Bakery and Coffee Shop Coming to Uptown

Fox in the Snow opening fifth central Ohio location

In a recent edition of Ohio Magazine, Fox in the Snow co-founder Lauren Culley was quoted about her establishments as saying, “The shops exist because of the people in the community. I would not hesitate putting a shop in any neighborhood; it is born from the people that are there.”

Culley and her husband and co-founder Jeff Excell have lived up to that statement for more than a decade as they have expanded the restaurant's footprint across central Ohio. The couple opened the original shop in Italian Village in Columbus in 2014. In 2018, they opened their second location in nearby German Village before expanding to New Albany in 2019 and Dublin in 2023.

"The people in the community breathe life into each space we build," said Culley, a native of Urbana, Ohio. "We can think of every single detail and anticipate how it will be enjoyed, but ultimately it belongs to the people who visit who make it their own. The personality of each location comes from the community it's in, which is what makes each location so unique."

For its newest location, the couple was drawn to Uptown for the historic district's authenticity and sense of community.

“We have always been drawn to neighborhoods and strong communities and Westerville is a perfect example of both,” said Culley. “We've been hoping to join the Westerville area for quite awhile and were waiting for the timing to be right. The stars aligned with this space and the timing of our expansion and we couldn't be more excited to contribute to the thriving Uptown area.”

Fox in the Snow will be carrying some impressive accolades into its new venue at 79 S. State St. In April, a restaurant and recipe review site LoveFood. com rated the shop’s “Souffled Egg Sandwich” the best breakfast sandwich in the state of Ohio. Fox in the Snow also has been recognized nationally as one of the top coffee shops and bakeries in the country by FoodAndWine.com.

The popularity and brand of Fox in the Snow speaks for itself in central Ohio, but becoming a part of the Westerville and Uptown ecosystem will be at the forefront for Culley and Excell.

“We purposefully have designed the spaces for interaction, from how close together the tables are, to how open the space is and how low the counters are," said Excell. "We tried to encourage the kind of unexpected meetings that come from allowing yourself to be part of a community. It really helps when we get to build a shop in a place like Westerville that has already put a lot of work and time into making Uptown extremely walkable. We are hoping to be the destination when people are deciding where to meet for breakfast.”

With a late summer or early fall open date tentatively scheduled, Culley and Excell are committed to the values and the overall product and service that have made the previous four locations successful.

“We are still prioritizing the same things we were on Day One, which is to create a beautiful and intimate space where people can gather, giving the best hospitality we can and making the most delicious food every day,” said Culley. “There are a number of existing establishments in Westerville who are making incredible food. We hope to simply add to what is already making Westerville great.”

For more about Fox in the Snow, visit the shop’s website at www.FoxInTheSnow.com.