“We Are Sorry To Announce That The RESTAURANT IS CLOSED!”

With that message posted to its website, it appears that Compton’s Kitchen, a West Columbia institution that has reliably served up country breakfast and “meat n’ fixins” since 1977, has closed.

The restaurant, which is typically open until 3 p.m. Wednesdays, was vacant, with no signage posted about the closure, when the Chronicle stopped by Feb. 21 a little after noon.

According to its website, the business was initially opened on D Avenue by Perry Compton, who prepared “his first batch of what would become Compton’s famous buttermilk biscuits” on Nov. 1, 1977.

“As business volume increased, Perry moved the restaurant location two more times — to Highway 378 at the Gervais Street Bridge and then to its current location on B Avenue in the Triangle City area,” the website details. “Perry began serving lunch in the mid-1980s and developed an excellent reputation for serving delicious home-style meats and vegetables.

“Martha Cooke, the current owner of Compton’s Kitchen, managed the restaurant for ten years prior to taking over ownership of the business in 2000.”

The restaurant didn’t immediately respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment. The closure was previously reported by The Post and Courier Columbia.

Unless this turns out to be a temporary closure for Compton’s, it will join a growing list of iconic longtime businesses that have left West Columbia in recent months. In December, New Brookland Tavern, previously the longest continuously operating music venue in Lexington County, moved to Columbia’s Five Points, and Italian cuisine mainstay Al’s Upstairs closed after being open for 44 years. That same month, Jin Jin, a stalwart Chinese restaurant that had served West Columbia for 29 years, also closed its doors.

This is a developing story that will continue to be updated.