Vino Garage, a locally-owned wine and beer shop along North Main Street, rolled out its first-ever food program the first weekend in May, a charcuterie program with a variety of meat and cheese options.

Alodia's in Lexington is closed after it failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in state tax liens. The closure comes less than a year after staff at the restaurant walked out over late pay. 

In what some students have called 'the coolest room on campus,' USC has made use of its newly opened beverage lab this semester. The space allows students to have hands-on learning for crafting cocktails, brewing beer and tasting coffee.

Nathan Vaughan, who most recently led the cocktail program at Black Rooster in West Columbia, will take over at the upscale eatery along Spears Creek Church Road on April 10.

Grant McCloskey, a prominent Columbia bartender, will leave Ratio, the upscale Peruvian tapas restaurant he helped open three years ago to lead the cocktail program at The Hollow, a new wild game restaurant that opened in the Vista.

2 Gingers, a popular Indian restaurant on Bush River Road, has been fined three separate times by the state's health department over the last six months for repeatedly failing to meet food safety regulations.

Drake's Duck-in, Columbia's longtime fast-casual chicken joint, will reopen its iconic Main Street location March 21, after nearly a year of renovations.

The days of notoriously laggy internet that forced café-goers to depend on cell phone hot spots are over. The coffee shop, which came under new ownership at the beginning of this year, has a new internet service provider.

The days of notoriously laggy internet that forced café-goers to depend on cell phone hot spots are over. The coffee shop, which came under new ownership at the beginning of this year, has a new internet service provider.

Compton's Kitchen, the Southern food restaurant that served well-loved breakfast and lunch options for nearly five decades, has closed.

The Hollow, a wild game restaurant in the Vista, is set to open March 4. Here's what to expect when it comes to food, drinks and atmosphere. 

Drake's Duck-in, an iconic Columbia chicken sandwich restaurant, will leave its temporary location on Hampton Street as it prepares to move back to longtime location on Main Street. 

Fulmer led the restaurant, a staple in the city's food scene and one of the first restaurants to open in the Vista, since 2014. He announced his departure in an Instagram post Feb. 14. His last day with Motor Supply was Feb. 11.

The five-day event, spanning from April 24-28, will feature a dozen events like a food truck outing at WECO Bottle & Biergarten and a family-style picnic featuring some of the city's most prominent chefs.

Dubbed "the Oscars of the food world," the prestigious James Beard Foundation awards gave nods to three restaurateurs in the Midlands. 

Rockaway Athletic Club, the iconic Rosewood neighborhood bar, has sold its last Pimento cheeseburger. The restaurant officially closed its doors Jan. 18.

Each January, a handful of restaurants across the state recognize and participate in South Carolina Restaurant Week, put on by the state's restaurant and lodging association.

Henry's of Cayce, a laidback sports bar and burger restaurant in Lexington county, will close after seven years in business. The restaurant has three locations in the Columbia area.

Around Columbia, some restaurant owners travel for the sake of bringing back ingredients and traditions from other regions to the capital city — all with the intent of diversifying how and what their patrons consume. 

Columbia received three nods for prestigious James Beard Foundation awards this year, the first time in the city's history. A slew of new restaurants opened and fast-food workers made their voices heard. 

Always wondering where to take your friends to dinner? Here are the five best places in Columbia for dining out with a friend (or multiple). 

This year, like every year, our writers reflect on the dishes that stood out, ones that transcend memory itself and take hold in a more permanent place, where we routinely dream of getting to try them again for the first time.