in Florence was the only other South Carolina closing. No closing date for the locations was announced.
The retailer will continue to have Columbia locations on Harbison Boulevard and in the Shoppes at Woodhill on Garners Ferry Road.
The closing is part of a larger national downsizing for the retailer, which announced 56 closings in September. That number now has grown to 126.
Investors continue to be sour on the kitchen and bath-focused retailer, with its stock down to $1 per share.
McWaters acquired
McWaters, a Columbia office furniture and finishings company company, has been acquired by a Greenville firm.
Young Office of Greenville announced the acquisition on Jan. 4, saying the deal was completed shortly after the new year.
Young Office has seven showrooms in the Carolinas and Georgia, offering everything from office furniture and technology to flooring options.
Acquiring McWaters gives it a new presence in the Columbia, Charleston, Savannah and Augusta markets, the company said.
Both are long-running, family-owned companies, with McWaters marking its 80th year in business.
“We could not be more excited to entrust our legacy of workplace innovation to Young Office, who will without question advance our commitment to excellence for many decades to come,” McWaters President William Gresham III said in a statement.
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