12 minute read
DATE SPOTS
from (614) February 2022
Five different V-Day date ideas at five different price points
By Laura Hennigan
Whether you consider it to be a real holiday, or just something Hallmark invented, Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and ready to inundate everyone with hearts, candy, and an endless loop of Ed Sheeran songs.
As Columbus continues to navigate these strange times, there are still plenty of creative ways to celebrate love on February 14th - both in person, or from the comfort of your couch.
We’ve rounded up the best V-day date ideas to match your budget and your comfort level, so grab a dozen roses and get ready to celebrate. →
White Castle has been offering its signature in-Castle, reservations-only Valentine’s Day dinner since 1991. Out of caution for the health and safety of their customers and team members, they have decided to shift their focus and create a togo experience this year.
On February 14th only, cravers can grab the new “Love Cube,” a meal for two (or one, we’re not here to judge) in a specially designed box. Binge some Netflix while enjoying eight Sliders, a choice of two shareable sides, five-piece cheese sticks, and two small Coca-Cola Freestyle soft drinks. The cube costs $14.99, and you can also add on their new strawberry swirl cheesecake on a stick dessert.
↑ The White Castle Love Cube
↑ COSI visitors enjoy an After Dark event
Celebrate a few days early at the COSI After Dark on February 10th. The theme for this 21+ event is The Science of Love, and from 7 to 10 p.m. you and your date can explore the center kid-free. Tickets are $20 in advance, $30 at the door, and include entertainment and activity stations designed with love in mind.
If you are looking to extend date night, COSI and the Hilton Columbus Downtown are partnering together for a special Valentine’s Day offer. The package will include a pair of tickets to the Feb. 10 After Dark event, plus an overnight stay in a deluxe king room, some bubbly and strawberries, breakfast for two and complimentary valet parking.
Hot Chicken Takeover and Mikey’s Late Night Slice (dubbed Hot Mikey’s Takeover) will once again be hosting their annual Valentine’s Day fundraiser benefiting the Columbus Diaper Bank. Pizza kits will be available for pre-order on the Mikey’s Late Night Slice website in three different Hot Chicken Takeover combinations: Nashvillestyle, Ma Mac’s, and a vegan option.
Kits will cost around $30, and there will be a live-streamed pizza making party with the owners on Feb. 14. “Whether you’ve got someone to spend it with or you’re single AF,” said Late Night Slice founder Mikey Sorboro, “this will be an unforgettable and unique experience that will bring us all together.”
↑ Vegan pizza from Hot Mikey's Takeover ↑ Steak from chef Benjamyn Greig
If you’re ready to ditch the sweatpants and enjoy a dinner out, head to High Bank Distillery. Executive Chef Benjamyn Greig has compiled a special $45 Valentine’s Day menu made up of 3 courses, including house smoked salmon, surf and turf and a specialty dessert from The Cheesecake Girl. This curated dinner will only be available on Feb. 9-12 and Feb. 14.
High Bank is also featuring a speciality cocktail pairing for two V-day themed drinks. $25 will get you a Love Stuck, made with High Bank vodka, house made strawberry balsamic shrub, cucumber and fresh lime, along with Crimes of Passion, consisting of Whiskey War, chai-infused sweet vermouth, pomegranate and fresh lemon.
The Kitchen on Livingston Avenue will be hosting two different Valentine’s Day experiences this year. On February 12, pairs can sign up for a Thai yoga workshop with Charles Gibson, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Tickets are $90 per couple and include a prepared brunch.
On Feb. 14, there will be a participatory cooking and dining experience from 6-9 p.m. For $70 per person, participants will help create (and then enjoy) dishes including mixed green salad, petite filet mignon and flourless dark chocolate cake.
“We feel like cooking can be a really intimate experience, whether it's with a friend or a romantic partner,” said founder and co-owner Anne Boninsegna. “Cooking is a great way to spend time together, and we try to make it fun and relaxing for everyone.”
↑ Participants preparing food at an event from The Kitchen
Let's face it, when you need a professional, whether it's a doctor, a Real Estate agent, or some other service-related field, you want to know what services they offer, but you also want to know who they are and what they're about. (614) is going to help you with that!
We will feature some of Columbus' top professionals in this special advertising section that helps you learn not just what they do, but how they do it and what their story is. From social enterprises that work to better their communities to highly skilled medical professionals who can better your health, we've got the story behind the storefront—and we're excited for you to meet them. Columbus, meet The Professionals. →
Breaking Barriers
Transcendio is helping women unlock their true potential in the booming technology field
By Melissa Braithwaite / Photos by Aaron Massey
Hey ladies, particularly women of color—have you ever attempted to use a hand dryer and it didn’t turn on for your dark skin? Or has Siri or Alexa not heard you or misunderstood you because of the pitch and tone of your voice? Or even worse, has your head been cut off on a video conference because it didn’t recognize your dark-skinned face as a face?
This is why we need women, and particularly under-represented minorities, in tech today, says Transcendio CEO and Co-Founder Elizabeth Tolia. “We need to change the face of technology,” she says. “The technology created in the tech boom over the last 25 years was created mostly by white men.” By getting more women on teams building technology, tech could work better for all end users, she says.
“If we had more women working in tech today, our perspective would be considered, and we could begin advancing those technologies with input from an industry that considers many perspectives and the whole world,” Tolia says.
Tolia co-founded Transcendio with Dan Greenleaf to help women transition into a career in tech by translating their existing skills into highly sought-after skills needed for success in the tech industry.
For example, bartenders, servers and bank tellers already know how to interact professionally and make quick decisions. Mothers, in particular, have gained skills from organizing their lives and their kids’ lives. “Those are skills that can be transferred easily to an IT environment,” Tolia says. “Many people don’t realize that.”
Transcendio is always looking for candidates for its program, which helps women and underrepresented minorities use their hard-earned skills and knowledge Elizabeth Tolia ↑
to move into a career in tech. Transcendio provides training, mentorship, networking opportunities and career placement services at no cost to the candidate, as long as they complete the entire program, through placement.
Transcendio is helping break down the barriers to technology careers for women and minorities by helping place more of them in tech leadership positions. “To change the culture, you have to change the leadership,” Greenleaf says. “You can either try to explain to a bunch of white guys how to value their contributions and help women to stay comfortable in their roles, or you can get women and minorities in those roles, which is obviously the answer we, and many companies, are betting on.” Sometimes the biggest barriers come from within. “People new to the idea can get turned off by IT,” says Tolia. “That was my first reaction. I just thought, well coding isn’t something I want to do. But then I was exposed to the fun side of IT–delivering the value, working with customers and stakeholders and product owners to innovate new technologies to make things better for all people.”
Transcendio places its candidates in tech roles ranging from scrum master to user experience specialist to project manager or business analyst positions.
The tech field can be very lucrative and can offer women a well-defined career path that is not always offered to women in other industries. Greenleaf says that as the tech industry would benefit from more women, more women would also benefit from a career in tech.
“I have five daughters, and I want them to have the same experience in the technology field as I have, to work on the tech they use on a daily basis,” he says. “It’s also a rewarding career path. I want them to have the same opportunities as the men, and I don’t think that’s the way it works today.”
↑ First cohort of Explorers that have completed the Transcendio journey
To learn more about Transcendio or to apply for the program, visit www.transcendio.co www.transcendio.co
(614) 412-5670
All Business
How LKW Home Team is helping women-owned businesses boom
By Melinda Green / Photos by James D DeCamp
Jennifer Kessel-White and Lauren Lucas, co-owners of LKW Home Team, have built a top-one-percent real estate team, and now they are ready to invite Columbus to their “passion project”—they’re driven to help other women succeed as business owners, as well. So, in 2021, in partnership with 614 Media Group, they launched their newest business venture Empow(HER).
“We’re very passionate about female entrepreneurship,” Lucas said. “In 2020, when the pandemic hit, we saw people losing their jobs and starting to research how to have a business of their own.”
“It was individuals who realized how important life was, and how valuable being happy in your career is,” Kessel-White continued. “It was ‘The Great Resignation’—we knew so many people who were starting their own business.”
The pair decided to help those women who were exploring a transition to real estate, mortgage, even candle-making—really, any field they desired that would bring them fulfillment and income.
Their first Empow(HER) panel discussion, in May 2021, addressed the question “How did you start your business?” and sold out in 24 hours. COVID restrictions limited the event to 35 participants and four panelists, but the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. “It was invigorating,” Lucas recalled. “We were getting messages afterward, of ‘I knew I was coming for empowerment, but I got so much more than I ever imagined.’”
“Almost all of the women showed up alone, knowing no one, and made connections,” Kessel-White noted.
Their second panel discussion, in late summer, drew 50 participants for the topic of “Growing your business.” For the $20 registration fee, each woman received a professional headshot, drink tickets, snacks, and networking before and after the event.
The panels are set up to be interactive, with ample time for the question and answer period. Panelists are encouraged to be candid and real. They’re also encouraged to reveal their business plans.
“We want them to share their heartaches, their glorious moments, things they’ve learned, things they would never do again,” Kessel-White continued. “It’s fun, and it’s funny; we laugh, we cry, we do all the things, and we build great relationships.”
The result is that, as Lucas said, “women are really asking questions and feeling like they have the ability to go out there and do it. They’re hearing from other women who started with nothing.”
Their primary audience is between 25 and 45 years old, although the founders don’t target any particular age group. And they realize that the rewards reach far beyond the entrepreneurs themselves. “My parents never owned a home until I was an adult. Our children are going to have different outcomes, because someone helped me change mine,” KesselWhite said. “Our mission is to become a resource for women to create their dream career or level-up their business, encouraging pride, growth and financial success, while changing family trees.” Lucas continued.
Kessel-White and Lucas are growing their panel discussions to quarterly in 2022 and starting what Lucas calls a “raw and authentic” podcast aimed at emerging business owners, featuring established, local, female entrepreneurs also named Empow(HER)
And as Empow(HER) grows and secures nonprofit status, the founders plan to introduce a membership program, where women ready to take the leap will be able to ask questions and work with established women business owners in a mentoring process. Membership money will fund a “scholarship” program to start new businesses.
“It’s inclusive; everyone is welcome,” Lucas said. “It’s a new era. We’re not in competition; we’re here to share our wins, our failures. Let’s get to where we want to be, quicker.”
To learn more about LKW, visit www.lkwhometeam.com ↑ Jennifer Kessel-White and Lauren Lucas
1510 W. Lane Ave Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
(614) 321-9262
