The Checkers at 901 Bush River Road in Columbia has closed, about two years after opening. Its departure leaves the fast-food site near Interstate 26 without the burger-and-slushie restaurant that opened on the busy corridor in November 2024.
The closure was reported by The State, which covers the Columbia area and first flagged that Checkers had shuttered the drive-thru restaurant. A Google listing for the Bush River Road address now describes the business as permanently closed, according to the same report.
The restaurant was just east of Interstate 26 and less than a mile west of Dutch Square Center. The State's earlier reporting said the restaurant held its ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2024.
A Short Run on a Busy Corridor
The Bush River Road restaurant was built on the former site of an H. Rubin Vision Center. The State previously reported that Atlanta-based Falcons Group developed the project along with a second Columbia Checkers, at 7373 Two Notch Road, which opened June 17, 2024.
The State reported that the Two Notch Road location remains open. Its earlier coverage of the Bush River Road opening described the Columbia restaurants' menu as including burgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken tenders, fish sandwiches and slushies.
Traffic and nearby development
The corridor carries substantial traffic: the South Carolina Department of Transportation lists estimated average daily traffic of 28,000 in 2024 on a US 176 segment between Bush River Road and Greystone Boulevard.
A separate parcel at 800 Dutch Square Boulevard is listed in a City of Columbia Planning Commission case summary as 6.43 acres, currently commercial, with commercial and residential uses proposed. The summary concerns that parcel, not the former Checkers site.
What's Still Unclear
The exact date and reason for the Bush River Road closure have not been established in reporting so far. The State also reported that local residents posted photos of boarded windows.
