By admin 
A corner convenience store in the heart of downtown Columbia has bid farewell.
Express Mart, which was located for years in the 1100 block of Washington Street, at the southeast corner of Washington and Assembly streets, recently closed its doors. There are two posters on its doors announcing its closure, and the store was shuttered and cleared out when a reporter stopped by this week.
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“Than you for everybody’s business,” a handwritten sign in the store’s window reads. “Sorry, we are permanently closed.”
As the downtown Columbia core has changed with new restaurants, hotels and more in recent years, Express Mart had remained a reliably simple stop where office workers and nearby residents could pop in for a soda, a bag of chips or other convenience staples.
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The Express Mart is the last of several businesses to close recently along the 1100 Washington corridor, as the building where it is located, along with adjoining 1136 Washington Street, is set to be redeveloped as a new hotel. Orlando-based luxury hotel brand Kessler Enterprise, Inc., is planning to turn the Washington Street properties into a 4-star hotel, as reported by The State late last year.
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