Columbus, Ohio USA
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Dis 'n' Data
By Margaret Marten, Editor
email margaret@shortnorth.com
DECEMBER 2009
Old World New Home opened on bustling Black Friday at 1196 N. High St. where Lai Boom was formerly housed. The mother-daughter team running the shop, Carlene Crist, 49, and Betsy, 24, will be selling antique and vintage furnishings with a new look. They are also developing a family tradition, according to Carlene, who says she grew up in an old massive lodge building filled with antique furnishings that her father, the late Carl Nickell, sold in North Hampton, Ohio, when he wasn’t on the road as a trucker. The family was literally surrounded by antiques. “It was a former lodge – a union lodge. There was a big dancehall upstairs with a balcony around it. My dad had the whole thing and we made living quarters in it. We lived in one part and everywhere else we had antiques stored.” After his death it took five auctions to sell his property, and people came from all over the country. Still, she admits she never really appreciated or understood what her father was doing all those years until she began to sell items herself on EBay a while back. Later, after renting space in a shop in Washington Court House, Ohio, and showing at the Springfield Antique Show and Flea Market Extravaganza, where the Shabby Chic style furnishings of the mother-daughter team were a sensation, she began to look for retail space in Columbus, noting that most of their furniture fans at the extravaganza happened to be from here. Carlene says her daughter had plans to pursue a nursing degree but recently became enamored with fixing up furniture. “She just graduated from Ohio State and has a bachelor’s in biology,” Carlene said. “I tell her she was bit by the bug. You know, it was my dad, and it seems like I’m doing the same thing he did, and she just kind of started getting into some of the stuff I was doing.” The floor space in Old World New Home may seem cramped, but many items are stored in the basement, either awaiting open floor space or refurbishing. “When it comes to our furniture, we usually have to fix it up and repaint it. What we’re finding in this area is that they really like an old piece, but having it redone with a more modern flair to it – by the fabric, even the paint.” Fabrics by Amy Butler or Anna Maria Horner are favorites, and the Shabby Chic design with a worn or faded look has attracted much attention. Their favored style of furniture décor shown at the Springfield Extravaganza can be found on their site at www.oldworldnewhome.com (a Flickr slideshow link is on the bottom right). They also carry small items, including vintage Christmas ornaments, linens, and hand-poured candles by Sensible Scents. Old World New Home, located next to What The Rock?!, is now open Tuesday through Sunday 11 to 6. Their phone number is 614-935-6575.
There was something unsettling about the September closing of both Starbucks and Cuppy’s Coffee, particularly for bean addicts, already nervous and anxious. So news of a coffee shop opening (rather than closing) in the former Cuppy’s space was good news. The world wasn’t coming to an end, the economy might recover after all, and maybe this coffee will actually make life more interesting. Impero Coffee, scheduled to open Saturday, December 5 in the Dakota Building at 849 N. High St., is under the ownership of Matt Sontag, 28, and his wife Lucinda. The couple have been in the business for half a dozen years, including running their own roastery, where Cuppy’s owner Steve Firouzian began dropping in a few months ago after meeting the couple during Gallery Hop last summer. Firouzian’s decision to phase out and lease the space to the Sontags so they could start something entirely new was a practical decision on his part. Impressed by the couple’s expertise in coffee roastery and their desire to pursue a new project, he acknowledged his own limitations, and the challenges he has faced as an independent business owner, and decided to offer them the facility. Matt Sontag emphasized during a phone conversation that everything is different and the space is completely remodeled. Soups, salads, sandwiches and pastries will be catered by Lávash Café, a Mediterranean restaurant in Clintonville. New coffee is coming in, including fairtrade and organic. Their Web site www.imperocoffee.com should be up with more information by the opening date.
Jerry Worthington, who has been running Counseling at Goodale Park for 18 years, moved his office from 11 Buttles Ave. in the Short North to 850 King Ave. in Grandview last month, so don’t be surprised if you don’t see Jerry strolling with his Rhodesian Ridgeback Woody in the neighborhood. The landlord gave notice to Worthington after deciding the office space would be needed to manage other venues in the area. Jerry Worthington has worked in the Short North as a counselor in one capacity or another for almost 35 years, beginning at North Central Mental Health Agency. When asked about the abrupt move from an area that holds so much history for him, he noted that change is always difficult. “At first I was kind of shocked,” he said, “because this is my living. But also if people are coming in with distress of one sort or another, change is difficult for them too.” However, the overall transformation of the neighborhood is something he recognized as well, and admits that it’s probably a good time for him to leave the area, with the steady growth of restaurants, bars and other activity. He joked that Counseling at Goodale Park will be far away from the park but with parking. Associates joining him in Grandview include Julie Shuptrine, Patricia Gentile, and Kathy Ortiz. The number remains 614-228-7275.
Michael’s Goody Boy Drive-In, which closed in September at 1144 N. High after health inspections, is scheduled for a followup visit this month. Hopefully management has been able to remedy the problems, deemed “fairly easy to fix” by a Public Health spokesperson.News about upcoming events in the neighborhood can be found in Community Events and the Bulletin Board.
Email the Editor margaret@shortnorth.com
©2009 Short North Gazette, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.
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