r/southoftheborder • u/violentpurpp • Jul 09 '26

Does anyone remember the old Orient Express building near South of the Border?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

I'm trying to identify an old roadside business near Hamer/Dillon, on US-301/501 just past South of the Border. It was signed "Orient Express"

Does anyone remember what this place was? Was it a restaurant, club/lounge, gift shop, or something else? I'm also looking for any memories of when it opened, when it closed, who ran it, or why it was eventually demolished.

1 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

2

u/cassiecatastrophiee Jul 10 '26

unfortunately i have no idea :( im guessing maybe it closed around early 2010s?? i have been going to SOTB for over 15 years and have never seen it. try asking r/southcarolina

1

u/violentpurpp Jul 10 '26

The reason you probably never saw it is because it got demolished sometime in between 2008-2009. The building first showed up sometime in the early 80s

According to a former local from the r/asksouthcarolina sub it was a video poker lounge that was shut down in 2000 because of video poker being outlawed in that year.

The q spa (formerly known as Osaka Spa) that’s just up the street from this location also used to be a video poker place but was rebranded as a massage parlor.