Columbus Monthly – July 2025 by The Columbus Dispatch/Dispatch Magazines

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Genetic testing advances offer hope in ovarian cancer prevention

You might hear about your risk of ovarian cancer through an aunt, mother, sister or grandmother. For some, there are no signs of hereditary cancer in the family, but genetic testing still reveals a high hereditary risk.

Genetic testing could prevent you from ever having ovarian cancer.

“The only way to do that is to offer testing to people before they’ve developed cancer,” says genetic counselor Leigha Senter, MS. Two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are associated with several different kinds of hereditary cancer risk.

The two most predominant cancers we see in people with mutations in these genes are breast cancer and ovarian cancers, but the genes can also pose a hereditary risk for prostate and pancreatic cancers and even some melanomas.

“These genes really do cause a spectrum of cancer risk,” Senter says. “If we offer people BRCA testing, we could identify those at high risk who didn’t otherwise know.”

There are a few factors to consider before genetic testing, including your family history, how it could affect your insurance, and how it might be useful to you.

It’s not always clear who’s at risk for ovarian cancer

For Brooke Lane, one of the first indications that she had ovarian cancer was dull abdominal pain. Eventually, that pain became so great she made a trip to the emergency department.

A CT scan later showed two large tumors on her ovaries. Her diagnosis was Stage 3 ovarian cancer.

“The only thing worse than having cancer is not knowing you have it,” Brooke says, recalling her 2018 diagnosis. Her maternal grandmother died of colon cancer, and she had no other family history of cancer.

Senter, her genetic counselor, recommended that Brooke undergo genetic testing, which identified a BRCA mutation.

Once the gene was identified, Brooke’s extended family, including her 63-year-

mother, Sharon, were tested for

“It’s complicated information,” Senter says, “while people often report that they are grateful to receive information about their family members’ positive genetic test result. It gives them a piece of information that could keep them healthy.”

Sharon also tested positive for the mutation. For people who test positive and still have fallopian tubes and ovaries, it’s recommended to have the fallopian tubes and ovaries removed in their 40s.

Sharon was already at the age when ovarian cancer can start to develop. She underwent what was supposed to be preventive surgery. Surgeons found very early-stage ovarian cancer.

“Brooke’s diagnosis and decision to get genetic testing saved my life,” Sharon says.

Brooke and Sharon underwent chemotherapy treatments together at the OSUCCC – James. “It is a way we bonded that I could have never imagined going through,” Brooke says.

Scan the QR code to learn more about ovarian cancer care and research at the OSUCCC – James.

Genetic testing factors to consider

For some people, genetic testing for BRCA is a well-known recommendation, including:

• Anyone who receives a breast cancer, ovarian cancer or pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

• Close relatives of people diagnosed with ovarian, pancreatic or breast cancers

However, family histories are sometimes vague or unknown. For example, if you have a distant relative who may have died from ovarian cancer, should you still consider getting tested?

“That’s where the importance of genetic counseling comes in. We can take into account all of those finer details, which every family has, and say, ‘Maybe we don’t just check all of the boxes, but it would be reasonable to test,’” Senter says.

Identify first-degree and second-degree relatives you have and determine if any of them have ever had cancer. If so, what type?

Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about risks for ovarian or other types of cancer. Ask if cancer genetic testing would be a reasonable consideration for you.

Insurance often covers genetic testing. However, even without coverage, there are financial assistance options for people who are uninsured or underinsured, Senter says.

If you think genetic testing might be useful to you, make an appointment with a genetic counselor. In most cases, a physician’s referral is not needed. “We can review the options for genetic testing and the pros and cons of each approach. Then you can make some decisions,” Senter says.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the most common causes of hereditary ovarian cancers, but they’re not the only ones. More genes are now included when undergoing genetic testing for cancer.

“If a person had testing for just BRCA1 and BRCA2 in the past, they need updated genetic testing to include these more recently discovered genes,” Senter says.

Scan the QR code to learn more about genetic counseling for cancer risk at the OSUCCC – James.

old

BRCA mutations.

24 BEST OF COLUMBUS

Columbus Monthly readers picked their top places to visit, eat and drink, plus local people they admire. See the winners of our annual poll. Bonus, learn some of our staff’s favorite spots around town.

35 TIME OF TRANSFORMATION

Monica Téllez-Fowler, the leader of COTA, faces a critical task in implementing the $8 billion LinkUS plan and remaking transit in Columbus. Here’s the story of how her career and life experiences have prepared her for this moment.

ON THE COVER: Roses at Oakland Nursery

Photo by Tim Johnson

Caroline, Matt, Connor and Claire DeSantis at DeSantis Florists, selected by readers as the city’s Best Florist

Marty Ross-Dolen finds connection with her grandparents, Highlights for Children executives killed in a plane crash, in her

The changing shape of local news in Columbus.

Children’s Hunger Alliance faces funding cuts, with 1.5 million meals for Ohio’s kids at risk.

Irvin

Independence Day events, a beer tasting, the Ohio State Fair and more

Home

Local

A Marble Cliff ranch adds modern functionality while preserving the original feel from 1952.

WHAT’S HOT Mid-century glassware extravaganza at Gay Fad Studios

56 SPRING FORAGER RECIPE

Make the winner of Columbus Monthly’s Spring Cocktail Competition at home.

57 PANCAKE BALLS PAVED THE WAY Reflections on 15 years in the industry by the founder of Katalina’s

58 LET’S EAT

Our monthly directory of where to dine.

40 PENZONE SALONS + SPAS

A sushi tasting menu like nowhere else in town.

The locally owned business takes a whole person approach.

Monica Téllez-Fowler

Haru Omakase

COLUMBUSMONTHLY.COM

EDITOR AND GENERAL MANAGER, DISPATCH MAGAZINES

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Lucy Clark

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

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DESIGN & PRODUCTION PAGE DESIGNERS

Kathryn Biek, Kelly Hignite, Kaity Athialy, Hannah Patton

DIGITAL EDITOR

Julanne Hohbach

Michelle Moskowitz Brown

As the Ohio legislature threatens to cut funding, the CEO of Children’s Hunger Alliance asks: How could anyone argue against the basic need for children to have nutritious food? Page 14.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Janet Chen

As her longtime client and friend, the ProMusica CEO reflects on 20 years in business for Sarah Irvin Clark’s PR firm. Page 15.

Columbus Monthly’s restaurant critic brings us the wonders of Haru Omakase at Polaris, Page 54. She also reviews a new book about the founders of Highlights for Children, Page 10.

STAR TREK

Amy Bodiker Baskes

Cities Need Effective Transit to Flourish

You may be aware that the sales tax in Franklin and parts of surrounding counties went up by 0.5 percent on April 1 to 8 percent, doubling the share collected by the Central Ohio Transit Authority to 1 percent. That’s not a huge amount, comparatively—transit has been funded by a 1 percent sales tax in Austin, Houston and Chicago since the 1970s and 1980s, for example. In the Columbus region, the increase will be used to fund LinkUS, an $8 billion initiative to reinvent the way people engage with public transit. It’s a monumental undertaking. The plan calls for implementing bus rapid transit, with dedicated lanes and boarding platforms, along three initial corridors in Columbus. BRT is designed to speed up the time it takes to get from point A to point B, making the bus more useful to potential riders and taking cars off the roads as our population swells beyond 3 million people in the coming 20 years.

Katy Smith katy@columbusmonthly.com

Because leaders from the city of Colum-

bus, Franklin County, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the Columbus Partnership— the entities that conceived LinkUS with COTA— know the vast majority of bus riders walk to their bus stops, LinkUS is tasked with building 500 miles of sidewalks and trails during that time frame, ensuring people have somewhere safe to walk, with an appropriately designed bus stop at the end of that walk. That means a shelter—and not simply a sign rising from a concrete sidewalk heat island that blazes in the August sun, 5 feet away from cars rushing by at 45 mph. What the region stands to benefit is great. And the challenge is equally great. Monica Téllez-Fowler, COTA’s new CEO, now faces the giant task represented by LinkUS, and she appears to be doing it with spirit and fortitude. In this month’s issue starting on Page 35, meet Monica and find out why her background and her experiences make her just the person to lead Central Ohio’s transit transformation.

Send letters to: Editor, Columbus Monthly, 605 S. Front St., Ste. 300, Columbus, OH 43215. Or email: letters@columbus monthly.com. A letter must include the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number. Letters will be edited for length and clarity. All letters sent to Columbus Monthly are considered for publication, either in print or online.

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COMMENTS

Readers enjoyed the June issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Columbus Monthly. Here are what a few had to say: The Clock, Engine House No. 5, and Max and Erma’s— simply great places to enjoy life. Thank you for the recall. I only wish you had included Ma and Pa Grundy’s—later to become Plank’s. Great article and another fine issue. Robert Dilenschneider, New York

I believe I’m either a charter subscriber, or very close to it, and have always looked forward to the next issue

of Columbus Monthly. So many stories documenting the events and personalities that shaped the amazing transformation of our city, from a “cowtown” in search of an identity, to the thriving, 15th largest city in the U.S. it is today.

What a wonderful place to live and raise a family; a place that is big enough to be reasonably cosmopolitan for the arts, sports and affordable cost of living, yet with a friendly, Midwestern small-town vibe, and the ability to get from one end of town to other in 25 minutes most days! Regarding the piece about the formative years of the magazine, I do feel the need to point out what I consider a

rather glaring omission: There was no mention of Martha “Marty” Brian. She was known as “Mad” Martha while carving her niche as a legendary professor in the Ohio State University School of Journalism. With her untimely passing in 1982 at only 51, Columbus Monthly founder Max Brown recognized her influence and legacy to the magazine by placing her name on the top of CM’s masthead. Best wishes as you document the next 50 years! I hope you can come up with a new version of The Other Paper we could really use it now! Roger Rill, Hilliard

CORRECTION

Cortland Mullins cofounded The Grief Club in Columbus. A story in the May issue contained an incorrect spelling of her name.

front & center

There, Always Gone”

BY TIM JOHNSON

PHOTO

“Always

A new book by Bexley resident Marty Ross-Dolen explores the lives of her grandparents, the founders of Highlights for Children, who met a tragic end. Page 10.

Piecing Together the Past

A new memoir details the Bexley writer’s quest to connect with her grandparents, the founders of Highlights for Children, who died in a plane crash.

By Amy Bodiker Baskes

In December 1960, Highlights for Children executives Garry Myers Jr. and Mary Martin Myers were killed in a commercial airline collision over New York City. They were 38 years old and left behind the family business they had spent the past decade building and leading.

They also left behind five small children ages eight to 16, who were sent from their home in Marble Cliff to be raised by an uncle in Austin, Texas. As was common at the time, the children were expected to bravely move forward from this shattering event, and the tragedy was rarely discussed in any depth in family or company circles again.

In 2010, at the 50th anniversary of the accident, there were memorial events and articles of remembrance. It was then that Garry and Mary’s granddaughter, Marty Ross-Dolen, began writing, a helpful tool to process her family’s experience of grief and trauma and understand more about the lives of the grandparents she never knew. What started out as a personal essay became a memoir that took Ross-Dolen the next 14 years to write.

Named in honor of her grandmother, Ross-Dolen was born just six years after the accident, when her mother left college to marry her father and start a family. From a young age, Ross-Dolen observed her mother’s unspoken grief and grew deeply protective of her. She also developed a deep longing to know more about her namesake and the family story that always had been shrouded in silence.

“Always There, Always Gone,” released in May by She Writes Press, is ultimately a tale of discovery. It follows the author’s

Front & Center | Books

journey to understand her grandmother and unpack her extraordinary life from her tragic death. It is also a touching mother-daughter story thoughtfully revealed in the fragmented memories of three intertwined lives.

Understanding the meaning we give to memories over time is an important theme in this book: In one chapter, Ross-Dolen and her mother exchange the pieces they can remember of a childhood nosebleed episode, which was strong with emotions of fear and embarrassment, but initially short on details. Over the course of an afternoon, through phone calls and texts, mother and daughter rebuild the narrative until it is fully seen, reminding us all how incomplete memories are better when shared.

Primary source materials play an important role in this memoir. After years

of sitting with the many boxes of her grandmother’s personal papers and archives, Ross-Dolen takes us through her process of thoughtfully reviewing each piece. “My grandmother’s letters, the essence of them, the treasure of them, exhaust me,” she writes. Examples of many handwritten letters, summer camp records, family vacation photos and news clippings are reprinted in the book for readers to process.

Through these documents, we learn, alongside Ross-Dolen, about Mary at every stage—from a “1930’s wide-eyed girl turned 1940’s clear-sighted woman turned 1950’s quick-witted mother.” In the many reprinted letters from different parts of her life, we hear directly from Mary in her own voice, which is bright, curious and spunky.

But these documents give us only a partial picture—this is a memoir, not

Photos by Tim Johnson

Marty Ross-Dolen

a biography, after all. Ross-Dolen is experimental in her approach to the story, which helps us as readers understand all she is processing. She fantasizes about visiting her grandmother as a girl at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, slipping into a scene in a rowboat just as quickly as she slips out. To comprehend the curious contents of an accordion file of letters from her grandmother’s many college boyfriends, Ross-Dolen creates an imagined gameshow in the campy style of The Dating Game

Erasure poems are another example of Ross-Dolen’s creativity with the materials she was given. Erasure poetry gives new life to existing documents by blocking out some of the letters or lines to create a poem out of the words that remain. For Ross-Dolen, these new works leave her stamp on the materials and become a metaphor for her journey, what she calls her version of a craft activity that might be found in the pages of Highlights “You can’t write about three full lives without cutting something,” she explained in an interview.

And lest you think otherwise, Ross-Dolen is keenly aware you’re not supposed to write fictionally in a mem-

oir. In chapters that speak directly to the reader, the author explains that she is in full control of these liberties, writing, “these became the fun parts in an otherwise painful project.” These experimental sections also allow readers to witness the author’s blossoming relationship with the grandmother she never knew.

Told in vignettes, what the author calls wisps—“wisps of time, wisps of hope, wisps of imagination, wisps of despair”— the book is accessible and digestible. Ross-Dolen uses all of these tools skillfully. Through retelling personal memories, sharing precious primary source materials and a playful creative license, she thoughtfully pieces these many fragments together like a quilter, forming something artfully whole and totally new. In so doing, Ross-Dolen reclaims the story of her grandmother from her family’s silence and makes it her own. ◆



Letters. photos and journals that belonged to plane crash victims and Highlights for Children leaders Garry Myers Jr. and Mary Martin Myers. The materials form the basis of a new book by their granddaughter, “Always There, Always Gone.”

Front & Center | Media

Decline at the Doorstep

With the shutdown of the Columbus Messenger in April, the decline of hyperlocal news outlets accelerates. Will new models of journalism take their place?

By Aaron Marshall

After more than 50 years in the newspaper business, the Columbus Messenger chain went out with a whimper, not a bang. Four days after publishing what would become its last edition, the weekly chain’s publisher and owner, Phil Daubel, posted a note on the group’s website April 10.

“The current economic climate and the changing nature of the newspaper industry, including how people get their news and how advertisers reach their customers, has adversely impacted our ability to continue publishing,” wrote Daubel. “The decreasing advertising revenue and our accompanying rising expenses make it no longer economically feasible for our newspapers to continue.”

Daubel’s decision marked the demise of longstanding weekly papers in Grove City, Groveport, Madison Coun-

ty, Canal Winchester and on Columbus’ West Side. And it also meant the disappearance of weekly newspapers across the region. The move followed the choice by corporate parent Gannett Inc. in 2023 to shutter more than a dozen local papers operating under the ThisWeek banner; the company’s 2022 cancellation of the alt-weekly Columbus Alive ; and the shuttering of the Suburban News Publications chain of weeklies by its new owner, The Columbus Dispatch , in 2011. (Transparency: Columbus Monthly and The Dispatch now are part of Gannett.)

As of 2025, the African-American News Journal in Columbus and Dayton also has ceased publication.

At this moment, general circulation newspapers in Central Ohio have

reached a new nadir. A print media market that, a generation ago, supported a trio of alternative papers, two competing weekly newspaper chains with more than three dozen titles between them, and a fat daily newspaper, now has dwindled to just the daily Dispatch, which is printed six days a week and doing more journalism than ever with a smaller staff..

Chris Bournea, a longtime ThisWeek reporter who began his career at the city’s once-prominent Black weekly The Call and Post, said the lack of journalists covering local issues is apparent to his old sources. “When I run into city council members or mayors that I used to cover, they say, ‘We miss being held accountable,’ he says. ‘I think it’s really sad; there’s definitely a void, and people still have an appetite for local news.’”

Local publications that have shuttered in recent years.

PHOTO

TIM JOHNSON

This funeral dirge for local news is being heard across the country, according to Tim Franklin, director of the Local News Initiative at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. “It fits in with what’s been happening nationally. We have been tracing the loss of what amounts to two and a half newspapers a week,” Franklin says. “The nation has lost a third of its newspapers in the last 20 years, and it’s a trend we don’t see slowing at all.”

The traditional local news model may be fading, but one man in Columbus fights on. Cliff Wiltshire is publisher of the Clintonville Spotlight, a free monthly print publication serving greater Clintonville since 2017. The longtime editor and reporter for Suburban News Publications is the last man standing when it comes to a hyperlocal newspaper in print with monthly editions now in Clintonville and Worthington. (Columbus Underground, and Matter News, a local arts-oriented digital publication, are online-only.)

Wiltshire said he decided to return to the journalism business because the former readers of what had been called the (Clintonville) Booster kept telling him how much they missed it. “I thought I would give it one year, and if people were really done with print, that would be it,” Wiltshire says. “But it has just kept getting traction in the community.”

While Wiltshire represents the oldschool model, a new model for hyperlocal journalism might be emerging. Nonprofit news organization Signal Ohio operates digital-only newsrooms in Akron, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Plans for a Columbus newsroom are in the works. Signal is joined by Richland Source, a digital news group in the Mansfield area with local sports and schools coverage reaching into neighboring Ashland and Knox counties.

The Source has turned to a paywall, old-fashioned ads and an in-house marketing agency to build a sustainable bottom line. Northwestern’s Franklin calls it one of the best examples in the country of how digital-only hyperlocal news providers can flourish.

While Franklin sees a new local news model evolving, the impact of closing newspapers like the Messenger chain is no less dire. “We are talking about losing a business that acts as the glue that binds a community together and provides a public service,” he says. “It’s a serious problem.” ◆

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TAKE A SELF-GUIDED PUBLIC ART TOUR

by Janet Echelman

Starved for Support

Children’s Hunger Alliance faces a drastic cut to its state funding, which could mean 1.5 million fewer meals for kids.

By Michelle Moskowitz Brown

What will it take to end childhood hunger? Who is responsible for solving this problem?

These are the questions legislators, supporters and advocates ask, and I have spent much of my 30-year career trying to answer them.

At Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA), we tackle childhood hunger head-on every day, and there is widespread bipartisan sentiment to address it. It’s hard to understand how anyone could argue against the basic need for children to have nutritious food every day of the year.

While so many people care about this issue, CHA is facing a 33 percent cut in the state budget, as our wait lists balloon. We are simply asking the Ohio General Assembly to restore us to flat funding, no increase, so we don’t have to take a step back from where we’ve been.

How did we get here? Gov. Mike DeWine included CHA in his proposed budget with flat funding at $3.75 million a year, and the Ohio House then drastically cut it to $1.5 million per year. Our partners and supporters successfully pressed legislators enough to increase it to $2.5 million per year, still $1.25 million short. That is a deep cut that would result in 1.5 million fewer meals for children a year.

As of press time, our funding had not been reinstated by the legislature. Our funding is through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which covers food and kids—exactly what we do. We are so good at getting food to the children who need it—and the need is so great—that this year, we spent all the TANF dollars by the end of April, leaving a two-month gap without this vital support. We are ending the program a week early and aim to bridge the shortfall with private funds, which are always part of the equation.

We represent the ultimate public-private partnership, a necessity in solving big problems. CHA has the infrastructure and public goodwill to do this work efficiently. If we increase our services by 5 percent a year over the next decade or so, we would be close to an Ohio where every child has a nourishing meal every day. This gives me hope because we can potentially achieve our goal. However, CHA will not go away when children are nourished, because fulfilling

this basic need requires consistent support to set children up for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Whose job is it to make sure every child in Ohio gets the food they need to thrive? I think it’s a group effort with public leadership on the issue. Let me know what you think. And while you’re at it, let your elected officials know as well. ◆

and

BY TIM

PHOTO

JOHNSON

Michelle Moskowitz Brown is president

CEO of Children’s Hunger Alliance.

Michelle Brown

Love and Levity

Sarah Irvin Clark’s superpower is placing others at the center of every conversation, never taking herself too seriously. A friend and client reflects as Irvin PR turns 20.

By Janet Chen

I first met Sarah Irvin Clark in July 2007. I was starting my leadership role at ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and quickly realized that the organization needed PR expertise. A mutual friend suggested I meet Sarah, as she recently had started a PR agency, and so we set up a coffee at Northstar Café in the Short North, close to her new office at the time. With limited knowledge about public relations, I was a bit nervous. But within five minutes of meeting, I felt as if I had known Sarah my whole life.

I often think of Sarah as this magical connective tissue. She has a special ability to tie strangers into friendships and inspire a shared sense of purpose. It is impossible to go anywhere with her without running into someone she knows. In these instances, Sarah always stops to say hello, asks what you’re up to, shares something “ridiculous,” laughs (often with a snort), and then says, “love you!” while hugging you as you say goodbye. This genuine effervescence buoys Sarah, even as she embraces the same life challenges we all experience—losing her father early in life, nursing her spouse through cancer, caring for her mother with dementia. Through all this, Sarah is the glue that connects her family, and us—supporting people’s passions, giving strength in times of stress and modeling resilience.

Irvin PR, Sarah’s “legacy,” as she lovingly calls it, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Early in our relationship, I wasn’t sure what to make of her other clients. She was frequently picking up clowns at 5 a.m., walking a herd of elephants down High Street, or waiting on a delivery of monster trucks. I heard about the Columbus Marathon, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and the cream puffs at Schmidt’s. I soon understood that Sarah

was the singular force leading publicity for these major events, infusing joy and creating community in our fast-growing city. The Columbus Sports Commission, Columbus Humane, the Arnold Sports Festival, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and of course, the city’s arts organizations all followed. The list keeps growing.

For ProMusica, Sarah has been the orchestra’s unsung hero—behind the scenes, amplifying our musical impact. As a client for 17 of Irvin PR’s 20 years, it’s no surprise that organizations stay with Sarah for the long haul. She is proud that 90 percent of her agency’s business comes from referrals. But she is equally proud of her staff, which has grown to eight (nine, if you include Charlie, the Chief Barking Officer)—who all recog-

nize her unwavering commitment to the team. Lydia Weyrich exclaims, “Whose boss routinely tells employees she loves them and means it?!” Audrey Audair shares that Sarah “allows me to be the best possible version of myself.”

Irvin PR recently moved into its new offices in German Village, space that will serve as fertile soil for the firm’s continued growth. Sarah is renowned for her infectious laugh, one that can be heard from across the street. And her actions speak even louder than her wondrous laugh. I am grateful for my friend whose love and superpower enriches the lives of everyone around her. ◆

Janet Chen is CEO of ProMusica Chamber Orchestra.

Sarah Irvin Clark

Building Boom

Central Ohio health care systems are spending billions on new facilities to meet patient demand.

By Samantha Hendrickson

If you throw a rock in Central Ohio, the chances of hitting a health system’s construction project is far from zero.

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, OhioHealth, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Mount Carmel Health System all have multiple developments in the works, motivated by population growth and increased demand for health care services.

Here’s a look at their recent and ongoing projects in Columbus and its suburbs.

OhioHealth Expands Grant and Builds a Women’s Center

On March 3, OhioHealth—the state’s largest health system—opened phase one of its $400 million construction project at Grant Medical Center, Downtown Columbus’ only hospital. The 33,000-square-foot Grant Family Medicine building resides on East State Street, across from the main medical center. It contains 50 patient rooms, Grant’s “transition of care” clinic and clinical learning opportunities for 36 family medicine resident physicians.

The rest of OhioHealth’s 310,000-squarefoot renovation of its Downtown campus is expected to be completed by 2028. It includes a new medical office building, a five-story parking garage and a new seven-story trauma center housing an emergency department, trauma bays, 160 patient rooms and two levels of underground parking.

The $250 million, 200,000-squarefoot expansion of OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital is also set to open in 2028. That’s two years earlier than previous estimates and includes a new sixfloor building alongside two four-floor existing ones.

One of the most anticipated of OhioHealth’s projects is the Riverside Methodist Hospital Women’s Center, a $600 million, 555,000-square-foot medical center intended to serve women across their lifespan. The center, off Olentangy River Road, is expected to open in 2027 and is being built with enough concrete to fill 26 Olympic pools and enough structural steel to make 2½ Boeing 747 airplanes.

Not yet underway is a new Comprehensive Cancer Center. OhioHealth’s $226 million, 199,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin construction in 2026. This will move all cancer care from the Bing Cancer Center to the Blom Administrative Campus on OhioHealth Parkway.

Scheduled to open in summer 2025 in Canal Winchester is a 40,000-squarefoot, $31 million health center with outpatient medical offices and a freestanding 12-bed emergency department.

Nationwide Children’s Plan Progresses At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the internationally renowned health system continues its $3.3 billion strategic plan announced in 2021.

The new Livingston Orthopedic and Surgery Center, opened in July 2024, is a 272,000-square-foot, six-story project housing surgery and rehabilitation services. The approximately $179 million facility features 10 operating rooms, more than 50 orthopedic and sports medicine exam rooms, a gait lab and a physical therapy gym along Livingston Avenue.

PHOTO BY

Nationwide Children’s Hospital opened the new Livingston Orthopedic and Surgery Center in July 2024.

Still being built is the new 14-story, 850,000-square-foot inpatient tower that will mirror the existing 12-story tower accessible via Parsons Avenue. The new $1.27 billion tower will increase the number of beds in the emergency department, neonatal intensive care unit and pediatric intensive care unit, and will serve as an acute care tower for the sickest and most complex of patients. It is expected to be finished in 2028.

The children’s hospital plans to open locations in Grove City in 2026 and New Albany in 2027.

Mount Carmel’s Fifth Hospital

Mount Carmel Health System’s investments in two Columbus-area suburbs, at least for now, are complete.

Expansion and facility upgrades to its New Albany location included a new $15 million, 8,100-square-foot facility with a 24/7 emergency department. The eightbed ED includes five standard emergency rooms, one trauma room, one sexual assault nurse examiner room and a behavioral health room.

Mount Carmel opened its new 240,000-square-foot campus in Dublin

near Sawmill Road and Emerald Parkway in April. The $273 million campus includes a 60-bed hospital with a 14-bed emergency department open 24/7, 10 short-stay beds, four operating rooms and an intensive care unit. This is the health system’s fifth hospital in Central Ohio.

Ohio State Tower Boasts 820 Beds

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has several ongoing projects, but the biggest one is the $2 billion, 26-story, 1.9 million-square-foot patient tower now under construction.

It will physically connect the current Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and is expected to open in 2026. The top three floors will be dedicated to women’s care and labor and delivery, with 51 neonatal intensive care beds in partnership with Nationwide Children’s.

The 820-bed tower will have more concrete than Ohio Stadium, enough steel to construct two Eiffel Towers and will be the 10th-tallest building in Columbus. Still under construction is OSU’s new outpatient care location in Powell across

from Olentangy Liberty High School. The $183 million, 200,000-square-foot project is the health system’s third suburban outpatient facility for primary and specialty services. It includes a five-story medical office building and a two-story ambulatory health center expected to open in summer 2026.

Renovations to Ohio State East Hospital are on track to be finished in early 2027. Approximately $22.3 million is going toward renovating operating rooms and adding workspace and storage.

Completed projects include the $42 million, 105,000-square-foot Martha Morehouse Outpatient Care facility renovation in September 2024, adding 8,500 square feet of lab and urgent care space.

In May 2024, OSU finished its “interdisciplinary health sciences center,” a 100,000-square-foot facility bringing together the seven health science colleges—medicine, nursing, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, public health and veterinary medicine—for more collaborative research. The project, alongside a 120,000-square-foot renovation of Hamilton Hall, amounted to $157 million. ◆

The Son of Immigrants

Pope Francis embodied ‘just love’ in his embrace of all people.

By Tim Ahrens

He was the son of immigrant parents. Fleeing Mussolini’s fascism, Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s parents sailed from Italy to Argentina in early 1929. He was born just before Christmas in 1936. Raised as a first generation immigrant, Jorge returned to his familial homeland in Italy in March 2013 as Pope Francis I. Throughout his 12-year papacy, Pope Francis had a special place in his heart for immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers—whose numbers reached a record 120 million people displaced by war and poverty during his time of leadership.

By the time of his death on April 21, Pope Francis had become the world’s greatest justice advocate for the poor—especially those living on our streets, trapped in our prisons, and struggling to establish future hope in countries torn in two by war, poverty and violence. Because of this, he was often in the crosshairs of some in his own church, President Donald Trump and other world leaders who had built walls and exclusionary policies closing doors of op-

portunity to those same forsaken people.

In 2016, Pope Francis told a gathering of Christians, “It’s hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help.” Who among us want to live our lives as hypocrites?

Pope Francis was a blessing to every person on earth—whether they acknowledged that or not. He was the champion of Just Love. He became this way by following the Gospel call of Jesus Christ to love our neighbors and, most of all, to love our enemies. Let us remember, his last act was to give all his personal savings to poor prisoners and their families—people he visited often in as pope.

By the time you read this, “Franciscus” will be a past-tense memory in our fast-moving times. Pope Leo XIV was elected pontiff on May 8. I pray that Francis’ spirit of love for all will live on

in each of us. From Francis, we in Columbus and beyond can learn how to pray and care for and love those who are struggling most in our midst.

This is not just a Christian message. This is a human message. Take time to stand with refugees and immigrants in our community. Someone in your family’s history likely defended your right to be here. Stand with the homeless and poor in Central Ohio. Someone stood up for you when you were down and out. Stand with the captives who are locked away and forgotten in Ohio.

It is time for us to stand up and speak out for others with the same loving veracity that we witnessed in Pope Francis. In this present moment, where you stand will determine what you see. What you see will determine what will say and do. And what you say and do will determine who you really are. ◆

Tim Ahrens is retired pastor of First Congregational Church in Columbus.

Pope Francis greets parishioners, immigrants and clients of Catholic Charities at St. Patrick’s Church in Washington in 2024.

Front & Center | Everyday Kindness Heroes

Finding Freedom Through Community Care

Columbus native Dennis Kerr came home to found

Hope Thru Housing, a residential treatment facility modeled from his own story.

By Sophia Veneziano

Twenty-three years ago, Dennis Kerr participated in a program that changed his life.

The two-year program in North Carolina helped him get sober. He is now approaching 24 years of sobriety, he says.

“Two years is a long time, but as I got into it, I thought, ‘What’s two years compared to the years I’ve been out ripping and running,’” Kerr says. “It’s two years to get your life back together.”

When the program ended, he stayed on for 10 more years as a staff member.

After feeling like his time in North Carolina had concluded, the Columbus native decided to move back home in 2010 to be closer to his family—and to bring the recovery model that worked for him to Columbus.

Hope Thru Housing started out as a free 24-month residential treatment program for men in 2011. In the past year, the organization opened its doors to women as well.

Kerr explains the “therapeutic community model” means financial support comes from both the community and money earned by the residents and other staff.

The organization operates a thrift store, a lawn care service and a farmer’s market on West Dublin-Grandville Road that is open daily from April through December.

Each of these businesses employs Hope Thru Housing residents to teach job skills and fund the treatment center’s operations. Seventy-five percent of operating costs are covered by this revenue,

with private donations covering the rest.

“A big reason I started it: One, because there wasn’t anything like it in Columbus, in Ohio for that matter, but somebody gave me that opportunity. I guess I want to return that to the Columbus community,” he says.

With the skills they’ve gained from their time with Hope Thru Housing, the goal is that residents eventually will move on and create their own businesses, Kerr says.

The program also allows residents to extend their housing for another year if they choose, and options are available to join the staff and help out even longer.

“It’s affordable housing while they’re getting back on their feet,” Kerr says.

Zack Borders is one such example.

After completing the two-year program, Borders continued to live in the house and oversee five male residents as well as the lawn care program.

“My life was a mess when I came in here,” Borders says.

“I had nothing to my name. My family was done with me, and [I had] hit rock bottom. I came in here, and [Dennis is] a great guy and cares about people.”

Reflecting on the way the structure helped him heal, whether it was cooking dinner with the other residents or attending group meetings after work, Borders says he always will consider himself in recovery. His time with Hope Thru Housing has helped him reclaim relationships and discover the joy of helping others.

“Things are a lot better for me than they were three years ago,” Borders says. ◆

This article was made possible by support from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which has partnered with Columbus Monthly to profile those making our community a better place. Help us inspire kindness by suggesting people, initiatives or organizations for Reporter Sophia Veneziano to profile. She can be reached at sveneziano@dispatch.com. Learn more at ColumbusMonthly.com/Kindness.

Dennis Kerr

OhioHealth Home in Ohio 2024

Home in Ohio, the OhioHealth Foundation’s marquee biannual fundraising event, was held in September in the Signature Aviation Flight Hangar at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport. Earth, Wind and Fire performed for the more than 625 guests in attendance. The event helped to raise over $2 million that will benefit OhioHealth’s programs and services.

1 Dr. Herb Postle and Wendy Byrne with Karen and Jim Chester 2 Simon and Molly Bisson with Cindy and Larry Hilsheimer 3

Bob White Jr. and Aimee White 4 Mike Ahern and Sandy Doyle-Ahern 5 JJ Pérez and Sarah Crabtree Perez 6 Linda Hondros, Dr. Steve Markovich and Karen Morrison 7 U.S.

Representatives Mike Carey and Joyce Beatty 8 Donna and Larry James 9 Gifford Weary and David Angelo

Columbus Monthly’s Spring Cocktail Competition

Columbus Monthly’s Spring Cocktail Competition was held on May 13 at Vue Columbus. About 250 guests sampled cocktails from 12 area bars and restaurants while enjoying live jazz music from the Hayden Huffman Trio as they voted on their favorites. All cocktails were made with liquor from event sponsor Middle West Spirits.

1 Monica Broadnax and Liz Cook 2 Kyle Leber and Sydney Gale 3 Mario Martinez and Bri Brown 4 Simone Lightfoot-Williams, Currecia Gamble and Charnon Barnes 5 Colin and Rachel Luther 6 Jessica and Chuck Bradley 7 Jondra Eberhard, Jo Anne Williams and Marcia Evans 8 MyLien and Minh Nguyen 9 Miejie and Tori Galloway

datebook

CURATED LIST OF THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN COLUMBUS

JULY 3 | Red, White and Boom

Turn your eyes to the skies or head down to Genoa Park to see sparks fly up close at the Midwest’s largest fireworks display and a time-honored Columbus tradition. redwhiteandboom.org

JULY 4 | Doo Dah Parade

For those seeking a lighthearted approach to Fourth of July celebrations, be sure to head down to Goodale Park to see the 42nd annual Doo Dah Parade pass through the city, and stick around the park for the succeeding block party. doodahparade.com

JULY 6 | Behind the Beers

Acclaimed journalist and beer expert Joshua

Bernstein will be at Weiland’s Market for a beer tasting—this month’s theme is fruit-based beers. Enjoy five beer samples, snacks and receive a complimentary copy of Columbus Monthly at the event. weilandsmarket.com/ events

JULY 10 | Literary Picnic with Scott Woods and Hanif Abdurraqib

Join two of Columbus’ strongest literary voices on the Thurber House lawn for an evening of conversation centering on poetry, essays and cultural criticism. The evening will start with a picnic. The main program will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. thurberhouse.org/ summer-events-2025

JULY 18-20 | Jazz and Rib Fest

Enjoy as much jazz and barbecue as you can handle at the Jazz and Rib Fest, hosted along the Scioto Mile. Food vendors range from award-winning barbecue fare to classic festival sweets, plus several other cuisines to please every palate. hotribscooljazz.org

JULY 23-AUG. 3 | Ohio State Fair

It’s that time of year again— get ready for long summer days at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds enjoying rides, concerts with headliners including Foreigner and T-Pain, plenty of food and, of course, the famous butter cow. ohiostatefair.com

JULY 14

RMHC Joe Mortellaro Golf Classic

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio will host its annual golf classic—the largest charity game in Central Ohio. All golfers are invited to a post-classic dinner with celebrity guests. rmhccentralohio.org/events

JULY 17-19

Arthritis Foundation Charity Auto Show

The Dublin Metro Center will be the home of the 42nd annual Arthritis Foundation Charity Auto Show, a three-day event featuring over 1,000 classic and collector cars. The proceeds earned go toward arthritis research, advocacy and resources. arthritis.org/events/ autoshow

JULY 19

Dog Days of Summer Head over to Budd Dairy Food Hall which, in partnership with Ohio Pet Charities, will host a plethora of adoptable furry friends. Vendors will include veterinarians, pet rescues and more. ohio petcharities.org/events

Writer Joshua Bernstein and Columbus Monthly are kicking off a new series of beer tastings at Weiland’s Market.

Thank You

Book Now! at Kenneths.com for

We are deeply honored to be named Top Hair Salon by the readers of Columbus Monthly—a recognition that means the world to all of us at Kenneth’s Salons and Day Spas. Your continued confidence, support, and patronage have been the foundation of our journey, and we’re beyond grateful for every guest who walks through our doors. As we celebrate this incredible milestone, we remain committed to evolving with you —offering innovative services, elevated experiences, and the same heartfelt care you’ve come to expect for nearly 50 years. We invite you to visit our newly reimagined Spa Bar at Polaris for a fresh take on relaxation and personal care, and to stay tuned for the exciting transformations coming soon to our Mill Run location (soon relocating to TruePointe in Hilliard this fall), and to our New Albany location in 2026. Thank you for voting us #1—let’s keep growing, glowing, and celebrating beauty together."

Book Now! at Kenneths.com for

Book Now! at Kenneths.com for voting Kenneth’s

Best Columbus of

Welcome to Best of Columbus, the city’s original reader-voted contest crowning our favorite people and places. In this year’s package, you’ll find the stories behind some of the local businesses readers selected as winners in our online poll. Plus, our staff share some of their own favorite places around town. The complete list of winners and finalists starts on page 30—we hope you’re inspired to try some new places this summer and beyond.

By Lucy Clark

Columbus is home to a wildly vibrant, creative and diverse LGBTQ+ community, boasting one of the largest Pride celebrations in the country and a plethora of queer-friendly spaces—including the only lesbian bar in the state, and one of only 32 in the United States.

The bar is celebrating its 32nd anniversary this August, honoring over three decades of community engagement and support. Founder and owner Marcia Riley sold the bar to her nephew in 2022, and newlyweds Bobbi and Jaci Kincaid have been running operations as general manager and assistant general manager, respectively.

The couple, like many frequent patrons, met at Slammers.

Jaci says the importance of having a queer-friendly, lesbian-forward space is “unmatched.” She continues, “To know that everyone we know has a safe space to go on a daily basis, especially in the climate of the world today, we feel really honored and like we’re serving our community.”

Slammers is known for its pizza, and sustained itself during COVID shutdowns through takeout services. Patrons also can check with the bar for a wide array of regular events, including bingo (10 percent of all proceeds go to Kaleidoscope Youth Center), trivia nights, a book club, art club, its monthly Lez Dance series and more. Catch a game on the TVs behind the bar or stop by on an airing night of RuPaul’s Drag Race for a lively watch-along.

Soon, Jaci says, the patio will transform into a daytime workspace, complete with a café. “It just creates another safe space and expands our reach in the community and shows them we’re committed to serving them.”

Bobbi cites the Slammers staff as the reason behind its success and community support. “They’re passionate about Slammers, their craft and the community. We wouldn’t be able to do any of it without them.”

Whether you stop by for a pizza and

Slammers

Best LGBTQ+ Bar

some ice-cold beer, meet up with friends (and make some new ones along the way), or come for a plethora of queer-friendly events, you’re sure to leave feeling the full force of Slammer’s inclusive community embrace.

Jaci and Bobbi Kincaid

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Aardvark Wine and Beer & Ray Ray’s Hog Pit

Aardvark Wine and Beer: Best Wine Shop | Best Beer Shop

Ray Ray’s Hog Pit: Best Barbecue | Best Food Truck

By Linda Lee Baird

While I love eating in Columbus restaurants, dining out can be hard to do with a family. I’m always thrilled to find places with great food and an atmosphere that is welcoming for kids where you can drop in at a moment’s notice and stay as long (or short) as your schedule allows. After all, when hunger strikes, you don’t always have time to make a reservation.

That’s why I was happy to discover Aardvark Wine and Beer—an unassuming Linworth shop that’s also home to a Ray Ray’s Hog Pit food truck parked permanently out front. More than just a store, Aardvark boasts a backroom “Dive Baar” with ample seating and an outdoor patio inviting visitors to sit and sample selections. A kids’ area with a chalkboard and board games provides entertainment for all ages. And thanks to Ray Ray’s, you can even get a meal in while you shop. Add weekly wine tastings (that benefit local nonprofits once a month) and weeknight happy hours, and you’ve got a place that quite literally serves the neighborhood.

Owner Donnie Austin says this was a goal when he opened Aardvark in 2022 with his wife, Megan Cavanaugh. “We wanted Aardvark to be community-centric,” Austin says in an email. “Not just a place to shop, but where people could get together and we could do our part to give back.”

James Anderson, founder of Ray Ray’s, says he appreciates the shop that’s home to his newest food truck, calling it “a very exciting location with lots of potential.” He adds, “Aardvark has a good following for their wines and wine knowledge, and with their newly opened wine and beer bar in the back of their shop, the future is bright for the partnership.”

Whether it’s beer, wine, barbecue or board games that draw you in, these two Best of Columbus winners are worth a visit.

Aardvark Wine and Beer

2355 W Dublin-Granville Rd., Linworth aardvarkwineandbeer.com

See website for hours and information on special events

Ray Ray’s Hog Pit (multiple locations) rayrayshogpit.com

See website for complete list of locations and hours

Aardvark Wine and Beer

Emerson Kay prepares ribs at the Ray Ray’s Hog Pit food truck.

By Jill Moorhead

Once the ground thaws, a trip to Oakland Nursery becomes a place to dream of better and warmer days—broad leafy shade gardens, cheerful window boxes, and summer beds that make the neighbors do a double take. For many Central Ohioans, a visit to Oakland marks the true start of spring.

Now celebrating 85 years in business, Oakland Nursery has grown far beyond its humble beginnings. Founded in 1940 by German immigrants Gus and Bertha Reiner, the business began as a modest garden shop off Maize Road. In the 1950s, they bought land on Oakland Park Avenue, built their home, raised their family and put down roots—literally and figuratively. That location remains the company’s flagship store today.

Sons John and Paul Reiner now own the company, which includes four

Photos by Tim Johnson

Oakland Nursery

Best of Columbus •

garden centers, a landscape design and irrigation division, a wholesale nursery (Acorn Farms), and Oakland Green Interiors, the interiorscaping and holiday decor arm led by John’s daughter, Genevieve Mills.

Oakland Home, opened in the early 2010s, has become a destination in its own right for stylish furniture, unique last-minute gifts and the wildly popular December Diamonds merman ornaments—a quirky, glittering favorite among customers who return year after year to collect them.

Oakland’s mission is simple: To help customers succeed with high-quality plants suited to Ohio’s climate, supported by a staff with deep knowledge and a passion for growing things. Even the off-duty police officer who directs traffic at the flagship location each spring has become part of the Oakland family—returning year after year and joining the team for holiday lunches.

Eighty-five years in, the business remains rooted in the values it started with: quality, service, a deep connection to the community—and just a little sparkle.

Oakland Nursery (multiple locations) oaklandnursery.com

See website for complete list of locations, sales and special events.

Oakland Home 4271 West Dublin-Granville Road 614-874-2400

oaklandnursery.com/page/ specialty-shops/oakland-home

Oakland Nursery’s original location in northeast Columbus

Best of Columbus • STAFF PICKS

Columbus Monthly’s editorial team shares their personal Best of Columbus picks.

FAVORITE PLACE TO TAKE A WALK

Walhalla Ravine. It’s quiet—you seldom encounter any cars—and surrounded by beautiful homes. It’s just you, the leaves rustling in the trees, birds and chipmunks calling, and sometimes you can see owls. And lest you forget you’re in the city, you gotta love the occasional sound of a boom car going by on Weber Road.

- KATY SMITH, EDITOR

FAVORITE HIDDEN GEM

It took chaperoning a school field trip for me to discover the Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park. The free-to-visit wetlands are just off the Olentangy Trail and contain birding and cool aquatic critters, with boardwalks so you can explore nature up close.

- LINDA LEE BAIRD, FOOD & DRINK EDITOR

FAVORITE PLACE TO SHOP

Karavan: Treasures From Turkey in the Short North. I visit this shop very frequently—sometimes, if for nothing else, just to look at the gorgeous displays. This is the first place I take visiting friends, who are mesmerized each time. There is no shortage of gorgeous stock and the staff are some of the friendliest in the city.

- LUCY CLARK, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

FAVORITE PLACES TO ESCAPE

For me some of the greatest parts of Columbus are the pockets of wilderness scattered around the city. In addition to the wonderful Metro Park system there are a bounty of small nature preserves worth exploring. These are like little shots of wilderness espresso to provide a quick jolt of serenity and peace.

- TIM JOHNSON, PHOTO EDITOR

FAVORITE TRICKS TO SEE THE CITY

Beyond recurring free admission days at the Columbus Museum of Art and Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, there are multiple local museums that never charge an entrance fee. And don’t miss the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Culture Pass, which offers access to 17 attractions, arts events and more at no cost.

- JULANNE HOHBACH, DIGITAL EDITOR

Best Columbus of

FOOD & DRINK

Best African Restaurant

1 Hoyo’s Kitchen

2 Lalibela Restaurant

3* Addis Restaurant

3 Afra Grill

Best Bar Food

1 High Bank Distillery

2 Old Bag of Nails

3 Club 185 Best Barbecue

1 Ray Ray’s Hog Pit

2 City Barbeque 3 Legacy Smokehouse Best Beer Selection 1 Seventh Son Brewing 2 101 Craft Kitchen

3* Studio 35 Cinema & Drafthouse/ Grandview Theater & Drafthouse

3 The Daily Growler Best Breakfast 1 Katalina’s 2 Joya’s Café

3 DK Diner Best Brunch

1 Northstar Café

2 Lindey’s 3* Fox in the Snow Café

3 Kitchen Social Best Burger

1 The Thurman Café

2 Northstar Café

3 Preston’s: A Burger Joint

Best Butcher Shop

1 Littleton’s Market

2 Carfagna’s Market

3 The Hungarian Butcher

Best Chinese Restaurant

1 Ty Ginger Asian Bistro 2 Molly Woo’s Asian Bistro 3 Ding Ho Restaurant

Best Classic Bakery

1 Resch’s Bakery

2 Fox in the Snow Café

3 The Original Goodie Shop

Best Classic Pizza

1 Tommy’s Pizza 2 Adriatico’s 3 Massey’s

Best Cocktails

1 Novella

2 Echo Spirits Distilling

3 High Bank Distillery

Best Coffee Shop

1 Stauf’s Coffee Roasters

2 Fox in the Snow Café

3 Crimson Cup Coffee

Best Deli

1 Katzinger’s Delicatessen

2 The Brown Bag Delicatessen

3 Uptown Deli & Brew

WE ASKED, AND YOU ANSWERED.

HERE ARE OVER 100 PICKS BY COLUMBUS MONTHLY READERS. SEE WHO YOU CHOSE FOR THE BEST IN FOOD AND DRINK, SHOPPING, LOCAL PERSONALITIES AND MORE. * INDICATES TIE

Best Desserts

1 Pistacia Vera

2 Mozart’s

3* Belle’s Bread

3 The Cheesecake Girl

Best Diner

1 Starliner Diner

2 Tommy’s Diner

3 DK Diner

Best Doughnut

1 Buckeye Donuts

2 Resch’s Bakery

3 DK Diner

Best Fast-Casual

1 Brassica

2 Bibibop

3 Lavash Café

Best Food Truck

1 Ray Ray’s Hog Pit

2 Cousins Maine Lobster

3* A.J.’s Tacos

3 Cilantro Latin Bistro

Best Fried Chicken

1 Hot Chicken Takeover

2 CM Chicken

3* The Crispy Coop 3 Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar

Best Gourmet Pizza

1 Harvest Pizzeria 2 Dewey’s Pizza 3 Sexton’s Pizza

Best Happy Hour

1 Kitchen Social 2 The Pearl 3 Forno Kitchen & Bar

Best Himalayan/ Nepalese Restaurant

1 Momo Ghar 2 Everest Cuisine 3* Namaste Indo Nepali Cuisine 3 Yeti Express

Best Hot Dogs

1 Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace

2 Tony’s Coneys

3 Ritzy’s

Best Ice Cream

1 Graeter’s Ice Cream

2 Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams 3 Johnson’s Real Ice Cream

Best Indian/ Pakistani Restaurant

Aab India

Rooh 3 Amul India

Best Italian Restaurant

Novella Osteria

La Tavola 3 Marcella’s

Kids Menu

Cap City Fine

Best Latin American Restaurant

Arepazo

Si Señor Peruvian Sandwiches

Cilantro Latin Fusion Best Local Distillery

High Bank Distillery

Watershed Distillery

Echo Spirits Distilling

Mediterranean/Middle Eastern Restaurant

Lavash Café 2 Café Istanbul 3 Mazah Mediterranean Eatery Best Mexican Restaurant 1 El Vaquero 2 Los Guachos 3 Cuco’s Taqueria Best Modern Bakery 1* Fox in the Snow Café 1 Littleton’s Market Bakery 3 Pistacia Vera Best Patio

Lindey’s

Barcelona 3 Understory/The Commons

Plant-Based Dining

Comune

Portia’s Café

4th & State 3 Seitan’s Realm

Ramen

Fukuryu Ramen 2 Meshikou Ramen

Slurping Turtle

OUT & ABOUT

Best Bar for Music 1 Natalie’s Grandview

2* Ace of Cups

2 Woodlands Tavern

Best Beer Shop

1 Aardvark Wine & Beer

2 Weiland’s Market

3 The Daily Growler

Best Bike Shop

1 Johnny Velo Bikes

2* Beechwold Bicycles

2 Bicycle One 2 Paradise Garage

Best Bowling Alley

1 Pins Mechanical Co.

2 Ten Pin Alley

3 Star Lanes Polaris

Best Clothing Resale Shop

1* Flower Child Vintage

1 One More Time

3 Out of the Closet

Best Concert Venue

1 KEMBA Live

2 Ohio Theatre

3 Natalie’s Grandview

Best DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) 1 Dublin 2 Hilliard 3 Worthington

Best Farmers Market 1 Worthington 2 Dublin Market at Bridge Park 3 Clintonville

Best Festival 1 Columbus Arts Festival 2 Dublin Irish Festival 3* ComFest

3 Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival

Best Fitness Studio 1 Studio Glow Fitness

Worthington Farmers Market

Best Place to Take Out-of-Towners

1 Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

2 Bridge Park

3 Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Best Public Art

1* Field of Corn, Dublin

1 Schiller Park wire-suspended sculptures

3 Goodale Park elephant fountain

Best Running, Walking or Biking Event

1 Pelotonia

2 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Marathon & Half Marathon

3 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Best Spa

1 Kenneth’s Salons + Day Spas

2 Penzone Salons + Spas 3 Woodhouse Spas Best Store for Housewares 1 Crate & Barrel

2 Sur La Table

3 Elm & Iron Home Goods Best Wine Shop

1 Aardvark Wine & Beer

2 Gentile’s Wine Sellers

3 Weiland’s Market Best Yoga Studio

GoYoga 2 LIT Life + Yoga 3 Radiant Yoga and Wellness

Best Blue Jackets Player

1 Zach Werenski

2 Boone Jenner 3 Elvis Merzlikins Best Buckeyes Football Player

1 Jack Sawyer 2 Jeremiah Smith 3 Will Howard

Best Chef

1 Aaron Clouse, Littleton’s Market

2 Avishar Barua, Joya’s Café/Agni

3 Matthew Phelan, Novella Osteria

Best Crew Player

1 Darlington Nagbe

2 Diego Rossi

3 Patrick Schulte

Best Female TV Anchor

1 Colleen Marshall, NBC4

2 Yolanda Harris, 10TV

3 Monica Day, NBC4

Best Male TV Anchor

1 Matt Barnes, NBC4

2 Kurt Ludlow, ABC6/FOX28

3 Jerod Smalley, NBC4

Best Radio Morning Show

1 Dave and Jimmy, 97.9 WNCI

2* Randi & Rice, Sunny 95

2 The Wake-Up Call, 92.3 WCOL

Best Radio Station

1 89.7 WOSU

2 97.1 the Fan

3* 92.3 WCOL

3 Sunny 95 WSNY

Best Talk Radio Personality

1 Bobby Carpenter, 97.1 the Fan

2 Mike Ricordati “The Common Man,” 97.1 The Fan

3 Brian Phillips, Rewind 103.5/104.3

Best Weatherperson

1 Dave Mazza, NBC4

2* Andrew Buck Michael, ABC6/ FOX28

2 Marshall McPeek, ABC6/FOX28

* = Tie

BY TIM JOHNSON

Time of Transformation

In COTA’s $8 billion LinkUS plan, Monica Téllez-Fowler faces an epic challenge to move transit forward in Central Ohio. A lifetime of experiences has prepared her for this moment.

By Laura Newpoff

Growing up in a low-income neighborhood in East Dallas in the 1980s, school wasn’t easy or fun for Monica Téllez-Fowler. She remembers a day when an assistant principal sat her down and told her, “You have so much potential, you have got to focus.” He encouraged her to look into a magnet school that offered enriched curricula. She applied and was accepted.

Studying at the magnet school, which required commuting on a cross-town city bus, was revelatory. Téllez-Fowler began learning about a college pathway, something that hadn’t been on her radar. She graduated early in 1992, then became the first in her family to attend and graduate college. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Tarleton State University and an MBA from Texas A&M University–Central Texas. She was

drawn to finance because she thought it would give her life stability and ensure a steady paycheck.

Téllez-Fowler worked in accounts receivable and office management roles for a logistics firm and an engineering firm before taking a job as an accountant with the Burnet County Auditor’s Office northwest of Austin in 2008. Not long after, her mom got sick, so she moved back to Dallas in 2010. “I found a job [as an accountant/treasury analyst] with the Denton County Transportation Authority. I felt like I’d be good at it. That was my first exposure to transit as an employee, and it didn’t take me more than a month [to realize] I had found the place I was meant to be all along.” It helped that she was already familiar with the power of transit.

LinkUS and a Leap of Faith

In Denton County, Téllez-Fowler was able to volunteer for tasks outside her comfort zone in accounting. The agency was building a 21-mile rail line, and she managed a project to ensure ticket machines were properly installed. “It was experience and a growth opportunity,” she says.

In 2012, Téllez-Fowler was recruited to Trinity Metro in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as assistant vice president of finance; she later was named chief financial officer. While there, she oversaw the New Starts Federal Transit Administration grant application process for TEXRail, a $1 billion, 27-mile commuter line between downtown Fort Worth and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

In 2019, she was recruited to become chief of staff for the Clark County Public

Monica Téllez-Fowler

PHOTO

Transit Benefit Area Authority (C-TRAN) in Vancouver, Washington, and subsequently was promoted to deputy CEO. She was responsible for more than $100 million in annual operations and capital budgets and represented the authority on a $3.5 billion Interstate 5 bridge replacement megaproject across the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon border. C-TRAN was named Outstanding Transportation System of the Year in 2019 and 2022 by the American Public Transportation Association.

In the summer of 2022, a recruiting firm called Téllez-Fowler about an open CFO position at the Central Ohio Transit Authority. The firm assured her that the agency had a broader role in mind and persuaded her to visit Columbus. She toured COTA facilities and the city and heard from the leadership team about LinkUS, the regional plan to bring rapid transit and other transportation options to accommodate Central Ohio’s population growth. “I bought in immediately knowing there was this project on the horizon that would essentially change the landscape of the entire Central Ohio region,” she says.

While LinkUS still needed voter approval, Téllez-Fowler was impressed with the partners that came together to develop and advocate for the plan: COTA, the city of Columbus, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, The

Téllez-Fowler with grandson Theodore on a COTA bus

Téllez-Fowler does a demonstration at the 2025 COSI Science Festival.

Columbus Partnership and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners. “You had stakeholders in the community who really understood why this was so important,” Téllez-Fowler says. “I felt the dedication behind it and then the minute I came [to Columbus] and met with the people representing all those entities, I really felt that LinkUS was going to happen and we’re going to do this together.”

She joined COTA in March 2023 as chief operating officer and was named deputy CEO two months later before taking over as president/CEO in May 2024.

In November 2024, voters in Franklin and parts of four other counties approved a ballot initiative to help fund LinkUS through a half-percent sales tax increase for COTA. Other funding is expected to come from federal grants and bonds. The move paves the way for the transit authority to implement the $8 billion plan’s goals of increasing service by 45 percent, introducing bus rapid transit (BRT) and building 500 miles of sidewalks, trails and bike paths. It is considered a transformational project, and Téllez-Fowler— the middle of three daughters who cites her mom and Mexican grandmother as role models—stands squarely in facing the challenge.

“I consider how much courage it took for my grandmother to move to the U.S. with small children in search of a better life for them,” she says. “While my mother was not able to further her education because she had to work to help make ends meet, it did not impact her courage to learn new skills. There were many struggles in both of their lives, yet they persevered knowing that a better future was possible. I think this is why I do not shy away from big things, like LinkUS or any of the other big projects I’ve been a part of.”

Boosting Hiring and Ridership

When Téllez-Fowler joined COTA, it was suffering lingering effects from the pandemic, which forced the organization to make cuts in service and staffing. One of the first things Téllez-Fowler did was ride the buses to learn the community—a practice she continues. She quickly noted there was a shortage of operators and that service could be improved.

Ridership still hasn’t recovered from a 19.1 million passenger high in 2019, but the nearly 12 million riders in 2024 and 11.1 million in 2023 both represented year-over-year increases.

In addition to supporting three major hiring events in 2023 and 2024, Téllez-Fowler implemented the agency’s paid family leave policy and worked with Transport Workers Union Local 208 to reach what she calls a historic collective bargaining agreement approved in January 2024. The contract provides the agency’s 900 union employees with industry-leading wages, a better work-life balance and enhanced insurance benefits, she says. According to The Columbus Dispatch, the contract includes pay increases of about 16 percent over three years. The pact helped COTA hire more than 250 operators last year, which essentially ended the operator shortage, Téllez-Fowler says.

“Providing better service—that’s how you drive ridership up,” she says. “We also want to remind people we are there. During the pandemic, we had to limit how many people could be on the buses. Ultimately, redesigning our system

… is a great way to build ridership back up. Once that first BRT opens, you’ll see ridership really take off. I’ve never been anywhere that [has completed a bus rapid transit project] that didn’t see a ridership boost.”

Since before the pandemic, COTA leadership has made it a priority to invest in modern vehicles and give riders new ways to plan trips and pay fares, including its Transit app and a reloadable Smartcard. The authority also created a program that gives nearly 80,000 students transit access at no cost to their families.

With the help of LinkUS, COTA plans to become a 24-hour system. Three BRT lines—West Broad Street, East Main Street and Downtown/Dublin—are in the design phase.

Groundbreaking for the first BRT stop along the West Broad Street corridor is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. These lines will feature dedicated transit lanes, traffic signal priority,

Téllez-Fowler and former CEO Joanna Pinkerton

platform-level boarding, high-capacity vehicles, modern stations and off-vehicle payment to speed up boarding.

Transportation is a critical economic driver for a region because it gives people access to employment, housing, education and health care. Téllez-Fowler says it was important to combine BRT with the other components of LinkUS such as sidewalks and appropriately designed bus stops to create a comprehensive infrastructure letting people to get to and from COTA service safely.

“Ask people about the favorite places they’ve been to, and they’ll tell you the transit is incredible,” she says. “That’s what we’re trying to create here.”

MORPC Executive Director William Murdock says Téllez-Fowler has focused her early work on connecting with her employees, communities, and civic and business leaders. “She’s been out and about. All of these ‘state of the city,’ ‘state of Dublin,’ ‘state of Bexley’ events—I joke that I run into her at all of them. She’s just present,” he says. “The other piece is, she has a reputation for getting stuff done. … She’s built these [transit systems] before. So, I’m a big fan.”

Sean Mentel, a partner with Kooperman Mentel Crossley Yaross and chair of the COTA board of trustees, says LinkUS is a transformational opportunity for the region. That made it paramount to hire the right person as president/CEO after the early 2024 departure of Joanna Pinkerton, who held the post for six years.

“As [the board] talked about where we were hoping to go with LinkUS, we knew we needed somebody with expertise and experience,” Mentel says. “Monica already had a wealth of expe-

MONICA TÉLLEZ-FOWLER

President/CEO, Central Ohio Transit Authority

Community involvement: LinkUS executive committee; board member, Rise Together Innovation Institute and Latinos in Transit Resides: Gahanna Family: Husband, Joe, and four adult children

ABOUT COTA

2024 revenue: $312.8 million

2024 ridership: 11,912,895

Highest yearly ridership: 19.1 million, in 2019

Employees: 1,150

Téllez-Fowler, Garth Weithman and COTA colleagues pass out seat cushions during an OSU-Minnesota football game in November 2023.

rience … including delivering on major projects as part of the federal grant application process. That, on top of seeing firsthand her ability to negotiate with the union here, made us realize we had a real asset here to move us in the right direction.”

The board voted unanimously to hire Téllez-Fowler at a base salary of $363,825.

‘She Did Whatever It Took’

People who know Téllez-Fowler describe her as someone who blends professional prowess with a personal touch.

Reena Ryall, an attorney in Vero Beach, Florida, worked with Téllez-Fowler at Trinity Metro and considers her a mentor. She remembers having coffee one day to talk about advancing her career.

Téllez-Fowler advised her to design the job she wanted, even if it did not yet exist. Ryall created a role focused on eliminating redundancies and got the OK from leadership to implement her plans. “She truly helped me shape and put into words what I was accomplishing at work so I could turn that into a position and build a career. It’s an example of how she leads with thoughtful truth,” Ryall says.

Tom LeBeau, national market director for transit/rail at Sundt Construction Inc., met Téllez-Fowler when he was vice president of rail development at the Denton County Transportation Authority. She considers him a mentor.

“We were the small agency that could, and she wore many hats. She did whatever it took to get the job done,” he says.

“I’ve seen her put on her boots and jeans and go out and serve passengers at a rail platform when we were just turning on the system. She spent hours and hours out there with us. Then I would see her behind her desk when I’m leaving for the day in order to get contractors paid, which means a lot in the community. She’s also a very empowering person, and her leadership style is to empower key people around her.”

Shawn Donaghy, the CEO of North County Transit–San Diego Railroad, worked with Téllez-Fowler at Trinity Metro and recruited her to C-TRAN. They have remained friends. “One of the things [C-TRAN] benefitted from when we worked together was an open and honest collaborative environment,” Donaghy says. “She went out of her way to make sure people in the workplace felt empowered to make the decisions they needed to make. She always believed every single person had to be unapologetically authentic when they walked through the door. The organization was trying to change the culture from previous leadership, and she was able to help us solidify what that meant to be who you are in the workspace—bring the best version of yourself at all times.

“I’ve worked with a lot of people I consider good co-workers. She is one of the few in the world I trust not only with my professional life, but with my personal life. She is everything she is billed to be. I was crazy proud to see her get [the COTA CEO] job.” ◆

COMPETITION MAY 13, 2025 COCKTAIL

SPONSOR

We thank our bar and restaurant participants for bringing their creative mixology skills to life at Columbus Monthly's Spring Cocktail Competition on May 13 at Vue Columbus.

How PENZONE Salons + Spas Continues to Drive Wellness for the Community WHOLE-PERSON APPROACH

In 1969, Charles Penzone defied what others thought was impossible—he opened the doors to his first salon with only two employees and a $500 loan. Over the years, he grew the business into an iconic local brand with salons in Dublin, Polaris, Gahanna, Short North, German Village and Upper Arlington.

When his wife, Debbie Penzone, was named president and CEO in 2008, she knew the company’s strong foundation in the community would continue to serve it well. “I also knew we needed to innovate to remain relevant,” she says. “We’re more than just beauty—we’re a community for self care.”

In 2018, the brand underwent what Debbie describes as “a tremendous transformation with a mantra we’re all grounded in as our mission—PENZONE improves lives from the outside in.” The new PENZONE Salon + Spas featured collaborative floorplans, holistic services like shampoo and mindful experiences, a café, bar and social room

and brand imagery that featured real guests—not ones who were touched up with Photoshop. This also included team member inclusion in salon spaces to foster a sense of community and providing them access to Debbie’s dream concept—L I T Life + Yoga on North Fourth Street—for stretching and body longevity to sustain their rigorous careers.

This also was the year Debbie Penzone began dreaming about a complete renovation of the place that put the company on the map in the 1990s—the original Charles Penzone Grand Salon at 6671 Village Parkway in Dublin. That dream became a reality in April 2024 when a new concept called BASE ONE opened with 18,000 square feet of space maximized for flexibility and multiple uses.

“BASE ONE is the culmination of my life’s purpose—to improve lives from the outside in and the inside out,” Debbie says. “This is a community space

that encourages individuals to ground down and level up their lives with access to education, wellness, events and more.”

Some highlights of BASE ONE include:

Training. A 10-chair “New Artist Concept Salon + Spa” for both new talent and continuing education of established artists. Services are offered to customers at a “base” price. “We’re providing real, on-the-job experiences and encouraging our new artists and therapists to get hands on with real guests sooner and often,” Debbie says. “The impact it’s had on our recruiting is beyond our wildest expectations and we’ve nearly tripled our applicant pool for hair artists and have seen a 60 percent increase in esthetician applicants. We’re hiring more consistently and hiring the top tier candidates who are aligned with our brand values.”

The New Artist Concept is an example of how PENZONE offers its artists

Interior of BASE ONE in Dublin

opportunities to learn new skills, dive into new certifications and take their careers to a higher level—the result of which is the ability to exceed the expectations of guests.

Wellness. BASE ONE also is home to the second L I T Life + Yoga studio. It offers a variety of classes with the amenities of its IV concept—infrared radiant heat, color therapy, aromatherapy, and more. The goal is a multisensory experience where all details matter. What you see, smell, hear and feel are all part of the experience.

Events held in the space are open to the PENZONE team and the community.

“It’s my way of living, embodied in a brand,” Debbie says. “We aren’t a traditional yoga studio. L I T is about allowing your work on the mat to transform the rest of your life. Grounded in abundance, collaboration and community.”

Co-working and creative studio. Four co-working suites are available for rent. Spa suites can be rented when they are not used for training by professionals who specialize in services like reiki, Thai massage, tiny tattoos and cosmetic injectables and fillers. The creative studio is a flexible space for photography and has an on-air room for podcasts and recordings.

Gathering space, café and bar. This area is focused on connectivity and can be used by groups to gather before work and after events. Complimentary Crimson Cup drip coffee, water and small bites from Krema Nut Co. are available. Made-to-order café drinks and cocktails are available during curated events.

Experiences. BASE ONE has three studios available for educational events, training and corporate retreats. They can flex in size and include open air patios along with options for catering by Cameron Mitchell Premier Events, and café and bar offerings. Elevated amenities include art activations, mindfulness activations and team building.

Since it opened, BASE ONE has hosted team-building, training and other events for several organizations, including architecture firms, financial advisory groups, banks and others from Central Ohio. People also come from all over the country for the 124Go salon coaching and consulting business.

BASE ONE was open for 10 days when the company hosted its signature “4 Day Intensive” educational event. When asked about the reception from the group of participants, 124Go Coach Jen LeBlanc said it was “mind blowing.”

“In our industry, there is no event space like BASE ONE with so many wonderful amenities to enjoy in one place,” she says. “The space is an example of

why Debbie has become an iconic figure in our industry. She pushes all limits. She continues to break ceilings that have been in place for a long time as she works to evolve the PENZONE brand. She is finding new ways for people to make connections in the beauty space while giving something special back to the community. What she’s created at BASE ONE is truly one of a kind.”

L I T Life + Yoga at BASE ONE

BASE ONE in Dublin

A donation today gives a child everything summer should be. Thanks to your support, kids across Central Ohio are spending their days exploring farms, discovering science, tasting new foods, and building memories they’ll carry into the school year. Every tomato picked, every smile captured, every lunch served—it all starts with one simple act of generosity. D ate day mofc.org/summer

home & style

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Glass Town’s Hidden History

Gay Fad Studios in Lancaster is bringing back the mid-century modern designs of forgotten trailblazer Fran Taylor, Page 50.

Transforming a 1952 Ranch into a Modern Abode

By Laura Newpoff | Photos by Tim Johnson

In the summer of 2020, Bryan and Jodi Bair found a note in their mailbox with a “ridiculous” offer to purchase the Grandview Heights home they had lived in since 1999. Ridiculous in a good way. They were intrigued by the offer, wanting to downsize since their two children were in college. They countered with an even higher offer, and it was accepted.

The Bairs wanted to stay in the area and found a smaller ranch home for sale just a few blocks away on Arlington Avenue in Marble Cliff. It retained nearly all of its original character from when it was built in 1952—louvered white wood closet doors in the hall, dark wood cabinetry and paneling, original brick fireplaces and wood flooring, pink and blue porcelain bathroom sinks and toilets, a pink porcelain tub, pink and white checkered tile, and a pink wallpapered half bath with a pink flamingo mirror.

They knew the home would need to be completely renovated, but they loved that it was a ranch, were enamored by its history and desired its quiet cul-desac location.

“We are active and in our early 60s and really liked the footprint of the home where we felt we could create a feeling of openness,” Bryan says. “The home seemed really conducive to our lifestyle— we envisioned creating a space where we

could welcome friends and entertain and cook.”

The home was built by former Marble Cliff Mayor Paul Falco on land that once was part of the Arlington Golf and Riding Club, and later the Aladdin Country Club.

The Bairs hired local designer Kim Sides and began working on a plan to transform the home after they purchased it in September 2020. Renovations officially started in January 2021.

The project involved repositioning the entry door and splitting off a portion of the foyer to add a fourth bedroom and ensuite bathroom. This included removing a stone fireplace in the entryway to make room for a new closet.

To achieve a sense of height in the addition, a ceiling tray was installed to bring the bedroom to 9.5 feet as an homage to the 10-foot ceilings the Bairs had in their previous home. For the three existing bedrooms, original built-in cabinets and drawers were preserved and painted while the original knobs were cleaned and retained.

Living room and kitchen

‘‘ The Bairs appreciate the history of the home and made it a priority to keep the original feel of the architecture for the neighborhood. That was important to them.”

—KIM SIDES

“The ranch style architecture was more modern for the area when it was built, but very odd with all the small, divided rooms,” Sides says. “The fireplace nearly at the front door in the entry was bizarre and the kitchen was really small. Bryan enjoys cooking, so the goal was to have a large gathering area that combined the kitchen and living areas in a seamless lifestyle space.”

This part of the project was challenging, Sides says. The transition from the kitchen to the great room required engineering to support the addition of a

Guitars in the basement music studio

Open kitchen, living and dining rooms

large steel beam that was needed after the removal of load bearing walls and cabinetry. To get creative, some of the

structural framing was buried inside new custom cabinetry. In the living room, stone was installed

over the original brick fireplace and a mantel was added. Modern lighting and furnishings also were part of the redesign process. Sides incorporated the couple’s existing art collection into the renovation.

The kitchen includes a food preparation area, a dual-stacked dishwasher, a separate “all fridge” and “all-freezer,” a barstool island and new pantry. “It was built for entertaining,” Bryan says. “You can be in the kitchen and cook and still

communicate with friends you have over.” The space has been ideal for experimenting with new cuisine, including his recent stir fry creations.

Jodi and Bryan both work from home, so Sides designed separate home

Basement music studio

Electric guitar

Dining room

Vintage tape machine

offices for both. His is in the basement in a space that includes a collection of nearly 40 guitars and sound recording equipment, including a vintage stereo system, reel-to-reel player and modern studio gear like microphones and amplifiers that he uses when he plays music with friends. Sides created a hidea-way office for Jodi in the kitchen that can be concealed behind armoire doors that look like kitchen cabinets when the couple entertains.

The Bairs moved into the home in September 2021. It was featured in the

Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historical Society’s 2022 Tour of Homes the following year. The tour, which occurs every three years, will be back this year on Oct. 5.

“The Bairs appreciate the history of the home and made it a priority to keep the original feel of the architecture for the neighborhood. That was important to them.” Sides says. “We were able to do that and still create a modern space, blended with the home’s historical elements, that this family will enjoy for many years to come.”◆

Walk-in shower

Primary bedroom

Guest bedroom

Ornate bathroom sink

Home & Style |

Glass Town’s Forgotten Icon

Dave and Jason Annecy revived a mid-century modern legacy in the heart of Lancaster.

Gay Fad Studios’ story starts in 1939. The Great Depression was still fresh in people’s lives and households, and Fran Taylor saw a need to bring joy back into daily life.

Taylor, then only 24 years old, spent $30 launching the first stage of her business—what would become Gay Fad Studios. She hand-painted and sold metal wastepaper baskets until metal became scarce at the beginning of World War II. She switched to glass, a decision that brought her to Lancaster. Gay Fad would be a $6.5 million a year company just a few years later.

Long having been a designated “glass town,” Lancaster became the center of what would become a legendary operation in its time. Taylor’s team included 25 designers—all women—who crafted cutting-edge glassware using inventive design engineering.

Taylor and her team would hand-paint their designs on ceramic onto silk screen

By Lucy Clark

by Tim Johnson

panels, and once applied to the glass, they would fire it at a temperature that would allow the ceramic to embed into the glass without melting it, making the design long-lasting.

The technique was ahead of its time, and so too were the designs. The colors, motifs and shapes attributed to mid-century modern’s height—think 1960s and 70s—can be seen in Gay Fad designs dating as early as the 1940s.

Gay Fad Studios: Chapter Two

In 2020, Jason Annecy was contracted by the city of Lancaster to paint a mural. Relatively new to the city—he and his husband Dave Annecy moved to Lancaster in 2016— he had scant information on Gay Fad Studios, “only two paragraphs online.” Through contacting a local historian, a collector and archivist of Gay Fad’s catalogues, and speaking with Taylor’s daughter Stephanie Taylor,

SHORTHAND

Gay Fad Studios

137 W. Main St., Lancaster

740-277-6883

gayfadstudios.com

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday

If you go: The second annual Bottoms Up, created by Dave and Jason Annecy to celebrate mid-century barware, will be held in downtown Lancaster June 26-29. Enjoy glassware, food, drink and clothing vendors, as well as car shows, presentations, parties and more.

Photos

Gay Fad Studios

Jason and Dave were able to piece together more about the studio’s—and Taylor’s—amazing legacy and share it through the project.

Fran Taylor’s story was as impressive as it was tragic. The business thrived under her guidance: She opened a showroom in New York City, dealt in international business and more. But in 1962, another company ripped off her 1963 catalogue. Without the resources to recover, the business shuttered as Taylor entered a copyright dispute. The following year, she was in a car accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury and in permanent care until she died in 1996.

Even once Annecy’s mural was completed, the couple wasn’t ready to part with Taylor’s story. “I want to revive the company,” Jason says he told Dave. “It’s a bold idea. It’s a crazy idea. But we wanted to honor and secure that history,” he says. With Stephanie’s blessing, the couple moved forward, and in 2023 they unveiled Gay Fad Studios, revived to its former glory.

The community reception was emphatic, in Lancaster and beyond: Bill Butcher was Taylor’s close friend and Gay Fad’s art director. Two of her grandchildren happened upon the Annecys’ restored shop on a visit from out of state, with little knowledge of their grandmother’s impact. “It’s one thing to run a company. It’s another thing to be chasing history at the same time,” says Jason.

The grandchildren connected them to their other sister in Dayton, who inherited Butcher’s portfolio and sent over scans of her grandmother’s designs. Inside, the Annecys were in shock to find Butcher’s 1963 designs.

Walk into Gay Fad Studios today, and you’ll find glasses reproduced using the exact same techniques, materials and Butcher’s designs, including local glass and other materials. The Annecys named it the “Lost Collection.” “This felt like justice,” Jason says.

You can also find several reproduction pieces in the shop as well as new designs created using Gay Fad’s original production approach. Make sure to visit the connected museum, featuring a large collection of Gay Fad’s original designs.

“We want to make sure that nationally, people are aware of Fran and the artists,” says Jason. “That when people refer to mid-century design and designers, [they know] they are referring to them. Their names should be up there.” ◆

Original Gay Fad Studios glassware

Jason and Dave Annecy

Top 25 Home Sales

May 1-31, 2025

PRICE ADDRESS BUYER/SELLER

$2,575,000 655 City Park Ave., Columbus McGillins LLC from Frank S. Benson IV

$2,300,000 7018 Hanbys Lp., New Albany

7018 Hanbys Loop LLC from Kimberly Ann and Ryan Dolder

$2,300,000 1985 Woodland Hall Dr., Delaware Andrew G. and Heather Melchiorre from James E. Brooks Jr.

$2,175,000 4945 Yantis Dr., New Albany

4945 Yantis Road LLC from Jaeson and Kayla Osborn

$2,085,000 17 Hays Town, New Albany Todd C. Davis from Sherry L. Fee, trustee

$2,015,000 1060 Broadview Ave., Grandview Heights

$1,849,000 2061 Waltham Rd., Upper Arlington

$1,795,000 250 Ashbourne Rd., Bexley

$1,650,000 9224 McDowall Dr., Powell

$1,590,000 2063 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington

$1,470,000 2892 Creek Rd., Sunbury

$1,510,000 3893 Criswell Dr., Upper Arlington

$1,465,000 4969 Pesaro Wy., Dublin

$1,410,000 6500 Plesenton Dr., Worthington

$1,400,000 3940 Lewis Link, New Albany

$1,375,000 23 Wiveliscombe, New Albany

$1,333,775 2145 Waltham Rd., Upper Arlington

$1,300,000 1035 Avondale Ave., Grandview Heights

$1,300,000 2252 Abington Rd., Upper Arlington

$1,295,000 5230 Hampton Ln., Upper Arlington

$1,250,000 7119 S. Hoover Reserve Ct., Westerville

$1,210,000 3512 River Seine St., Columbus

Andrew and Jennifer Wilkinson from Stephen J. and Shannon Lee Lyons

Michael A. and Janice N. Jones, trustees, from Michael J. Root and Carrie Adelia Sims

Noah and Ashley Jones from Michael Shaun Kabbaz and Sarah Elizabeth Brewer

Prashant and Jyotsna Nateri, trustees, from Eric K. and Meredith A. O’Brien

Michael and Shannon Cronin from Halo Land Advisor LLC, trustee

Dante A. and Jamie Lynne Bando from Gregory J. and Jan H. Lousteau

Casa Sol Azul LLC from James M. and Carly L. Fisher

Amanda L. and Charles F. Birtle Jr. from Toni M. and Douglas Bradley Thress

Bonnie Gibbs and Christopher Raymond Green from Phillip B. Shaffer, trustee

Sanchit Panda and Nimisha Srivastava from Steven S. Rusch

Igor Kremenchuker and Olga Serdyuk from Larisa Ravitskiy and George K. Khabenskiy

Michael Edwards Building and Design Inc. from John C. and Sarah W. Oberlin

Joshua L. Perry from Kristopher and Lezley McCurry

Susan Littleton from Patricia L. Teach

Zheng Che and Sandy Tadros from Edward G. Shepherd

Anthony A. Casagrande, trustee, from Amber D. Rivello

Anne E. and Shawn Anthony Bogenrief from Timothy B. and Rita Lyons

$1,206,000 2765 Fair Ave., Bexley

$1,200,000 2863 Bexley Park Rd., Columbus

$1,175,000 133 Jackson St., Columbus

Virginia L. and James T. Bowen, trustees, from Michael F. Dreiling and Siau-Hsuan Chen

Simha and Menachem Wolf from Shay Sharaby and Christina Abelita

Camille Gibson from Todd A. Barrett and Seth L. Whitlow

food & drink

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

The Chef’s Sushi Selections Haru Omakase’s tasting menu is intricate, flavorful and unique. Review, Page 54.

A Sublime Sushi Experience

Diners at Haru Omakase leave the selections up to the chef. The multi-course tasting menu rewards them for doing so.

By Amy Bodiker Baskes

True confession: I don’t really like tasting menus. At the risk this admission lands me in foodie jail, I generally find them disorienting and unsatisfying, even as I understand they are usually the impressive expressions of a talented chef.

So, I was initially skeptical about my assignment to review Haru Omakase at Polaris. Omakase means “I leave it up to you,” in Japanese—a diner’s total surrender to the whims of the chef. Omakase chefs depend as much on the interaction with their diners as they do on availability of seasonal ingredients to direct what dishes are created each evening. Because they are often menuless and can be expensive, traditional omakase restaurants have a reputation for being formal and intimidating.

And despite all this, I found myself delighted and amazed by a recent dinner at Haru. Perhaps because I have limited knowledge of Japanese cuisine and never cook it at home, I had no real context for this meal. I had to enjoy it in the moment—which is exactly the spirit of the omakase experience.

Haru is Columbus’ first omakase restaurant. It was opened last November by established restaurateurs Jeff and Yenny Tsao, owners of the fast-casual outlet Fukuryu Ramen and the Milky Way Matcha Bar. Jeff’s family was the last owner of the famed Kahiki Supper Club, and Yenny founded Meanie Konbini, the recently shuttered line of onigiri.

Haru’s formula is actually very transparent. For the base price of $99 per person (or $109 for one of the six seats at the chef’s counter), diners enjoy a set menu of five courses—all but dessert featuring a pristine selection of imported seafood.

Sake or wine pairings, an additional premium course, and exclusive add-on ingredients like caviar and sea urchin are available at extra cost. It is plainly stated across the top of Haru’s website and while making reservations that the restaurant cannot offer vegetarian options or accommodate for dietary preferences, but it can and does address food allergies.

It’s clear as soon as you are seated that this structure is only a starting place. Chef Yudi Makassau creates his weekly menus based on the seasonal availability of seafood. Thirty-seven different varieties of fish had arrived from Japan the

day we visited—a typical shipment that Haru receives each Thursday. Friendly, welcoming exchanges upon arrival help Makassau determine each guest’s familiarity with sushi and the flavors they like best. Attentive servers confirm if any premium ingredients will be incorporated into each guest’s meal and determine beverage selections. And then you are off on your personal “tour”—Haru’s word for the meal ahead.

On our visit, we sat at the chef’s counter, which is brightly lit and offers direct access to Makassau and his two assistants. Through casual banter

Photos by Tim Johnson

Chef Yudi Makassau

and light laughter, we watched as they moved quickly, hand-shaping rice forms, expertly slicing off pieces of dark red tuna loin and silvery-skinned mackerel, and maneuvering long tweezers to precisely garnish each piece of sushi. I felt relaxed and well cared for as they described the origin and tradition of each fish and how they handle it to maximize its unique flavor profile.

We began our meal with a small seafood salad that featured marinated raw flounder slices accompanied by delicate pieces of baby octopus and vegetables combined in a citrus-soy dressing. I loved the contrast of textures each bite held: buttery pieces of fish, dense and chewy seaweed and snappy cucumbers.

Over the next three courses, we enjoyed eight pieces of sushi and one handroll. Each course offered a flight of three different nigiri, sushi with an oval shape of rice draped with a seasoned piece of raw fish. Combinations included striped jack with a Peruvian pepper paste, snow crab with amaranth, and squid with crunchy chili and shiso leaves. Nigiri are meant to be consumed in one bite, but don’t confuse small for being insubstantial. Each piece fills your mouth and grabs your attention, forcing you to mindfully chew and experience its flavors.

The measured pace of the meal also allowed for each flight to be slowly savored while the chefs watchfully judged diners’ reactions to each bite and asked for feedback. “It will only get better,” Makassau repeated with a knowing

smirk throughout our meal—revealing his steady drive to impress every guest while also baiting our anticipation for the next course.

Every bite was good, though some stood out more than others. I particularly enjoyed the bluenose nigiri, a velvety fish from the butterfish family lightly smoked with hickory chips. I also savored my piece of golden threadfin, a type of bream, which was lightly garnished with bit of umeboshi, the sweet-sour paste made from pickled plums.

I also liked my bites of king salmon, featured in both a nigiri and a two-bite handroll, and the seared baby barracuda,

SHORTHAND

Haru Omakase

2027 Polaris Parkway, Polaris 614-696-9682

haruomakase.com

Hours: Open for dinner Tuesday— Saturday

If you go: It’s worth spending the extra $10 dollars to reserve a frontrow seat at the chef’s counter so you can engage directly with chef Yudi Makassau and his team as they prepare each dish specifically for you.

which reminded me of eel, my favorite sushi fish. The new-to-me gizzard shad, a pungent mackerel relative that had been lightly pickled, was described as the “fish to judge omakase by.” The reason: Its condition and the way it’s handled indicate the skill of the chef and the quality of the restaurant.

Dessert is included in the menu at Haru, though I was fully prepared to skip mine to allow my time with the savory courses to linger. I thought I could forgo a slice of cake made from crepes layered with a white chocolate whipped cream filling and topped with a sweet strawberry compote. I was wrong. One bite led to another, which led to another until it was gone. ◆

Young yellowtail featured in a salad

Truffles, edible flowers and fresh wasabi

How to Make a Spring Forager Cocktail

You can make the crowds’ favorite cocktail from Columbus Monthly’s Spring Cocktail Competition at home.

By Linda Lee Baird

Guests at Columbus Monthly ’s Spring Cocktail Competition, held on May 13 at Vue Columbus, were clearly feeling the season when they voted for the winner. The prize for Best Overall cocktail went to The CK Pub at the Cherry Valley Hotel. Its Spring Forager cocktail almost made you feel like it was a healthy drink, thanks to the carrot juice and the seasonal vegetable garnish. The bourbon base was balanced by celery rhubarb bitters and a thyme-honey syrup.

Matthew Noufer, food and beverage director at Cherry Valley Hotel, shares the winning beverage’s recipe with Co-

lumbus Monthly’s readers. He describes the Spring Forager as “an easy drinking brunch cocktail that can replace the Bloody Mary.”

While you could probably use traditional bitters and simple syrup in the recipe for a similar effect, a Google search should yield DIY recipes for thyme-honey syrup and celery rhubarb bitters; try those for a result that tastes like the real thing. As of now, making it at home is the only way to taste this drink: Noufer says his team came up with the Spring Forager specifically for the competition and isn’t currently serving it at The CK Pub. ◆

RECIPE: SPRING FORAGER

Courtesy Matthew Noufer

Ingredients:

2 oz. Middle West bourbon

1 ½ oz. fresh carrot juice

1/2 oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur

1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz. thyme-honey syrup

1 dash celery rhubarb bitters

1 micro carrot or radish for garnish

Shake all ingredients together and strain over ice. Serve in an Old Fashioned glass with vegetable garnish.

Spring Forager

PHOTOS

TIM JOHNSON

Mary Dimitrijeska and Matthew Noufer from Cherry Valley Hotel at Columbus Monthly’s Spring Cocktail Competition

Pancake Balls Paved the Way

Kathleen Day, founder of Katalina’s, reflects on the changes she’s seen over 15 years in Columbus’ restaurant business.

By Kathleen Day

Before Guy Fieri made them famous on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, my adventure started with Pancake Balls in a 600-squarefoot, century old gas station off West Third Avenue in Harrison West. I’d like to think that my little café disrupted the Columbus food scene in its own small way. As the proud owner of Katalina’s, now with three locations, I’ve been steering this wild rollercoaster for 15 years.

In 2010, I shed my career as a fashion advertising writer and creative director and decided to plunge headfirst into the restaurant business—right at the tail end of one of the biggest recessions in history. Smart, right?

I swear if I blink hard enough, I can see my younger self bursting through the diner doors so naive, yet so full of conviction. My goal when I started was to make a place at the culinary table for the kind of food I’ve loved my whole life and create an experience and gathering place for the community.

People said I was crazy. OK, and I am

a little, but here’s a secret: In my humble opinion, most successful entrepreneurs are. You have to risk everything and work night and day to get a small business off the ground. But I saw potential! With mostly fast food chains and (frankly dull) white tablecloth restaurants in Columbus at the time—my little gas station café was an early adopter of the fast casual approach. (Fast casual restaurants now lead the industry in projected growth.) Back then, my food was “five-star in a diner atmosphere” before it was cool.

Katalina’s became an unofficial hangout for the queer community long before anyone was casually throwing “Q” into LGBTQ+ and corporate teams in rainbow tees dominated Pride celebrations. I had staff and crew members who had pink hair and piercings before they became the norm. My loyal customers included a fierce trans woman whose outfits made me think of my past life in fashion, and Nina West often stopped by

before the drag world knew what hit it.

Social media was also different then— Facebook was for sharing vacation photos, reconnecting with your third grade crush and awkward family reunions— not for turning daily specials into viral sensations. And let’s not forget Yelp! The glory days of five-star reviews were basically a free marketing dream.

Today, my once quaint idea of “fivestar food in a diner atmosphere” seems ubiquitous. Food prices and tariff talks are escalating as diners hold tight to their pocketbooks. It’s another uncertain time. Will we go backwards to those pristine white tablecloth days for a rarefied few? Will higher prices lead to diners eschewing dining out altogether?

I don’t know what the future holds, but as I look to the next 15 years, I know you’ll still find me at Katalina’s, working with my beloved crew to serve up local goodness and Pancake Balls one bite at a time to the community we’re proud to be part of. ◆

Kathleen Day

let’s eat

WHERE TO DINE THIS MONTH

Editor’s Note: Please call restaurants to check hours and menu availability.

$$$$ Very expensive, $30 and higher

$$$ Spendy, $21–$29

$$ Moderate, $13–$20

$ Affordable, $12 and under

NEW

Restaurant has opened within the last few months.

Outdoor Seating

B Breakfast

BR Brunch L Lunch D Dinner

2025 Best New Restaurants

Let’s Eat is Columbus Monthly’s guide to area restaurants. The list is updated monthly with picks from our editors. Send updates and suggestions to letters@columbusmonthly.com.

AMERICAN

NEW The Blue Danube

After shuttering in 2018, the classic Old North restaurant has returned, albeit with a smaller menu than it once had. But you’ll still find deep fried starters, soups, salads and sammies—and a sense of Columbus history—to wash down with a cold beer. 2439 N. High St., Old North, 614-2619308. D $$

Bun’s Restaurant

Located in historic Delaware, Bun’s has been serving classic comfort food for more than 150 years. The menu ranges from pot roast and steaks to fried shrimp and gyro platters. 14 W. Winter St., Delaware, 740363-2867. LD $$

Cap City Fine Diner & Bar

Cameron Mitchell’s popular, stylish diner serves retro fare with an upscale twist. Think American cuisine like meatloaf, chili dogs, pork chops and homemade desserts. 6644 Riverside Dr., Dublin, 614-889-7865; 1299 Olentangy River Rd., Fifth by Northwest, 614-291-3663; 1301 Stoneridge Dr., Gahanna, 614-478-9999. BRLD $$$

Eight and Sand Tavern & Refuge

Eight and Sand is a sophisticated yet casual neighborhood bar in Hungarian Village that slings solid American fare such as wings,

Visit columbus monthly.com to read about the latest restaurant openings.

sandwiches and hot dogs. 76 E. Innis Ave., South Side, 614-914-8601. D $

Harvest Moon Craft Kitchen

A gem in historic Canal Winchester, the full-service restaurant specializes in grassfed bison burgers, fresh salads, soups, sandwiches and craft beer. 7 N. High St., Canal Winchester, 614-834-8100. BLD $$

Press Grill

What this longtime Short North favorite lacks in size it makes up for in character, with a diner feel and a bar the length of the interior. Press Grill serves solid American fare like club sandwiches, burgers and Coneys; daily specials range from taco night to Thanksgiving dinner. 741 N. High St., Short North, 614-298-1014. LD $$

Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails

This Downtown bar serves up homegrown comfort food and drinks in a pub steeped in Columbus history. Expect American cuisine like the Pot Roast Sandwich, burgers, chicken salad and sweet potato fries. 73 E. Gay St., Downtown, 614-221-8300. LD $

NEW Three Creeks Kitchen + Cocktails

Alumni of several well-known area restaurants are serving up classic dishes and creative cocktails at this familyowned eatery. Seafood and steaks feature prominently on the menu. 258 Granville St., Gahanna, 614-468-8997. D $$$$

Two Rivers Restaurant and Bar

Don’t be fooled by its home in a strip mall: Two Rivers is serving well executed food in a comfortable atmosphere. From seared salmon to steaks and spaghetti with meatballs, this family-friendly spot is sure to please. 4046 W. Powell Rd., Powell, 614-5931716. BRLD $$

Uptown Deli & Brew

Deli meets brewery at this white-tiled Uptown Westerville spot that’s three in one: an old-school deli, a restaurant serving fancy deli classics and the home of Temperance Row Brewing Co. 41 N. State St., Westerville, 614-891-2337. LD $$

ASIAN

Ampersand Asian Supper Club

Megan Ada’s Ampersand serves ramen, donburi rice bowls and more. This sister restaurant to Westerville’s Asterisk Supper Club also offers craft cocktails and a variety of sakes. 940 N. High St., Short North, 614928-3333; 32 W. College Ave., Westerville, 614-423-4454. LD $$

Chi Thai

A welcoming, family-friendly Thai/Chinese place with affordable lunch specials. The menu includes barbecued spare ribs, pad thai, Mongolian pork and Singapore noodles. 5577 N. Hamilton Rd., Gahanna, 614-4718988. LD $$

Ampersand Asian Supper Club

Eastern Palace

This upscale restaurant has been serving up fine Asian cuisine for more than 20 years, with a noodle bar, sushi, wor sue gai, pad thai and sesame chicken. 6078 E. Livingston Ave., East Side, 614-755-8880. LD $$

Molly Woo’s Asian Bistro

Cameron Mitchell’s answer to P.F. Chang’s. The décor is striking, while the menu explores well-loved Pan-Asian favorites such as lettuce wraps, pad thai, sushi and cashew chicken. 1500 Polaris Pkwy., Ste. 220, Polaris, 614-985-9667. LD $$

Pho Asian Noodle House & Grill

Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese dishes are served at this modest counter-order eatery, with egg rolls, pad thai and Mongolian beef. 1288 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington, 614488-8886. LD $$

Sun Tong Luck Asian Cuisine

The owners of this Carriage Place shopping center restaurant have a long history of serving Pan-Asian cuisine like pad thai, kung pao shrimp and hot pepper chicken. 2500 Bethel Rd., Northwest Side, 614442-3375. LD $$

Tiger + Lily Bistro

This inviting Downtown eatery features modern takes on Pan-Asian cuisine, such as lemongrass chicken or teriyaki tofu in a rice or salad bowl, chicken broth-based ramen, bubble milk teas and seasonal crepe cakes. 19 E. Gay St., Downtown, 614928-9989. BRLD $

ZenCha Café & Tea

This teahouse offers an excellent selection of international teas and an eclectic menu that includes breakfast favorites like pancakes and Japanese-inspired items like yakisoba. Brunch on weekends only. 2396 E. Main St., Bexley, 614-237-9690. BRLD $$

BAKERY

Al Aqsa Sweets

Excellent baklava, petit four cookies, knafeh and other desserts are the focus of this traditional Middle Eastern bakery owned by Fathieh Abdellatif. 1940 Schrock Rd., North Side, 614-806-0293. LD $

Auddino’s Italian Bakery

They don’t make bakeries like Auddino’s anymore. This old-school Italian retail bakeshop and wholesaler offers sandwich buns, pizza dough, pastries, cookies and more. 1490 Clara St., University District, 614294-2577. BL $

Bite This

Annie Dickson’s bakery celebrates goth culture as much as it does her innovative baked creations. A 12-foot tall skeleton greets visitors who stop in to this take-out shop for cakes, brownies and Dickson’s famous savory Bagel Bombs. 3009 N. High St., Clintonville. BL $

Golden Delight Bakery

Best known for its delightfully light strawberry cake, this Asian bakery has been serving the city for 30 years. Other offerings include cream puffs, egg tarts, fruit tarts, cake rolls and a wide variety of specialty cakes. 246 Lincoln Circle, C, Gahanna, 614-924-0097; 1516 Bethel Road, Northwest Side, 614-459-6888. BL $

Happy Little Treats Bakery

This vegan bakery offers made-from-scratch treats such as pop tarts, cookies, doughnuts, croissants and cakes. 1203 N. High St., Short North, 614-372-5655. BL $

Kolache Republic

Inside The Daily Growler, this Czech-inspired bakery offers sweet and savory kolache for breakfast as well as varieties like kielbasa and cheese that pair well with beer. 730 S. High St., German Village. BLD $

Paris Baguette

“Paris” may be part of the name, but this Korean bakery chain serves so much more than your traditional French fare. Yes, you’ll find croissants and quiche, but the menu also includes mochi, milk buns and other sweet and savory options, served all day. 3969 Merchants Row, Easton, 614-914-5133; 8839 Lyra Dr., Polaris, 614-368-2007; 1325 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington, 201-5074805. BLD $

Pistacia Vera

The crème de la crème of Columbus pastry shops, with macarons, croissants, éclairs, tarts, quiches and a small selection of sandwiches. 541 S. Third St., German Village, 614-220-9070. BL $

Three Bites Bakery + Little Cat Boba

In this shared space, you’ll find sweet and savory baked items, strong coffee and colorful boba options. The Fillipino treats

from Three Bites are exceptional, and the central location on Broad Street makes this a worthwhile stop Downtown. 12 E. Broad St., Downtown. BL $

BARBECUE

Barrel & Boar BBQ Gastropub

This rustic gastropub started as a barbecue spot in the North Market and has rapidly expanded into a local chain offering smoked meats, craft beers and a casual atmosphere. 121 Mill St., Ste. 130, Gahanna, 614-4718844; 1217 S. Broad St. Lancaster, 740-9013000. BRLD $$

B&K Smokehouse

Owner James Howell serves excellent Memphis-style ribs and soul food at this no-frills carryout spot. 1114 E. Main St., Olde Towne East, 614-252-7017. LD $$

Bob’s Backyard Barbeque

Classic barbecue fare including specialty sandwiches with smoked pork, chicken brisket and homemade sides. 80 W. Church Street, Pickerington, 614-321-4581; 157 W. Main St., Lancaster, 740-422-8848. LD $

Bristol Republic

With a Southern flair, Bristol Republic offers a menu full of pulled pork, spare ribs and hickory-smoked wings to go along with an extensive list of whiskeys. 1124 N. High St., Short North, 614-929-5847. BRLD $$

City Barbeque

You’ll find barbecue in a true smokehouse setting at this hometown favorite, with beef brisket, pulled pork, ribs and homemade sides. 108 S. Stygler Rd., Gahanna, 614-416-8890; 2261 Stringtown Rd., Grove City, 614-4233757; 1501 Gemini Place, Polaris, 614-5738686; 3758 W. Powell Rd., Powell, 614-2248224; 5979 E. Main St., Reynoldsburg,

Al Aqsa Sweets

614-755-8890; 2111 W. Henderson Rd., Upper Arlington, 614-538-8890; 600 S. State St., Westerville, 614-823-8890; 7320 OH-161, Plain City, 614-967-9370. LD $$

Hank’s Texas BBQ

Central Texas-style brisket is king at chef Brad “Hank” Harkrider’s casual restaurant, which replaces Old Skool. Other offerings include smoked chicken, pulled pork, ribs and sides such as mac ’n’ cheese and baked beans. 2941 N. High St., Clintonville, 614972-6020. LD $$

Legacy Smokehouse

Experience the tradition of Central Texas barbecue. Go for the beef ribs or the Texas Trinity (chopped brisket, pulled pork and sausage). Don’t forget the bread pudding. 3987 Main St., Hilliard, 614-541-9022. LD $$

Market & Boar

This North Market vendor offers pork spare ribs, pulled chicken, pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches. Sides include mac ’n’ cheese, cheesy potatoes and cole slaw. 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614-392-1079. LD $$

Ray Ray’s Hog Pit

Since launching Ray Ray’s food truck at Ace of Cups, owner James Anderson has built a thriving barbecue business and snagged a James Beard nomination. Expect excellent barbecue fare, with ribs, pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches, plus sides. 4214 N High St., Clintonville, 614-753-1191; 237 King Ave., Dennison Place, 614-441-1065; 424 W. Town St., Franklinton, 614-404-9742; 1256 Columbus Rd., Granville, 740-920-9103; 2355 W. Dublin-Granville Rd., Linworth, 614698-6311; 138 S. Main St., Marion, 740-8210997; 2619 High St., Old North, 614-753-1191; 5755 Maxtown Rd., Westerville, 614-3296654 LD $$

Smoked on High Barbeque Co.

Max McGarity runs this quick-service barbecue spot in a Victorian-style house in the Brewery District. Head there for craft beer and four standard meat options—chicken drumsticks, pulled pork, brisket and pork spareribs, plus sauces and sides. 755 S. High St., Brewery District, 614-754-9711. LD $

CARIBBEAN

Ava’s Taste of the Caribbean

Authentic Caribbean cuisine is the focus of this carryout spot, with jerk chicken, curry goat, fried plantains and more. 2836 W. Broad St., West Side, 614-266-9308. LD $$

Dave’s Caribbean Food & Ice Cream

Jamaican cuisine including jerk chicken, oxtail, curry chicken and more. Food Truck, Citywide. LD $$

Ena’s Caribbean Kitchen

Founded more than 20 years ago by matriarch Vinell “Ena” Hayles, a native of Jamaica, this Linden area restaurant offers

authentic Caribbean fare like jerk chicken, callaloo and curry goat. 2444 Cleveland Ave., North Linden, 614-262-0988. BRLD $$

Mi Yaad Jamaican Restaurant

Located inside Saraga International Grocery, this carryout serves top-notch Jamaican patties, jerk chicken, escovitch fish, curry goat, Rasta pasta and more. 2750 S. Hamilton Road, East Side, 614-490-7197. LD $$

Val’s of the Caribbean

A family-owned eatery serving Caribbean specialties like saltfish fritters, jerk chicken, oxtail and goat curry. 6820 Refugee Rd., Canal Winchester, 614-834-4403. LD $

CONTEMPORARY

Agni

At his fine-dining restaurant, chef Avishar Barua (Top Chef Season 18) entertains guests with multicourse tasting menus that showcase Barua’s Bengali roots, penchant for creative hijinks and live-fire cooking chops. Reservations are a must, or try snagging a bar seat. 716 S. High St., Brewery District, 614-674-6600. D $$$$

Fyr

Dinnertime starters at this live-fire restaurant range from empanadas to grilled bone marrow, while the mains include ember-cooked shrimp, grilled filet, wood-fired pizzas and roasted salmon. Breakfast is served daily. 404 N. High St., Short North, 614-484-5286. BD $$$$

Goodale Station

Topping Downtown’s Canopy by Hilton hotel is this rooftop restaurant, bar and patio led by executive chef Jonathan Olson. The restaurant’s city views are complemented by a large bar, high-end cocktails and sophisticated fare inspired by global cuisines. 77 E. Nationwide Blvd., Downtown, 614-2279400. BRD $$$

J. Liu Restaurant and Bar

J. Liu offers a blend of Asian, Italian and classic American cuisines in a modern, trendy setting, with Jason’s Spicy Chicken, pad thai, Chophouse Burger and scallop risotto. 50 W. Bridge St., Dublin, 614-718-1818; 6880 N. High St., Worthington, 614-888-1818. LD $$$

Mandrake

At this venue above the Moxy hotel, outstanding city views are complemented by very good cocktails, sushi and shared plates. The spot turns into a Vegas-style club at night, featuring a DJ booth and bottle service. 810 N. High St., Short North, 614-793- 1500. D $$$

Service Bar

Local distiller Middle West showcases its fine spirits at this on-site restaurant and bar led by executive chef Chris Connolly. Expect New American fare ranging from a Wagyu beef burger to halibut with Kashmiri curry. 1230 Courtland Ave., Short North, 614-947-1231. D $$$

Sycamore

Now under new ownership, Sycamore is a welcome neighborhood hang featuring a carryout coffee window, full bar and a tastefully renovated dining room. Dishes range from an egg sandwich in the a.m. to grilled artichokes, whole branzino, lamb sugo and more. 262 E. Sycamore St., German Village, 614-754-1460. BLD $$$

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing

French- and California-cuisine-inspired Wolf’s Ridge is a truly delightful reflection of how we enjoy fine dining today—a happy marriage of high-end small plates, pints of house-crafted beer and craft cocktails. Don’t miss the brunch. 215 N. Fourth St., Downtown, 614-429-3936. BRLD $$$

FRENCH

Chouette

Occupying a stately space on the corner of Gay and High is Chouette, a French restaurant embracing bistro culture. The French wine list and authentic menu from Maitre Cuisinier Jaques Sorci will have you saying “oui.” Save room for the chocolate mousse. 66 N. High St., Downtown, 614-7052665. LD $$$$

La Chatelaine French Bakery & Bistro

Handcrafted woodwork and a crackling fireplace lend the feeling of a French castle to this bakery, bistro and wine bar with equally inspired dishes that range from beef bourguignon to croissants. 65 W. Bridge St., Dublin, 614-763-7151; 1550 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington, 614-488-1911; 627 High St., Worthington, 614-848-6711. BL $$

The Refectory Restaurant & Wine Shop

At this Columbus icon, chef Richard Blondin puts more effort into a single plate than an ordinary restaurant does into an entire menu. Inside this church-turned-fine-dining spot,

Chouette

expect impeccable service and a world-class wine cellar to pair with your meal. 1092 Bethel Rd., Northwest Side, 614-451-9774. D $$$$

INDIAN/PAKISTANI

Cinnamon Indian Grill

A no-frills, Campus-area restaurant serving vegetarian and non-veg standards like samosas, curries, biryanis and tandoori dishes. 2628 N. High St., Old North, 614-2619309. LD $$

Dakshin Indian Bistro

This comfortable restaurant has expanded its menu of South Indian and Indochinese dishes. It features biryani, Hyderabadi curry, navrattan korma and tandoori chicken, plus a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan options. 5251 N. Hamilton Rd., North Side, 614-3892670. LD $$

Flavors of India

One of the oldest vendors in the North Market, this spot offers simple Northern Indian fare like samosas, saag paneer and chicken curry, as well as vegan and gluten-free options. 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614-228-1955. LD $$

NEW Food Street

Columbus is the first outpost for this New Jersey-based restaurant specializing in street food from Lahore, Pakistan. The menu is full of Pakastani and American-fusion dishes including paratha rolls, chaat, burgers and unique handhelds. House-made traditional drinks round out the menu. 3373 N. High St., Clintonville, 614-670-4061. LD $

Indian Oven

A friendly and chic eatery serving Northern Indian and Bengali meals. The menu includes palak paneer, tandoori chicken, biryani and roasted lamb shank. 427 E. Main St., Downtown, 614-220-9390. LD $$

Nawabi Hyderabad House

With outdoor seating and a large menu, this bright, small Indian restaurant has lots to offer, including dosas, biryanis and curries. Try the chicken lollipops: wings marinated in spices, coated in a zesty batter and deepfried. 6395 Perimeter Dr., Dublin, 614-9567020; 8481 Sancus Blvd., Polaris, 614-3969221. LD $$

Rollz Rice Indian Kitchen

A casual Indian restaurant with a home-style feel, Rollz Rice offers an assortment of quick, healthy meals with authentic Indian flavors. Try its chicken kathi wraps or build your own basmati rice bowl. E. 16th Ave., Campus, 614670-5000; 724 Polaris Pkwy., Lewis Center, 614-505-3317. LD $$

Rooh

This San Francisco import serves highend, “progressive Indian” fare. Go for the inventive cocktails, buzzy atmosphere and conversation-stoking dishes, such as sweet potato chaat, paneer pinwheels and lamb

SUMMER READING CHALLENGE

Saturday, May 31 - Thursday, July 31

Fun for the family all summer long!

Read to earn prizes and ra e entries for more prizes!

Join us for activities and programs – we have something for everyone.

Stop in any Columbus Metropolitan Library location to learn more, or visit columbuslibrary.org/summerreading.

OUR SUMMER READING CHALLENGE MADE POSSIBLE BY:

shank nihari. 685 N. High St., Short North, 614-972-8678. D $$$

Taj on Fifth Taj on Fifth stands out among Indian restaurants for its small, well executed menu and full bar with cocktails incorporating Indian spices and flavors. If you’re new to Indian cuisine, the chicken tikka masala and chicken makhani are sure to make you a fast fan. 1021 W. Fifth Ave., Fifth by Northwest, 614-696-4844. D $$$

Taj Palace

An Indian restaurant offering a full menu and buffet of soups, salads, meats, vegetables, breads and desserts. 3794 Fishinger Blvd., Hilliard, 614-771-3870. LD $$

LATIN AMERICAN

Arepazo

Owners Carlos and Carolina Gutierrez serve excellent Venezuelan and Colombian fare and cocktails in a hip atmosphere. Don’t miss the arepas, patacón and lomo saltado. 515 S. High St., Brewery District, 614-9148878. LD $$

Brazilian Grill & Bakery

A Brazilian market and restaurant specializing in prato feito (often abbreviated to PF), which are blue-plate specials with beans, rice, fries and salad, topped with traditional Brazilian meats. 5818 Columbus Sq., North Side, 614394-9254. LD $

Calero’s Bar & Grill

This Northland restaurant is serving affordable Salvadoran cuisine with a large menu that will leave you wanting to return for more. The pupusas are a must-try, but from breakfasts to steak dinners, anything you sample is bound to leave you satisfied. 1644 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., Northland; 614-3948030. BLD $$

Cilantro Latin Fusion

The owners of Cilantro food truck have a dine-

in restaurant serving a mix of Colombian, Venezuelan and Ecuadorian fare such as arepas, pabellon, patacones and more. 4852 Sawmill Rd., Northwest Side, 614-754-1080, 614-966-1222; 993 King Ave., Grandview food truck; 5584 Hall Rd. Galloway food truck, 614-373-4080. LD $$

Choripán Argentine Grill

A South American restaurant specializing in an all-gluten-free menu featuring empanadas, wings, steak platters and choripán, a popular Argentine chorizo sandwich. 5927 Karric Square Dr., Dublin, 614-467-9288. LD $$

El Pollo Perucho

This family-owned Peruvian rotisserie has been operating on the West Side since 2013, offering pollo a la brasa, ceviche, yucca fries and lomo saltado. A bar was recently added. 727 Georgesville Rd., West Side, 614-7546769. LD $$$

Los Galapagos

This authentic Ecuadorian restaurant located off the beaten path serves large dishes with a focus on beef, pork, seafood and plantains. Try the hornado, empanadas, Colombian bandeja paisa and tropical fruit drinks. 378 S. Grener Ave., West Side, 614-878-7770. LD $$

Mordisco Food Truck

At this wheeled Venezuelan eatery, whose official home is Olentangy River Brewing Co., you’ll find standout breakfast burritos, arepas, pabellón bowls and more. 303 Green Meadows Dr. S., Lewis Center, 786-557-8828. BL $$

Pablo’s Havana Café

This Cuban café serves authentic recipes made primarily with locally sourced ingredients. Be sure to try its signature El Cubano sandwich. 6750 Longshore St., Dublin, 614-389-4302. LD $$

Sí Señor Peruvian Sandwiches & More

Owner Guillermo Perez crafts outstanding handhelds at this casual café. The roasted

turkey club, meatloaf and fried pork shoulder sandwiches are hard to beat. Don’t skip the cilantro pasta. 155 W. Nationwide Blvd., Arena District, 614-670-4985; 1456 W. Fifth Ave., Fifth by Northwest. L $

POLYNESIAN

Hai Poké

The North Market Bridge Park eatery offers Hawaiian island-inspired poke bowls— deconstructed sushi with raw fish (or tofu), rice, vegetables and delicious sauces. 6750 Longshore St., Dublin, 614-683-8785. LD $$

Huli Huli Tiki Lounge & Grill

This bar in historic downtown Powell celebrates tiki culture with carefully crafted rum drinks like mai tais and zombies. A food menu includes kalua pork sandwiches and combo plates with rice, mac and your choice of protein. 26 W. Olentangy St., Powell, 614396-8437. D $$

Ohana Island Grill

Traditional Hawaiian eats are the focus of this casual restaurant, with offerings like spam musubi, saimin and loco moco. Don’t miss the mixed combo plate with teriyaki beef, barbecued chicken, short ribs, rice and macaroni salad. 3512 W. Dublin-Granville Rd., Northwest Side, 614-698-0044. LD $$

Pokebap

A build-your-own poke concept using highquality ingredients, including fresh, sushigrade fish and produce, plus sauces made from scratch. 1086 N. 4th St., Italian Village, 614-505-2631; 7561 Sawmill Rd., Dublin, 614726-9818. LD $$

Poke Bros.

This eatery serves up Hawaiian poke, Chipotle-style. Build your own healthy bowl or select signature bowls like the Johnny Utah with salmon or The Shaka with chicken. 1065 Gemini Pl., Polaris, 614-681-9000; 4780 Morse Rd., Gahanna, 614-383-7747. LD $$

Poke Bunny

This teeny Downtown eatery serves up Hawaiian poke, Chipotle-style. Build your own healthy bowl or select signature bowls. 100 E. Gay St., Downtown, 614-369-1144. LD $$

SEAFOOD

Cajun Boiling Seafood and Bar

This restaurant takes its inspiration from Louisiana cuisine, offering classics like po’boy sandwiches, as well as a la carte seafood options to boil and create your own meal. 1748 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., Northeast, 614-4238767; 2760 Brice Rd., Reynoldsburg, 614-8638667. LD $$

COLO Market & Oyster Bar

In addition to fresh seafood for cooking at home, this North Market fishmonger offers lobster rolls, chowder, shrimp po’ boys and oysters on the half shell. 6750 Longshore St.,

Cilantro Latin Fusion

Dublin, 614-683-8782; 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614-929-5701. LD $$$

Columbus Fish Market

This high-end seafood restaurant offers daily fresh catch options and an eclectic, ever-changing menu with favorites like Maine lobster, Shanghai Sea Bass, Mitchell’s Rib-Eye and Alaskan king crab legs. 1245 Olentangy River Rd., Grandview, 614-291-3474. LD $$$$

Cousins Maine Lobster

Lobsters shipped directly from Maine are carefully prepared in small batches to provide a traditional New England experience. Offers lobster rolls, lobster tots, shrimp tacos and whoopie pies. Food Truck, Citywide, 614448-1256. LD $$

Kai’s Crab Boil

Kai’s brings a coastal tradition to Columbus that’s interactive, fun and messy. Choose from one of Kai’s Combos or pick your own seafood combination—from shrimp to snow crab legs to lobster—boiled in special spices. 839 Bethel Rd., Northwest Side, 614-8690652. LD $$$

Marino’s Seafood

A local favorite famous for its fish and chips. Other menu options include breaded shrimp, baked fish and hush puppies. 1216 W. Fifth Ave., Fifth by Northwest, 614-481-8428. LD $

Pier 11 Boiling Seafood & Bar

Pier 11 offers seafood kicked up with Cajun and Creole flavors. Offerings include boiled shrimp, crawfish and mussels, as well as po’boys and fried catfish. 1335 Stoneridge Dr., Gahanna, 614-934-7077; 7661 Farmsbury Dr., Reynoldsburg, 614-367-6666; 3920 E. Broad St., Whitehall, 614-817-1007. LD $$

Windward Passage

This hoot of a retro restaurant has porthole windows and nautical decor, as well as some of the best fried fish in town. 4739 Reed Rd., Upper Arlington, 614-451-2497. D $$$

VEGAN/VEGETARIAN

4th & State

This vegan eatery for the Downtown crowd features meatless alternatives to American favorites like Just Egg omelets, pancakes, pizzas and burgers. 152 E. State St., Downtown, 614-224-5461. BBRLD $$

Portia’s Café

This Clintonville café serves only vegan and gluten-free options with an emphasis on raw foods. The menu includes dips like hummus and guacamole, falafel, soups, salads, wraps, smoothies and vegan-friendly Cheezecake. 4428 Indianola Ave., Clintonville, 614-9283252. BBRLD $

Seitan’s Realm

This devilishly named deli specializes in plant-based sandwiches such as Reubens

and gyros. Try the vegan cheesesteak sandwich with curly fries for a great combo. 3496 N. High St., Clintonville, 614-230-2889. BLD $$

Two Dollar Radio Headquarters

An indie bookstore/bar/café residing on the South Side. The bar serves cocktails and draft beer (except on Sundays) while the café focuses on plant-based salads, burritos, sliders, sandwiches and dips. 1124 Parsons Ave., South Side, 614-725-1505. BRLD $$

VIETNAMESE

6-1-Pho

A fast-casual restaurant where diners can build their own noodle soups, sandwiches and noodle salads—all of which pull flavors from classic Vietnamese cuisine. 4386 N. High St., Clintonville, 614-706-4903. LD $

Buckeye Pho

Venture to this strip mall eatery for highquality Vietnamese fare such as a fantastic banh mi. 761 Bethel Rd., Northwest Side, 614-451-2828. LD $$

GC Pho

Visit this Grove City spot for spring rolls, pho, banh mi, vermicelli noodle dishes (bun) and rice dishes like com thit nuong. 1385 Georgesville Rd., Grove City, 614-852-3038. LD $$

Huong Vietnamese Restaurant

Housed in a Northland-area strip mall, this bright and simply decorated restaurant turns out great Vietnamese fare such as pho, bahn xeo and bun nem nuong. 1270 Morse Rd., North Side, 614-825-0303. LD $$

Lan Viet Market

Located in both North Market locations, familyrun Lan Viet offers tried-and-true Vietnamese favorites, with pho, banh mi, bun thit bo xao and ca phe sua. 6750 Longshore St., Dublin, 614-683-8783; 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614227-4203; 710 Grandview Crossing Way, Little Grand, 614-499-7126. LD $$

Mili Café

The tucked-away North Side eatery is known for its flavorful pho, made-from-scratch banh mi and other Vietnamese classics. 5858 Emporium Sq., North Side, 614-899-9202. LD $$

Buckeye Pho

Creative Space

Carrie Lacey Boerio and Michelle Boerio

by Tim Johnson

Mother-daughter artists Carrie Lacey Boerio and Michelle Boerio were looking for a special place to create together, and were drawn to the warm architectural details—including wooden arched doorways and ample natural light provided from large windows— in the East Broad Street studio they moved into last year.

Both are drawn to natural subjects, featuring flowers and landscapes in their art. Michelle credits time in Europe as inspiration for her paintings.

The Boerios incorporate natural elements like cut flowers and plants into their work. They combine the flora with paint for a unique, mixed-media finished product. Michelle explains the process as “things that feel good to the brain as you paint.”

They describe the space as a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere to create and share ideas together. ◆

Photos

Michelle Boerio in the studio she shares with her mother.

Flowers in studio

Carrie Lacey Boerio’s sketchbook

Carrie Lacey Boerio and Michelle Boerio

BENEFITTING

THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS FUNDING PARTNERS, PELOTONIA IS ABLE TO DIRECT 100% OF EVERY PARTICIPANT-RAISED DOLLAR TO INNOVATIVE CANCER RESEARCH AT THE OSUCCC – JAMES.