Columbus, Ohio USA
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Dis 'n' Data
By Margaret Marten, Editor
email margaret@shortnorth.com
May/June 2018
Short North Food Hall
A new adventure in eating, the Short North Food Hall opened mid-March at 1112 N. High in the former space of Bio Blood Components, a plasma donor center and long-standing Short North institution that moved north of King Avenue three years ago. The Food Hall concept, as the name implies, serves food in a large open hall setting with a central bar. The cuisine is locally made by multiple vendors. Whereas food courts are known for chain fast food, food halls focus on local flavors and culture-based culinary niches.
Food Hall owner Chris Corso operates a number of eateries on High Street with the help of Corso Ventures president Reed Woogerd, including Forno, Short North Pint House, and the recently launched Standard Hall a few doors down. At Short North Food Hall, five food vendors with five small kitchens provide a variety of local cuisine: Legacy Smokehouse, Shokudo Modern Asian Kitchen, Short Grain Sushi, Tortilla Mexican Street Food, and Vinny’s Italian.
In fact, food halls with multiple vendors and rotating food concepts are all the rage now. Cameron Mitchell plans to open the Budd Dairy Food Hall next winter in Italian Village. The press release on their website describes it as “Columbus’s first-ever food hall.” A confusing statement unless one factors in their entertainment stage or the massive square footage exceeding 14,000 square feet, almost doubling that of Short North Food Hall. Adding to the confusion about halls: the Cleveland-based restaurant TownHall scheduled to open next year in the Moxy Hotel at the old Haiku restaurant site does not appear to be a “food hall,” if defined by the concept above. Neither is Eagle Food & Beer Hall next door to that. Whether we ever straighten this out or not is secondary to the direct enjoyment one experiences in exploring a bountiful variety of foods in a communal atmosphere. That’s the specialty of Short North Food Hall.
Short North Food Hall serves Tuesday - Thursday 3pm - 2am; Friday - Saturday 11am - 2am; Sunday 11am - 2am. Closed Monday. Visit Facebook or shortnorthfoodhall.com for updates with listed phone number 614-965-0518.
Seventh Son Brewing Co.
Seventh Son Brewing Co., the craft brewery and taproom located in Italian Village at 1101 N. 4th St., celebrated five years of business on April 20. The anniversary event included a public viewing of their new second-floor bar and patio (accessible by elevator or stairway) with a retractable roof. That space, in addition to a recent side patio, will provide 200 seats. It’s part of an expansion that began in January 2017 to exhance their production facility and bar. Owners Collin Castore, Jen Burton, Travis Spencer and brewmaster Colin Vent bought the site and the vacant lot behind the existing facility for $825,000 last year. The rear patio was removed to make room for the new build to house equipment, a lab, and offices. Another major development with the brewery is a second location due to open this fall at 716 S. High St. near the old Clarmont Restauarant. Named Antiques on High, it reflects the building’s history as an antique mall as well as Seventh Son’s centuries-old styles of brewing. The taproom will specialize in Belgian-style beers and sours. The Fourth Street location of Seventh Son’s is open Tuesday - Wednesday 3:30pm-12am; Thursday 3:30pm-2am; Friday-Saturday 11am - 2am; Sunday 11am-12am. Visit seventhsonbrewing.com or call 614-421-2337 for more information.BrewDog USA
On April 14, the Scotland-based craft brewer BrewDog opened a bar at 1175 N. High St. next to Magnolia Thunderpussy in a space formerly occupied by Kenya Gibbs’ Raw Material Salon. BrewDog’s U.S. debut occurred over a year ago in February 2017 when they opened their U.S. headquarters and brewpub, DogTap Columbus, in Canal Winchester. The new Short North location is their second U.S. bar, but could be considered their first if viewed from the perspective of a stand-alone bar. A third pub is expected to open this summer in Franklinton at 463 W. Town St. which features a lovely roof terrace and patio.
James Watt and Martin Dickie founded BrewDog in 2007 and opened their first pub in Aberdeen, Scotland, three years later. They now operate more than 50 pubs and taprooms worldwide. The exterior and interior of the Short North bar (which is considerably smaller than the pubs in Canal Winchester and Franklinton) are embellished with colorful nautical muralwork depicting toothy sharks and whale-like figures in blue waters. The artwork was done by Craig Fisher, their “in-house graffiti artist” from Scotland. The pub serves pizza and appetizers.
Interestingly, there are no televisions to absorb one’s attention or corrupt the communal atmosphere of patrons hoping to share the intimate spirit of drinking and camaraderie in all its glory. BrewDog is open 7 days: Monday - Thursday 3pm - 2am; Friday - Saturday 11am - 2am;
Sunday 11am - 11pm. The main website is brewdog.com. The local Facebook site is BrewDogShortNorth with a number listed 614-908-3051.Hello Westies - Goodbye Biscuit & Branch
Tony Selimi’s restaurant at 685 N. High St. next to Alexanders Jewelers opened in January 2017 as Biscuit & Branch. A name change and revised menu were introduced less than a year later when Biscuit & Branch became (simply) Branch in October. Apparently the new concept didn’t meet their expectations, because the restaurant closed at the end of April and reopened in May as a new, although recognizable, restaurant, Westies Tavern. (Selimi owns other Columbus Westies.) Their chef Connor O’Neill explained to me that the public could not seem to get over the original breakfast-all-day Biscuit & Branch concept, even after the business changed its name and focus. Once Selimi realized that their goal to attract more diners was moving too slowly, he decided it made better sense for them to stick with the tried and true. “Westies has more recognition,” said O’Neill. “It’s better for us as a business going forward.” The Westies Gastropub in the Brewery District, which opened in 2014, and in Clintonville recently, is a familiar brand and menu to Columbus diners. Paul Yow (longtime Barcelona chef) is the overseeing chef for Westies. The new Short North Westies includes the most popular items from the old Branch menu, some from the Westies menu, and a few things unique. “We essentially made a hybrid,” said O’Neill. Signature plates from chef Rodelio Aglibot, better know as “The Food Buddha,” who is Westies’ CEO in charge of developing concepts, are included in the menu as well. Hours are Monday -Thursday 10am - 12am; Friday 10am - 2am; Sunday 10am - 12am. Call (614) 732-0487 or visit Westies614.com or Facebook.com/WestiesShortNorth.Eugene’s Canteen
Justin Boehme’s Cajun restaurant Da Levee closed in April after eight years at 765 N. High and reopened on May 5 as a bar, Eugene’s Canteen. Boehme named the business “Eugene” after his grandfather, and even created a theme of “Veteran Owned, Veteran Inspired” to emphasize the bond they share as war veterans, and the reasoning behind the canteen concept. In a Facebook post, Boehme explains that his grandfather served in WWII, and he himself in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Eugene’s Canteen will feature pop-up kitchens, local brews, draft cocktails, and occasional live entertainment. Boehme says the “canteen portion” of his menu, i.e., late-night accessories, range from snacks to toothbrushes, matches, rolling papers, candy, chips, and other late-night essentials. There is a pool table. His other business in Gahanna on Stygler Road remains a Da Levee restaurant. Eugene’s Canteen is at 765 N. High St. Their number is 614-826-3739. Visit www.facebook.com/Eugenes-CanteenDepartures
Sharing the fate of Oxygen Health and Fitness at 970 N. High, which closed a couple years ago after 10 years in business, Short North Fitness folded in April after seven and a half years at 1137 N. High. Based in the The Jackson condominium building next to Skully’s Music-Diner, the facility was one of several health clubs competing in the area. Whatever the reason for its demise, new health facilities are continually cropping up – Snap Fitness, Ohio Strength, GO Fitness, and Orangetheory Fitness which is set to open this summer in “The Castle” – making it more challenging for modest establishments to prosper, particularly when faced with rising rents in this area. Roy G BivGallery, Flower Child and pm gallery will be leaving soon.
SEE ALSO: NEIGHBORHOOD EVENTS/NEWS (SELECT WRITEUP)
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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