Columbus, Ohio USA
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Dis 'n' Data
By Margaret Marten, Editor
email margaret@shortnorth.com
September/October 2019
Happy Little Treats Bakery
A small bakery on High Street just north of Fifth Avenue next to Luigi’s Pawn Shop changed its name and dropped one of its owners this summer. What was once The Angry Baker Cakes & Pastries is now Happy Little Treats Bakery. The Angry Baker was a subsidiary of the restaurant of the same name operated by Vicki Hink in Olde Towne East that closed this summer. Erin Hall has managed the High Street bakery since it opened two years ago and is currently the sole owner. An all-vegan menu introduced in 2018 was so successful that she opened a second location in Upper Arlington serving coffee and her vegan baked goods. The 27-year-old earned a degree in baking from Hocking College and enjoys designing cakes – her specialty while working at the Giant Eagle Market District after college. If you need a cake or special treat to celebrate, visit the shop at 1247 N. High or email happylittletreats614@gmail.com or call 614-641-7490.
Shake Shack
Shake Shack, a fast food restaurant chain, opened in the Short North’s new Graduate Hotel Columbus at 740 N. High St. on September 4. The Graduate Columbus, also newly opened, is a redevelopment of the Bollinger Tower building, previously home to low-income tenants, mostly senior citizens. Those tenants, close to 100, were forced to move out when the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority sold the property in 2017 after 30 years in operation. The new hotel is not hard to miss with colorful murals covering both the north and south sides of the 11-story building. The beautiful mural project, called “The Journey,” is a tribute to immigrants and to Columbus’s Somali population, according to California artists Ryan “Yanoe” Sarfati and Eric “Zoueh” Skotnes who were commissioned to do the work. It seems ironic and worth noting that some of those struggling immigrants might very well be living in the building if it had not been sold. The mural detail depicting Hodan Mohammed holding up a house is again a bittersweet – although unintentional – reminder of the building’s troubled housing history. Shake Shack is located on the south corner of the hotel, a front one-story extension with a patio in the back that is surprisingly spacious, accommodating at least 36 people. Nine booths and four tables inside offer a view of the street. This is a decent fast food restaurant. They offer beer and wine as well as the usual crunch and munch burgers, dogs, chicken, fries, shakes and custard for fast food fans or those hurried hungry folks on a tight budget. Shake Shack’s humble beginnings as a hot dog stand in New York City in 2001 has grown to more than 230 locations worldwide. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. for the weekend, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Their website is at shakeshack.com.Fireproof Restaurant
The iconic Fireproof building has a new tenant, the Fireproof Short North restaurant. The building, constructed in 1909, was originally home to Fireproof Warehouse and Storage Co., then updated to residential and commercial use in 2015. The retail space, 1026 N. High, was vacant for a year after Pies and Pints closed in August 2018. The new eatery, operated by Peerless Management Group (PMG), who also own the Vine Street bars BBR and Dahlia, opened on August 16. The spacious, classy, full-service restaurant includes a bar/lounge with abundant seating for both dining and drinking. The food selection is inviting and innovative: globally inspired tapas – Hamachi Tacos and Gambas Al Ajillo – as well as traditional plates – lamb meatballs, crispy drummettes, Mediterranean sea bass – offer plenty of pickings. They open at 4 p.m. and are closed Mondays. Their phone number is 614-706-4425. The menu and reservations are available online at fireproofcolumbus.com.
CRMD
You never know what’s going to crop up in the Short North’s Garden District. The ice cream shop CRMD that opened in the former pm gallery at 1190 N. High in July was a cool surprise. Ice cream appeals to just about everyone, inspiring happy associations of fun eating and flavorful adventures. While considering the business, owners Kristina Duong, 27, and her husband Benjamin Stoyka, 28, knew that ice cream would have widespread appeal, but Duong says they wanted to do something different, to deliver a unique style. “We just wanted to push boundaries a little bit more,” she said. For one thing, the color of the ice cream and sorbet they serve – some of it blue, purple, orange, or charcoal – are visually stimulating. CRMD has a dozen flavors, some include bits of cookies, brownies, or pretzels, and four sorbet flavors: lemon, mango, raspberry, and pomegranate blueberry. Pushing the boundaries also means bringing a dance beat into the shop and remaining open until 2 a.m. “I feel like Brewdog, Goody Boy, Bristol, all those people, once they close their doors, people have got to go somewhere,” said Duong. And it’s working some nights.
“A couple of nights it’s like a club in here, with our music and people coming in, happy, eating, just having a good time.” Duong said she and her husband lived in Los Angeles and traveled to other countries where they discovered diverse food cultures and wanted to share the excitement of that food adventure with folks in the Midwest where they grew up. The shop has limited seating, a long padded window bench, but no tables due to code restrictions, said Duong. The open space is welcoming nonetheless – for people to congregate or take photos in front of the unobstructed walls with CRMD’s neon-lit catch phrase as a backdrop: “Lick It Real Good” – another part of CRMD’s “exclusive and hype ice cream experience.” Visit www.getcrmd.com for a flavor menu.Other Openings
More on the following in the next issue: The newly opened Graduate Hotel houses a street-level public coffeeshop on the north side of the building: Poindexter Coffee, at 750 N. High, includes a full bar and is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Meanwhile, the Stauf’s Coffee Roasters opened a new cafe at 1334 Neil Ave. in a former Presbyterian Church. Hours are Mon - Fri 6:30am- 8pm; Sat 8am- 8pm; Sun 9am- 8pm. Phone 614-928-3993 for more information.
Coming Attractions
Still waiting on the SeeSaw restaurant that chef Jonathon Sawyer, FWD Hospitality Group, and Tribe’s Jason Kipnis will open in the old RAM Restaurant space next to Donatos at 906 N. High. Other upcoming opening reminders are Bonobos menswear at 875 N. High, Townhall restaurant in the Moxy Hotel at 800 N. High, Rooh Indian restaurant at 685 N. High where Westies Tavern was, Northstar Cafe’s expansion into their adjacent space, Zaftig Brewing Co. and DiCarlo’s Pizza on the corner of E. Fifth and Summit., Ruth’s Chris Steak House across from the Convention Center, Saucy Brew Works in Harrison West’s former Caffe Apropos, and Cameron Mitchell’s massive Budd Dairy Food Hall in Italian Village on N. Fourth St.
Departures
The Cleveland leather goods store Fount that opened in March 2017 at 668 N. High St. in the former Bink Davies, closed their Short North store in July but remain open in Cleveland. The owners Phillip and Jackie Wachter stated in an email that it was an economic decision. They admitted that inadequate parking was a contributing factor and that they had came to the conclusion that pedestrian traffic, mostly travelers and conventioners, probably did not want to be weighed down by Fount’s large leather bags (purchased and packaged) while exploring the city. The Wachters added that they loved being a part of the Columbus community, might return someday, and welcome their Columbus contacts to visit the Cleveland location.
Jim Cowan passed away on August 1, 2019 at the age of 77. He was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition five years ago. Prior to that he operated a German car repair service The Import Doctor for 30 years in the Short North at 52 Brickel Alley, and was one of the Gazette’s first advertisers. Among other accomplishments, he earned a Ph.D. in Education from OSU, specializing in Technology/Industrial Arts Education, taught auto technology at Columbus State, and tutored high school students. Music was another love. He played brass horn and sang in two choirs. A 2015 column by Dispatch writer Joe Blundo described Jim’s hunt to locate a low brass horn to replace the bulky euphonium he owned but could no longer handle because of his medical condition. The article got Cowan the break he needed (a horn) and a few more years of making music – “playing low brass with high delight,” as Blundo put it.
Fred Maloof, a real estate investor with properties on High Street in the Short North district, died on August 19, 2019.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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