Columbus, Ohio USA
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Dis 'n' Data
By Margaret Marten, Editor
email margaret@shortnorth.com
March/April 2018

DIS 'N' DATA ARCHIVE

Just Cause gift boutique - see article

Future Tenants
Well over a dozen new businesses are expected to open this year in the Short North. The gift shop Just Cause is the most recent, launching in January across from the Kroger store where Roots Records used to be. You can read about the shop and its owner Kelli Beightler on page 7. Monarch, the revamped version of Level Dining Lounge at 700 N. High, will open March 15 with a grand opening the following week. Corso Ventures are ready to roll with Short North Food Hall adding to their growing list of eateries – Forno, Standard Hall, and Short North Pint House. The Food Hall is a few steps north of Standard Hall at 1112 N. High and may open this month. A cold-pressed Juice shop called & Juice Co. is planning to launch in Italian Village in April. And come May, look for Bishops Barbershop/Salon in the old Three Dog Bakery space.

Down the road, we will be seeing Blowout Bar near Northstar Cafe where Surprise Modern Party & Cocktail operated before moving to Clintonville. Focusing on blowouts, the shop does styling, up-do’s, and braiding. Also, expect BrewDog Bar next to Magnolia Thunderpussy, Babalu Tapas & Tacos and Serendipity Labs in the UDF Bldg., the Belgian Iron Wafel Co. (19 W. Russell), Cameron Mitchell’s deli Harvey & Eds (698 N. High), Pillar Technology Group and an unnamed Cameron Mitchell restaurant (711 N. High), White Castle, Orangetheory Fitness (Castle Building), as well as added locations for Mikey’s Late Night Slice and Candle Lab (Yankee Bldg).

As previously announced, tenants for the Brunner Building under construction next to Donatos Pizza – due for completion this summer – are the branding agency 160over90, a real-estate consulting firm DGD Group, a clothing boutique Thread, and an unnamed restaurant.

A Cleveland-based restaurant Town Hall has signed up for space on the ground floor of the Moxy Hotel development at the old Haiku sushi restaurant site opening in 2019. That will make three restaurants with the nomenclature “Hall” in the district (if you don’t count The Eagle: Food and Beer Hall). Town Hall’s owner, Bobby George, also plans a rooftop bar and lounge in the same building. Other recent news: Spaces, an international firm offering creative co-working office space, will occupy three floors of the 711 N. High development.

Glean Grows
Glean, the Short North shop featured in our January/February 2018 cover story “Women at the Greystone,” has expanded its retail space at 815 N. High St. Owner Dawn McCombs had been on the waitlist for a larger storefront in the Greystone building for years and was delighted to land a room down the hall from her shop recently. The extra area will be used to display her handmade bath and body products. Her shop sells art and gift items created from up-cycled materials by dozens of artists around Central Ohio. Glean is open every day except Monday. Follow the prominant blue parking signs in the district for aclose car garage or lot. Visit shopglean.com or call 614-515-2490 for more information.

Departures
The party supply store Surprise Modern Party + Cocktail Goods created by Wholly Craft owner Olivera Bratich is no longer in the Short North near the Northstar Cafe where it launched in August 2016. The shop closed in January and moved to 15 W. Dunedin Rd. in Clintonville to better accommodate Olivera’s domestic life. Now her two businesses are right around the corner from each another and easier to manage while juggling family responsibiltiies along with her work.

The hair salon Ambushed, which operated in the Short North for seven years at 16 W. Poplar next to Orbit Design moved to Gahanna in October. Owner Amy Bush opened the shop, which specializes in curly hair, in October 2010. Business was good, in fact it was booming; however, after opening a second shop in Gahanna last year and with her lease up for renewal, she opted to consolidate the business into the Gahanna location. Bush, who has worked as a stylist for almost 30 years, has curly hair and is the child of curly-haired parents. Her expertise and passion for curly-hair care is striking. After a call for a few facts on this article, she began a remarkable discussion about what she does and obviously loves. Visit ambushedsalon.com for news and information about the Gahanna shop.

Lindsay Fork sold her business La Jeune Mariee Maids & Social Occasions to Tanya Hartman who promptly renamed it Gilded Social: The Fancy Occasion Shop, moving it from the Short North location at 642 N. High, Suite B (facing E. Russell) to 65 E. Gay St. The other business of Fork’s, LUXEredux Bridal Boutique, remains under her ownership in the Short North on Russell (and Cincinnati and Indianapolis) and will expand into the vacated suite next door. Fork also owns the Bridal Collection of La Jeune Mariee at 139 E. Main St.

One of the oldest galleries in the Short North will be moving after serving 28 years as a showcase for contemporary art. ROY G BIV Gallery for Emerging Artists will vacate 997 N. High St. at the end of May and resettle in Franklinton at the SE corner of W. Rich and Lucas streets, hopefully by fall. The High Street building where they are currently located is set for redevelopment. Another tenant in the building, Flower Child vintage, announced last September that they were looking to move into a former hardware-parts store at 233 E. Fifth Ave. Vamp Official, the women’s apparel store next to ROY G BIV, has not announced plans for their relocation.

On March 1, Karla Rothan, the executive director of Stonewall Columbus, announced her decision to retire. Much has been written and said about the organization’s inaction after the arrest of Black Pride 4 protesters at the Stonewall Pride Parade last year, but Rothan stated in media accounts that her decision had nothing to do with the controversy but rather her plans to marry her partner of 21 years and spend quality time with family and friends, as well as continue to engage with the community in “new and different ways.” Rothan, who has been director for 12 years, plans to be out by the end of the year. In the meantime, she will provide help with fundraising and development, and oversee the construction and opening of the new Stonewall Community Center on High Street during the transition. Under her leadership, the organization, which was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, bounced back, gained ground, and continues to uphold its mission to work for tolerance, acceptance, and basic human rights for the LGBTQ community.

Bunn-Minnick Pipe Organ Co. sold their building at 875 Michigan Ave. in Harrison West, closed the business, and auctioned off their inventory. Robert Bunn Jr. and Philip Minnick started the business in 1969 in Bunn’s basement. Minnick passed away in December 2016 after a series of strokes at the age of 68, a loss that undoubtedly contributed to Bunn’s decision to close. In an article written for the Harrison West Society website in 2012, Mary MacDonald describes the organ company’s moves in Harrison West before settling into the Michigan Avenue site – a large four-story 1920s-era office building they restored and customized to accommodate the tall pipe organs. Over the years, the windows were regularly illuminated at night by glowing candles, reflecting the romance, grandeur, and magnificent of their merchandise. Chrstine Hayes' May 2000 article on our website offers fascinating details about the renovation. The Bunn-Minnick Pipe Organ Co. was extraordinary, adding character and dignity to the neighborhood. The building is in good shape and should continue to provide many years of service to future occupants. Let’s hope they respect its history and allow it to remain standing as long as possible.

On the Mend
Kevin Malcolm Jones, otherwise known at Malcolm J., a well-known Short North street artist, was attacked in Mike’s Grill at 724 N. High St. on March 1. In a WBNS 10TV news story, the bartender described the incident: Malcolm helped her remove a belligerent customer from the bar by getting him out the door. The man returned, climbing a fence in back and entering from the rear. He blindsided Malcolm with a broken beer bottle, hitting him in the eye. Malcolm is currently in the OSU Medical Center and was told he is in danger of losing his eye. A GoFundMe account has been set up by Laura Cotton at www.gofundme.com/malcolm-j-recovery-fund. Malcolm has journeyed through homelessness, addiction, poverty. He scrapes out a living by selling his art. He needs help.

SEE ALSO: NEIGHBORHOOD EVENTS/NEWS (SELECT WRITEUP)

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