Columbus, Ohio USA
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Dis 'n' Data
By Margaret Marten, Editor
email margaret@shortnorth.com
July/August 2014
A new women’s clothing store opened in May at 964 N. High St. in the space previously occupied by Columbus Barber & Beauty Supply for many years before they moved to Hilliard a year ago after the building was sold. Happy Go Lucky Her is Debbie Neimeth’s second shop in the Short North and her first clothing venture. Her other store, Happy Go Lucky Home, which opened in Philadelphia in 2005 before a move to Columbus two and a half years ago, sells furniture and home decor and is located across the street from the apparel store but will relocate into a space adjacent to the apparel shop in July. The apparel boutique carries clothes from more than two dozen designers – described on their website – with prices ranging from $50 to $500. The fashion lines are new to Columbus and combine the tastes and interests of the owner as well as manager Mallory McClellan, a CCAD Fine Arts graduate with a background in fashion design. The phone number for the new store is 614-297-8200. Their website can be found at www.happygoluckyher.com.
The Short North clothing boutique Substance, with its in-house designers and distinctive fashion lines, closed in June after eight years at 783 N. High St. Owner Christina Getachew announced last March that the pull of family life and her husband’s new position in South Carolina gave her no choice but to close the shop and move forward with her new life in another state. She is looking forward to spending more time with her husband and two daughters after a fashionable and fun run in the Short North, but is not excited about leaving her friends behind. There was a Substance store in Cincinnnati; that location also closed.
Dae Oh’s Two Fish Bistro, located at 721 N. High St. on the corner of Buttles, and the adjacent Red Bar & Sushi at 717 N. High closed in June after three years in business. The CGS Group (Chris Corso, Mike Gallicchio and Brian Swanson) will take over the space. They plan to combine both areas into one pizza place with an elaborate stone oven centered in the main room as an open kitchen. The restaurant is scheduled to open this fall.
An American grill style restaurant called Black Point, with seafood, sushi and steak on the menu, will also open this fall, at 570 N. High where Sushi Rock operated before closing in October 2013 after four years in operation. The owners of the new restaurant, Hyde Park Group, also run the steakhouse across the street on The Cap.
Just north of the Garden District, across from Stained Skin Tattoo Parlor, a shop selling collectibles, including vintage toys, comics, music and magazines opened in May. Evil tWin, 1264 N. High St., also buys merchandise. Owner Tim Schopler said that he likes to shock, and “if you walk out of Evil tWin creeped out,” then he has done his job. “Where else can you see a 120-year-old casket,” he asked, “a Tom Thumb pitch card, or a goat skull sitting next to a wet specimen of a death worm in the Short North?” Schopler, 37, began collecting vintage toys and oddities as a teen while living in Dayton. The store includes many childhood favorites: board games, puzzles, stickers, T-shirts, paperbacks, and trading cards. Visit Facebook at eviltwinsshortnorth for a list of products they sell and might be interested in purchasing. With degrees in law enforcement and business, Schopler’s previous work
includes night club management and private security for VIPS, so we know the place is safe in spite of all the scary stuff inside, like two masks used in Rob Zombie’s Halloween with a certificate of authenticity signed by Mr. Zombie himself. To reach the store, call 937-926-2297 or send an email to schop688@yahoo.com. Evil tWin is closed on Tuesdays but open every other day at 11 a.m. (noon on Sunday).
Tonya Renee’s Hair Gallery in the Greystone Building at 815 N. High closed in May. Tonya Strother, 47, started her business in the Short North as Tonya’s Backroom Hair Design Studio (also in the Greystone Building) in 1995, which she operated for seven years before a five-year hiatus working at Salon Lofts. She resumed her business in the Greystone three years ago. Strothers said the parking situation in the Short North became increasingly difficult and impacted her business to such an extent that she had to pack up and leave. She currently rents a booth at Allure Grand Salon in Pickerington near her home and invites her Short North clients to contact her there at 614-732-6097. Asked how she feels about leaving, she said “Very sad. I can’t say it any plainer than that. Very, very sad.”
Image Optical closed their Short North location in June. After relocating to 607 N. High St. (next to the UPS Store) from 846 N. High a year ago, Dr. Todd Clark decided to move all of his business to the Westerville office, which is where he began his practice before opening at 846 N. High a dozen years ago. The Westerville office is located at 395 N. West St. The number is 614-839-2733.
The Short Stop Youth Center, a program of Directions for Youth & Families providing after-school activities for kids, will no longer be located in the Short North at 1066 N. High St. after August 1. The building was too expensive to maintain, said a spokesperson, so they sold it. DFYF plans to relocate the center and continue the programming at their new location. The building, originally a Methodist church constructed in the 1920s, underwent extensive renovations not too long ago, costing over one million dollars. The project was completed in 2005.
After repeated media accounts of possible closures and plans to relocate, Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits finally locked up on July 7, 2014. Owner Elizabeth Lessner states there are no current plans to reopen the eatery in another location. She has ownership in some half dozen restaurants around town. Her first venture, Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits, opened in the Short North at 680 N. High St. almost 13 years ago. Like most long-standing food establishments, it developed a solid customer base, and those folks naturally will miss the food and familiar faces. The founder of this paper, Tom Thomson, was a regular in past years and often would comment on how much he enjoyed his meals there.
Look for news on recent openings in the next issue, including Waxxpot, a full-body waxing salon at 1188 N. High, and the grocery store Market Italian Village at 1022 Summit Street.
Email margaret@shortnorth.com or call 614-251-0656 with neighborhood news items for the Short North Gazette.Email the Editor margaret@shortnorth.com
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