Columbus Monthly – March 2025

Guide

Craft Brew

Give your child the world.

24 A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON COLUMBUS BEER

Writer Josh Bernstein spent decades in New York writing about beer for national publications and authoring books. Now that he’s moved to Columbus, he’s finding a lot to like about the craft brew scene here.

ON THE COVER: Everybody Wants Some IPA from Hoof Hearted.

Photos by Tim Johnson

Kevin Myers and his Bernese Mountain Dog, Eloise, at Hoof Hearted Brewing on 5th Avenue.

The choice for your colorectal cancer care is clear.

At The James, you’re choosing the experts who understand there is no such thing as routine cancer. Where your care is delivered by a highly specialized, compassionate team dedicated to studying and treating just one type of cancer — yours. And where more than 1,700 scientists are working on new treatments — and new hope — for every form of cancer. All at the region’s only comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute.

#ChooseTheJames cancer.osu.edu/ChooseTheJames

The James is proud to be nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report for 26 years.

Will, colorectal cancer survivor

The literary nonprofit is struggling to stay open. Here’s why.

16 CANCER CARE

Columbus is home to four health systems that are continually making innovations to their cancer treatment programs. What’s new for 2025.

20 EVERYDAY KINDNESS HEROES

A radiation therapist makes going through treatment less scary for children by creating fun, colorful masks for them to wear.

22 PEOPLE

Big Arts Night hosted by the Greater Columbus Arts Council

23 DATEBOOK

Experience Hendrix Tour, Bull Shih-tz Comedy Show, a “Hamlet” retelling and Loire Valley Wine Tasting

Food & Drink

58 REVIEW: SUBOURBON

Whiskey is just the start at this Linworth eatery serving up well-executed Southern fare.

60 SHORT ORDER

T-Co Islands serves family-recipe Haitian food—yes, they have fried pork—with plenty of heart.

61 SAISON THEY LOVE

Two Columbus breweries have created an award-winning collaboration.

62 LET’S EAT

Our monthly directory of where to dine

pros and cons of revocable

The Columbus chapter of the fundraising society for women is a

Vocalist Arthur Marks

COLUMBUSMONTHLY.COM

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Michelle Crossman

EDITORIAL EDITOR

Katy Smith

FOOD & DRINK EDITOR

Linda Lee Baird

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Lucy Clark

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Amy Bodiker Baskes, Jeff Darbee, Nicholas Dekker, Chris DeVille, Randy Edwards, Emma Frankart Henterly, Kathy Lynn Gray, Donna Marbury, Jill Moorhead, Laura Newpoff, Steve Stephens and Peter Tonguette

DESIGN & PRODUCTION PAGE DESIGNERS

Kathryn Biek, Kelly Hignite, Kaity Morrow, Hannah Patton

DIGITAL EDITOR

Julanne Hohbach

Amy Bodiker Baskes

Columbus Monthly’s regular food critic brings us a review of Subourbon Southern Kitchen and Spirits in Linworth, with its vast selection of bourbons and menu of beloved dishes like fried chicken, gumbo and collard greens, Page 58.

PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO EDITOR

Tim Johnson

ADVERTISING MULTIMEDIA SALES MANAGERS

Heather Kritter, Adam Trabitz

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Rebecca Zimmer

MARKETING MARKETING MANAGER

Lauren Reinhard

LETTERS: letters@columbusmonthly.com

ADVERTISING: advertise@ columbusmonthly.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS/CUSTOMER SERVICE

760-237-8505

columbusmonthly@pcspublink.com

EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING OFFICES

605 S. Front St., Suite 300 Columbus, OH 43215

614-888-4567

CONTRIBUTORS

Kathy Lynn Gray

The former Columbus Dispatch reporter turned freelance writer, who often writes about health care (among other topics), this month explored the advances being made across Columbus’ cancer treatment programs, Page 16.

Joshua M. Bernstein

We’re welcoming the nationally known beer journalist and author of “The Complete Beer Course” to Columbus after moving here from New York City last year. He wrote this month’s cover story on the local craft brewery scene, Page 24.

Best New Restaurants

March 25, 2025 6-9 p.m.

The Stack at Municipal Light Plant

You're invited to enjoy the impressive offerings served by Columbus Monthly's Best New Restaurants, along with drinks and live entertainment.

Experience the city's most exciting arrivals, from emerging cuisines to innovative takes on familiar classics—all in one venue.

For tickets, scan the code below:

Tickets:

$75 each

Tickets include featured bites from each participating Best New Restaurant, specialty cocktails from Noble Cut Distillery and a one-year Columbus Monthly subscription.

Event is 21 and older. Menus will not be published in advance and chefs will be unable to make modifications to their dishes.

Participants include:

Del Mar • Calero’s Bar and Grill • Butcher & Rose • Flour Modern Pasta Bar • Chouette • Littleton’s Market Café • Shawnee Station Taproom and Kitchen • Kung Fu Noodle • and more!

Much More Than ‘Just Beer’

I’ll admit it. Even as the craft brewing scene in Columbus has developed into a thriving, creative economic engine, I still don’t prefer to drink beer. A wonderful culture has come into being around brewing, one that blends outdoor activities, friendships, children, family, pets (especially dogs) and entrepreneurship. Brewery culture has a cool, easygoing, relaxed vibe that maybe feels a bit foreign to me, with my Type A personality and my love of fancy restaurants. Despite serving as an editor on an estimated 100-plus news stories about the Columbus craft brew scene since it took off around 2010, this month I realized I know very little about beer. This issue’s cover story by writer Joshua M. Bernstein was a revelation to me, weaving together all the great names in Columbus brewing with insights about their business, their challenges and their futures.

COMMENTS

Our Best New Restaurants package in February got a lot of love on Instagram. Here are a few of the comments.

For Calero’s Bar and Grill, which specializes in Salvadoran cuisine:

Bien orgullosa me siento (I feel very proud )marbelemus

Felicidades Elvia (Congratulations Elvia ) - 192rtotm

Katy

Smith katy@columbusmonthly.com

If you, like me, think you don’t like IPA, read Josh’s story. If you like beer, but you usually want to go out somewhere with good food, too, read Josh’s story. If you are new to Columbus, like Josh— read his story. With decades of experience covering the brewing industry for national publications like The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic, he is truly an expert who literally wrote the book on drinking beer: “The Complete Beer Course.”

We’re thrilled to have Josh here in Columbus with us, and to have his byline in the magazine. Enjoy his story.

Editor, Columbus Monthly

Station. We’re honored to be part of the Shawnee Hills community!

From Littleton’s Market Cafè:

We are honored to be recognized by Columbus Monthly as one the Best New Restaurants and humbled to be in the company of other wonderful, local restaurants. A huge thank you to our dedicated team and our loyal customers, and we’re looking forward to what 2025 holds.

For Kung Fu Noodle:

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.

Columbus Monthly

@ColumbusMonthly

@ColumbusMonthly

Web: ColumbusMonthly.com

Email: letters@ columbusmonthly.com

Lanzhou beef noodle soups, dan dan noodles, stir fried noodles, hot pepper pork. We also enjoyed soup dumplings, fried rice, spicy wontons. The space is a little spare, and they’re geared a little more for carryout, but we’re certainly looking forward to a return visit!

From chennichen: So thankful for chefs who bring authentic flavors to Columbus

For Taj on Fifth:

Todo es deliciosoooo ¡felicidades a @caleros. bng! (Everything is delicious Congratulations to @ caleros.bng!) - alejandrina_ag

From Shawnee Station Taproom and Kitchen:

Thank you to @columbusmonthly for this great feature on our mission at The

From writer Nick Dekker, aka Breakfast with Nick: I got to write about @kungfunoodlenorthamerica for @ columbusmonthly’s Best New Restaurants feature. It started in Dayton but expanded here last year on Godown Road next to Los Guachos. Kung Fu Noodle distinguishes itself with its hand-pulled noodles used in

This guy is a rock star from a rockstar family. Yes unbelievably awesome food ... but so full of spirit. Fun. Respect for others. Authenticity ... spice of life and more. Meet you over at his new place ... all of Columbus. - zerowallet

For Chouette: @chouetterestaurant truly brings something unique to the area—it already feels like a staple. - calltheallenteam

For Flour Modern Pasta Bar: @flourcolumbus sounds like the perfect blend of elegance and comfort! Handmade pasta and house-made everything Definitely adding this to my must-try list. - calltheallenteam

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Calero’s Bar & Grill

front & center

Keeping the Past Relevant Thurber House is struggling to stay open, its leaders say. The story behind its recent pleas for donations, Page 14.

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Thurber House Who?

The literary nonprofit named for Columbus’ native son James Thurber is struggling to remain open. Name recognition is its biggest challenge, its leader says.

By Peter Tonguette

Who was James Thurber?

To faithful readers of The New Yorker magazine, the humorist was a comic icon noted for his astringent take on middle American life in the last century. His classic short stories include “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” and his comic doodles, frequently focused on canines, are numerous. Born in Columbus in 1894, Thurber often let his mind drift to his hometown for artistic inspiration. He died in 1961.

For the last 40 years, no organization has done more to further Thurber’s local legacy than Thurber House, the literary center that, since 1984, has operated at 77 Jefferson Ave. on the Near East Side. The house, which was occupied by the Thurber family from 1913 through 1917, is decorated in a manner that approximates its condition a century ago, and it hosts author talks and writing workshops. Since 1997, Thurber House has administered the Thurber Prize for American Humor, whose recipients include Christopher Buckley, David Sedaris and Trevor Noah.

Yet, many in the younger generations aren’t familiar with, or can’t connect with, the organization’s namesake, says Thurber House Executive Director Laurie Lathan.

“If you say the name Kurt Vonnegut, a lot of them know the name,” says Lathan, contrasting Thurber House with the similar Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis. “It’ll resonate. But when you say James Thurber, not so much.”

That lack of name recognition is given as one of the reasons for Thurber House’s recent financial struggles. In 2020, to ensure viability amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the center initiated an emergency fundraising drive and accepted a CARES Act-funded award from the Ohio Arts Council.

Now the center has launched an equally

urgent plea for $200,000. “Thurber House is struggling to remain open and fulfill our mission,” reads the text accompanying the appeal, which, as of press time in late January, had generated about half of its goal. Thurber House has already reduced its staff from six to four, laying off a full-time marketing and development director and an education coordinator.

“Thurber House has never had any fat in its budget,” says Lathan. The organization’s budget for its most recent fiscal year, ending June 30, was about $760,000. Among the biggest challenges are increases in operating expenses that outpace growth in revenue and giving, she says.

PHOTOS BY TIM JOHNSON

Vintage phone and radio

Thurber House

are offered the chance to sign the closet in James Thurber’s bedroom; at right, his reading desk in the home at 77 Jefferson Ave., where his family lived from 1913 to 1917.

“If our light bills continue to increase, and now our health insurance, how are we making up that difference in money?” Lathan says. “It’s a long-term issue that I, as an arts leader, look at. How are arts organizations and nonprofits in general going to continue to retain quality employees if they can’t afford to hire someone?”

Lathan says Thurber House, which does not have an endowment, has been underfunded. She says corporate giving lags because the center falls between two priorities. “Some companies ... have pools of funds for fine arts and performing arts,” Lathan says. “They don’t know where to put Thurber House because we’re not a dance company [or] a theater company, and then we’re not an art museum. So we aren’t qualified for some of that funding because of that.”

Other problems include the emergence of bookstores and libraries hosting the sort of revenue-generating author events that used to be the near-exclusive domain of Thurber House. Plus, despite the money raised during COVID, the pandemic put a seemingly permanent dent in attendance at many events. “We’ve lost some of our older patrons,” Lathan says. “Since COVID, they’ve either not come back or they’ve actually passed away.”

This “perfect storm,” as Lathan puts it, necessitated the present fundraising campaign, which was launched in lieu of Thurber House’s annual holiday appeal. “We just determined this is how much

“To anthologize [Thurber’s] short pieces, or to keep them alive in the current curriculum, is difficult, which is partly the reason why the house had a mission: Hey, it’s our job to call attention to this native son.

—MICHAEL ROSEN

money that we need to get us through to the end of the year, and to land the year in the black,” she says. Major projects that would necessitate a capital campaign, such as making improvements to the house 40 years after its renovation, are not being considered until the center’s financial situation improves. “We can’t even get to that point because we need to keep the lights on, we need to keep programs going,” she says.

One Thurber House program that has demonstrated resiliency is its kids’ summer writing camp, which has returned to an approximation of pre-pandemic levels. To build on that success, the organization has been “edging up” fees for educational programs, Lathan says, and plans to start offering off-site “satellite” camps throughout Central Ohio.

In search of other revenue streams, the organization plans to start selling publishers and libraries seals to be affixed to the covers of books whose authors have won or been named finalists of the Thurber Prize.

Michael Rosen, Thurber House’s founding literary director who was with the organization from 1983 to 2001, laments what he views as the organization’s fall from its past heights. He bemoans a lack of partnerships with other arts groups— the sort of collaborations that resulted in a Thurber-inspired musical commissioned by the nonprofit and the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in 1994—as well as the emphasis on bringing in authors simply because they are touring. “We defined the Thurber House readings as literature,” Rosen says of the approach to author events iwn his day.

Rosen, also the editor or author of books on Thurber, admits the humorist’s star is not what it once was. “At the beginning of the Thurber House, there were many people who grew up on Thurber, who knew Thurber, people even who knew him personally here in town,” Rosen says. Even so, he sees celebrating Thurber as a foundational mandate of Thurber House. “To anthologize [Thurber’s] short pieces, or to keep them alive in the current curriculum, is difficult, which is partly the reason why the house had a mission: Hey, it’s our job to call attention to this native son,” he says.

For her part, Lathan says Thurber will remain at the heart of its mission, but by necessity, it has to broaden its programming. “How do we get people engaged at Thurber House,” she says, “if they don’t know who James Thurber is?” ◆

Authors

Vintage typewriter in bedroom

Investments in Caring

Health systems in Columbus are pushing the needle on cancer treatment, from proton therapy to consolidated clinics.

By Kathy Lynn Gray

Cancer treatments are evolving daily, and Central Ohioans are fortunate enough to have world-class doctors and treatment centers right here. Here are a few of the newest innovations and future improvements for cancer care locally.

Proton Therapy Means a Brighter Future Children’s cancer treatments can come with dangerous side effects that may not show up for decades. So, when proton therapy treatment became available in Columbus in late 2023, cancer specialists at Nationwide Children’s Hospital knew it was a game changer.

“It’s especially vital for children,” says Dr. Timothy Cripe, chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/ Blood and Marrow Transplant at Nationwide Children’s. While radiation for cancer passes through tissues above and below a tumor, proton beams deposit all their energy into the tumor and stop, so fewer noncancerous cells are damaged, Cripe explains. That’s important when treating brain cancer and inoperable tumors, but also for cancers where radiation treatments could stunt a child’s

‘‘ This is going to fundamentally change medicine. ... It’ll be whole-patient interdisciplinary care.

—DR. ALEXA MEARA

growth or cause a deformity, he says.

Nationwide Children’s partnered with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute to create the $100 million proton center, which is

located on Ohio State’s west campus and also used by adult cancer patients.

Three patients can be treated at once with the 90-ton unit, which allowed nearly 3,000 treatments to be dispensed in the first year, Cripe says.

“The machine we put in is the most advanced in the world as far as precision and the speed at which the beam can deliver the energy,” he says. Future clinical trials will determine if proton therapy can give a patient six weeks’ worth of therapy in one dose, which Cripe says would be a “huge game changer.”

Plans Gel for Outpatient Center

With an eye toward making the cancer journey easier, OhioHealth is planning a new $225 million outpatient cancer center that will consolidate medical services in one location.

The 199,000-square-foot center will be an expansion of OhioHealth’s administrative campus at Olentangy River Road and West North Broadway Street, across from Riverside Methodist Hospital.

“The patient will have access to all their providers, all in one place, which will ease

Proton therapy at The James

the process and the burden on them,” says Dr. Praveen Dubey, OhioHealth vice president, cancer care. A breast cancer patient, for example, could have advanced breast images and a biopsy there, as well as labs, genetic counseling, radiation therapy and surgeon appointments.

Columbus Oncology and Hematology, an oncology practice, also will be part of the center, leasing 30,000 square feet for a medical clinic, infusion space and a pharmacy. The clinic and center will be independent but will partner for patient care, Dubey says.

The new center won’t replace OhioHealth’s cancer centers in Dublin and Westerville, but will have some services those centers don’t provide. It will, however, replace the five-story Bing Cancer Center that opened in 2012 on Riverside’s campus, Dubey says.

“We’ve outgrown the Bing,” he says. “We want to bring in new services to enhance the patient experience, and we intend to build out orthopedic oncology and our outpatient palliative clinic.”

Construction on the new center is expected to begin in spring 2026 and be completed by 2029. It will include ren-

OhioHealth’s planned outpatient cancer clinic

ovations to the current structure and a new parking garage.

When Treatment Hurts, This Clinic Helps Immunotherapy cancer treatments have been a miracle for many patients, but side effects are common. To help, the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute set up the James Immunotherapy Management Clinic, aimed at managing side effects and improving patients’ quality of life.

Rheumatologist Dr. Alexa Meara heads

the clinic, helping patients manage symptoms when their revved up immune system attacks healthy cells, as well as cancerous ones.

Immunotherapy side effects can include a skin rash, inflammatory arthritis and destruction of the thyroid, she says.

“People can develop immune reactions, and we have no way to predict the severity,” says Meara, an associate professor in OSU’s oncology division in the internal medicine department. “It’s a whole different way to look at cancer, a more wholistic way, to keep it at bay and

Peter Kourlas, M.D.

Jarred Burkart, M.D. Shabana Dewani, M.D. Andrew Grainger, M.D. Joseph Hofmeister, M.D. Augustine Hong, M.D. Elizabeth Kander, M.D.

Erin M.Bertino, M.D.

Nse Ntukidem, M.D

Thomas Sweeney, M.D.

Emily Saul, D.O.

Anish Parikh, M.D.

Joy Tang, M. D.

Kavya Krishna, M.D. Shylaja Mani, M.D.

Erin Macrae, M.D.

Michael Ozga, M.D.

do our best to monitor the toxicity. What treatment, what drugs can I give to improve the side effects so patients can stay on whatever cancer drug they’re on?”

Meara says she’s been surprised by the response from clinic patients. “I’ve had them say: ‘I was alive, but you helped me live,’” she says.

The clinic began operating more than two years ago, and Meara sees patients two days a week. She also does research, sets up clinical trials and talks to officials at other hospitals about establishing similar clinics. Recently, she launched a nonprofit to help patients and medical professionals learn how to manage immunotherapy side effects.

“This is going to fundamentally change medicine,” she says. “It will be wholepatient interdisciplinary care.”

No More Radiation Tattoos

Mount Carmel Health System has become the first in Central Ohio to move toward markless radiation therapy for cancer patients.

“Usually, we place tattoos on a patient’s skin to make sure the radiation is aligned appropriately,” says Dr. Malolan Rajagopalan, co-medical director of Mount Carmel’s oncology service line and a radiologist. Now, he says, Mount Carmel radiologists use Surface Guidance Radiation Treatment, which scans and maps a patient’s skin and uses the millions of spots on the skin to precisely target where to aim the radiation beam.

“It’s quicker, more accurate and more patient friendly,” Rajagopalan says. “A lot of patients don’t want a visual reminder of their treatment, and patients are really happy when we tell them they don’t have to have a tattoo.”

Another advantage to surface guidance is that the radiation beam automatically stops if the patient moves during the treatment. “If someone coughs, it will hold the radiation beam and then we can quickly resume the treatment,” Rajagopalan says.

Mount Carmel started using surface guidance on breast cancer patients and has expanded its use to all cancers treated with radiation, Rajagopalan says. The technology has been available for a few years, and Mount Carmel began using it in 2024.

“A lot of the change was driven by listening to our patients,” Rajagopalan says. “We took that feedback and made the treatments entirely markless.” ◆

How blood and bone marrow transplant expertise is changing cancer care at Ohio State

For four decades, Ohio State blood and bone marrow transplant innovation has improved cancer care with an increasing emphasis on patients’ quality of life.

Since February 1984, more than 6,500 transplants have been performed at the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). It’s the longest-running BMT program in central Ohio and one of the most experienced in the nation.

Also including peripheral blood stem cell transplants (PBSCTs), the BMT Program at the OSUCCC – James has long been at the forefront of innovative care for patients with hematologic malignancies and other blood disorders.

“Having a program that has done so many transplants tells you that it’s part of the DNA of the institution,” says Marcos de Lima, MD, director of both the BMT and the Cellular Therapy programs at the OSUCCC – James.

How BMTs and cell therapy save cancer patients’ lives

“These procedures restore or replace bloodmaking stem cells that were destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy in patients being treated for certain cancers or other blood disorders,” de Lima says. “Most blood-making cells are in bone marrow, but some, called PBSCs, are in the bloodstream or in umbilical cord blood.”

Clinicians can harvest these cells from any of those locations for use in three types of transplant: autologous (patients receive their own stem cells that were removed before chemotherapy or radiation therapy); syngeneic (patients receive stem cells from identical twins) or allogeneic (patients receive stem cells from siblings, parents or unrelated donors).

The transplants are most often utilized for leukemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma, but they can also be used to treat other cancers, such as neuroblastoma and several additional malignant and nonmalignant conditions.

Since the OSUCCC – James’ BMT program launched in 1984, transplantation has evolved

to utilize genetically-modified cells that target cancer cells and are individualized to each patient’s condition.

“The broader name of ‘cell therapy’ is now used to encompass these treatments and other forms of cancer and non-cancer treatments, such as gene therapy for sickle cell anemia,” de Lima explains. “Our multidisciplinary team understands that every patient’s cancer is biologically unique and requires individually tailored treatments.”

One example of cell therapy — a groundbreaking immunotherapy treatment called CAR T-cell therapy — involves the removal of immune cells, which are then reengineered to better fight cancer cells before being reintroduced to patients’ bodies.

The OSUCCC – James team was one of the first in the nation to perform CAR T procedures and is the only provider of the treatment in central Ohio.

“We have been witness to history, and we’ve been there from the beginning,” Sumithira Vasu, MD, says. “Our team knows what to expect and what can go wrong. We’ve seen it before and know what to do and how to get patients taken care of.

Scan the QR code to learn more about the OSUCCC – James’ Blood and Marrow Transplant Program.

New hope — and a new blood type — for

a BMT patient

When Laura Tiberi started feeling unusually tired in 2020, she initially attributed

it to mental fatigue due to the isolation caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.

“I was fatigued, but I thought I was just ‘COVID tired’ because it was a long, horrible year,” Tiberi says. “Then I started feeling a nagging pain in my right side, so I went to my primary care doctor.”

After blood tests showed concerning results, Tiberi went to the OSUCCC – James, where she was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), a rare blood cancer. After consultation with hematology experts, she decided to undergo a stem cell transplant, and was matched with a donor from Germany.

“The care team at The James became my family and helped keep me alive during my transplant,” Tiberi says. “It was like going down to the very end of the wire and then having the opportunity to come back.”

Tiberi’s successful BMT procedure was performed in 2022 on December 13 — a date she now calls her “rebirthday.”

“I have remained in remission and my blood type has now changed to my donor’s blood type,” she says. “I’m so lucky to live in Columbus near Ohio State. The medical team, the research and the people behind it — I love this place and I’m very grateful.”

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

Front & Center | Everyday Kindness Heroes

Creativity and Compassion

As a radiation therapist, Julie Banner helps children get through cancer treatment. She approaches it artfully.

Going through cancer treatment is one of the scariest things a person, especially a child, can experience.

Working as a radiation therapist at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center-James Cancer Hospital, Julie Banner saw the fear and discomfort children experienced coming in for radiation appointments, especially those who needed to wear a special mask to keep their heads in place during the cancer treatment.

Around 10 years ago, Banner decided to begin volunteering her time to make the young superheroes look the part.

She started making extravagant additions to the masks of the kids’ favorite characters, allowing them to transform into a princess, an anime character or a superhero whilst undergoing each radiation treatment.

“I love doing it. It has always been my gift, something that I could give to them. A lot of times, they don’t even know that I do it,” Banner says. “It makes me feel

By Sophia Veneziano

good to think that this is something that could at least brighten their day every time they walk into the room.”

Banner says the highlight of her 25 years working as a radiation therapist has been her patients. She says the ability to help them feel more comfortable and cared-for has been worth her investment of time and money into the masks.

Beyond giving patients the strength to be brave through treatment, Banner has to be creative when constructing each mask, keeping the needs of the specific patient in mind. Some have needed specific shaping to accommodate the extra needs of patients.

“Obviously, a cancer diagnosis is a terrible thing. So, we just to try to make them feel like this is normal and make them feel comfortable with us. It’s very difficult, but rewarding,” Banner says. “We’re just trying to make them feel as special and as paid-attention-to as possible.”

The hardest design she has tackled thus far? Banner says the most difficult was a mask depicting Disney’s beloved Goofy character. The pal of Mickey Mouse took her roughly 30 hours to make as the construction needed to be made from paper and placed on top of the patient’s mask.

Longer projects like Goofy have been made in Banner’s home, she says, as they’ve required extra time and resources.

Despite the incredible works Banner has created for her patients, she doesn’t consider herself an artist. She jokes that she tries to stay away from princesses since they’re tricky to get just right.

When she transitioned to her current role as the lead therapist at Ohio State’s new proton therapy center a year and a half ago, Banner had to step away from mask-making to focus on training with the new technology.

She has returned to making the masks

Julie Banner makes fun, colorful masks for young patients going through radiation.

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

along with Samantha Rundo, a certified child life specialist who took the role at Ohio State after working at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Rundo helps children better understand, navigate and find normalcy through their treatment.

“Since I’ve come on board, we’ve really advocated for [the mask-making] to be covered within our work, because it is an intervention to help,” Rundo says. “It’s just one of the many interventions that help kids cope and empower them during their treatment.”

Banner and Rundo stress the importance of allowing children the opportunity to choose whether they want a special mask. This gives patients an aspect of control over their treatment, which is something cancer largely takes away.

“If they do say yes, then we’re going to get to talk about, ‘What would you like it to be? What would you like to turn into or think about? Is there anything that makes you feel brave when you’re feeling nervous or scared?’ ” Rundo says.

Due to the high demand from patients and the busy schedule, the masks today are less elaborate than they were when

Banner began making them. They are now only modified with paint to streamline the process and reach more patients, Rundo says.

“There’s so many staff like Julie who are just so passionate about working with our pediatric population, and they go above and beyond in terms of what they can do to support the individualized needs of patients,” she 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.

Masks made by Julie Banner

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Big Arts Night

The Greater Columbus Arts Council held its annual Big Arts Night Oct. 24 at the Southern Theatre and Westin Great Southern Hotel. Nearly 900 attendees celebrated as more than $265,000 was awarded to individuals and organizations demonstrating excellence in the arts.

1 Columbus City Council member Emmanuel Remy, Angela Pace and Columbus City Council member Lourdes Barroso de Padilla 2 Kari Kauffman, Brian Ross, Jami Goldstein and Dale Heydlauff 3 Suzan Bradford Kounta and Job Clarkson 4 Randy Arndt and Sue Porter 5 April Sunami and Krystopher Scott 6 Julia Noulin-Mérat and Chad Whittington 7 Tom Katzenmeyer and Esther Sands 8 Louis Mugnano and Jim Arter 9 Former Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and Janelle Coleman 10 David and Maureen Teed, and Barbara Brandt

datebook

MARCH 6 | Joel Ross’ Good Vibes

Enjoy an evening of modern jazz at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Joel Ross is a Brooklyn-based vibraphonist who just released his fourth solo album “Nublues.” He’ll perform with the Good Vibes Quintet, featuring a saxophonist, bassist, drummer and pianist. wexarts.org

MARCH 6-23 | Fat Ham

James Ijames’ retelling of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” directed by David Glover at The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio and staged at the Riffe Center, offers a modern, comedic version of the classic tale. The 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning play follows Juicy, a Black queer man tasked by his father’s ghost to avenge his murder. thecontemporaryohio.org

MARCH 12 | Experience Hendrix Tour

Calling all music lovers—make sure to snag a ticket to the Experience Hendrix Tour at the Palace Theatre, a collaborative musical performance honoring one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most legendary names. Don’t miss the chance to hear esteemed musicians perform Hendrix’s best and most influential hits, all on one stage. experiencehendrixtour.com

MARCH 13 | The Irish Comedy Tour

Enjoy a night of Irish comedy— just in time for St. Patrick’s Day—at the Lincoln Theatre. Four Irish American comedians and performers will entertain

CURATED LIST OF THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN COLUMBUS

audiences with their stories and musical skills, promising a lively evening. capa.com/events

MARCH 18 | Behind the Bar

Sommelier Matt Connor of EDV International will give a tour through four wines from the Loire Valley in France at The Kitchen. Tickets include a personal charcuterie tray and an expert wine lesson. thekitchencolumbus.com

MARCH 25 | “Chasing

Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner”

Learn about art collector and socialite Isabella Stewart Gardner, presented by biographer Natalie Dykstra. Dykstra

will explore what Gardner’s collection said about the life she lived during this author talk at the Columbus Museum of Art. columbusmuseum.org

MARCH 29 | Harlem

Renaissance Remix Go back in time to one of America’s most vibrant artistic and cultural movements at the Streetlight Guild. Enjoy an evening of jazz, food and drinks, and hear notable poems of the era performed live. The space will be transformed into a proper speakeasy, and period costumes are encouraged. streetlightguild902558154. wordpress.com

MARCH 7-9

Nationwide Children’s “Into the Woods”

Enjoy a night of theater while supporting hospice and palliative care programming. This magical story will be performed by members of the Butterfly Guild at the Palace Theatre. nationwidechildrens. org/giving

MARCH 15

Bull Shih-tz Comedy Show

Buckeye Bulldog Rescue will host a fundraising comedy show to help rescue, rehabilitate and rehome bulldogs from kill shelters. The evening is sure to be as entertaining as it is heartwarming. bullshihtz.org

MARCH 22

BobcaThon

Gear up for a danceathon like no other! BobcaThon raises money for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio. The event has provided over 5,000 free nights at RMHC and raised over $500,000 since starting in 2014—add to the legacy while getting your groove on. rmhccentralohio.org/events

MARCH 2025 COLUMBUS MONTHLY 23

Beer, Beer Columbus

A GUIDE TO THE REGION’S CRAFT BREWING SCENE AND ITS CONTINUING EVOLUTION.

By Joshua M. Bernstein |

by Tim Johnson

Photos

Land-Grant Brewing Co.

The frigid doldrums of January and February are not boom times for most brewery taprooms. Customers are burned out by holiday revelries, and winter’s raw winds and ceaseless gray skies make hibernating at home an easy default. But at LandGrant Brewing Co. in Franklinton, winter’s sub-freezing weather is a cool invitation to come hang with a crowd.

The brewery transforms its beer garden and sprawling campus into the bustling Wintergarden, where customers compete in curling and climb into bumper cars that glide across an ice rink. Afterward, they head inside heated igloos to warm up with hot chocolate, IPAs, cocktails, ciders and conversation with friends and family. Embracing winter has “let us activate our space during a time of year that’s typically dead,” says Walt Keys, the creative director and co-founder, who finds January and February to be among the brewery’s busiest months.

Land-Grant opened in 2014 as part of a tide of dozens of breweries that surged into Columbus neighborhoods and surrounding suburbs, when locally brewed IPAs and lagers began flowing freely inside repurposed garages, storefronts, warehouses and industrial parks. There are around 45 breweries and taprooms around greater Columbus, according to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, and the growth helped fuel America’s national brewery explosion that swelled the country’s brewery count from 89 in 1978 to 9,903 in 2023. The recipe for enticing people to grab beers was simple. Just brew a beer, any beer, and odds were good that people would come for pints with pals. “It was enough,” Keys says.

But the lure of fresh beer alone has lost its luster. “We’re a more mature industry,” says Mary MacDonald, executive director of the association. “You have to differentiate yourself and have a strong brand and business plan and make good beer. But you also have to have things going on—and that’s more than just beer.”

To meet the varied needs of drinkers in and around Columbus, breweries are evolving into beverage companies, creating canned cocktails, cold brew, cider and both non-alcoholic beers and sparkling hop water. Run clubs and disc golf leagues draw outdoor-minded customers, while breweries are adding

A dimple stein of House Beer at Land-Grant. Below, co-founder Walt Keys, left, and head of production Victor Pool.

BEER FOR BOBCATS

More than 40,000 Ohio University alumni live in greater Columbus, a number that’s larger than the total adults of drinking age in Athens County. “We don’t have a million people in our backyard,” says Ohio University graduate and instructor Art Oestrike, who founded Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery in Athens in 2005. The ranks of OU alumni led Oestrike to open a Jackie O’s taproom on North Fourth in 2023, bringing a bit of Athens to Downtown Columbus. The spacious indoor-outdoor complex serves popular Athens drinks such as the Tony’s Hot Nut, a shot blending coffee and Frangelico; a bloody mary made with a custom mix by Athens restaurant Casa Nueva; and the golden ale Ricky, a collaboration with Ohio University. “Leaning into that is one of our greatest assets,” Oestrike says. “We’re all very proud to be alumni.”

food menus every bit as a compelling as draft lists. And breweries are still opening, bringing new concepts to Lewis Center, Westerville and Scioto Audubon Metro Park. “There’s room for more breweries in Columbus,” says Columbus craft brew pioneer Angelo Signorino, who has brewed at Barley’s Brewing Co. since 1992. “We’re not going to get saturated.”

Breweries Broaden Their Beverage Mix I’ve carved out a journalism career for nearly 25 years, most of which I’ve spent writing about beer. With a home base in Brooklyn, New York, where I lived for a quarter-century until relocating to Columbus last summer, I crisscrossed America in search of great beers and even better stories, turning my findings into six books and hundreds of articles. I love reporting on beer’s staunch locality, how breweries provide cities with senses of place amid cut-and-paste chains. Wherever I traveled, people rooted for breweries as ardently as sports teams, wearing shirts and hats bearing a favorite brewery’s logo. During my frequent trips to visit family in Columbus, I sought out beers like the richly malty MacLenny’s Scottish Ale from Barley’s, which wasn’t sold in Brooklyn. The local beauty of beer hooks brewers, too. “I always wanted to deliver beer within bicycling distance,” Signorino says. (The brewery today delivers into the Columbus suburbs as far as New Albany and Dublin.)

Columbus Brewing Co. builds its business plan around locality by selling its beers, like the piney flagship IPA and tropical Bodhi double IPA, only in Ohio. “Local matters almost more than anything else,” says Evan Magliocca, the vice president of marketing. “There are not many bars you can go to in Columbus and not find IPA or Bodhi.” I live in Clintonville, and I’ve discovered Bodhi at dive bars like Brew-Stirs and India Oak Grill, where a pint went great with an Italian sub. I also found the brewery’s IPA at Villa Nova Ristorante, served by the frosty mug in the Italian restaurant’s tchotchke-packed bar.

“It’s only been in the last 10 years that you could go to your neighborhood local and get craft beer,” says says brewmaster Eric Bean. CBC opened in 1988, but the brewery hit its stride after Bean and his wife, Beth, took over in 2005 and prior-

itized freshness, quality and IPAs with wide appeal. “People tell us, ‘I don’t like IPAs, but I love Bodhi,’” Bean says. “Well, no, you love IPAs. You just don’t like bad beer.” (At 2014’s prestigious Great American Beer Festival, Bodhi won a bronze medal.)

Building a brewery around a single style is tough. CBC attempted to expand its reach with the easygoing Columbus Lager, but it “never really hit for us,” Bean says. This year, the brewery will replace Columbus Lager with the 105-calorie Ohio Light Lager and add Hop Flow, a sparkling alcohol-free seltzer. Visitors to the brewery’s beer hall, which opened next to the East Market in Olde Towne East in 2023, can also find small-batch experiments like a raspberry punch hard

Arise American Pale Ale at ThunderWing Brewing

The rooftop bar at Jackie O’s on North Fourth Street

seltzer, dark German-style lager and coffee-infused cream ale. “We’re trying to branch out and not just be Columbus IPA,” Bean says.

Craft brewing differentiated itself with intense flavors, but with IPAs everywhere, “it’s hard to distinguish yourself,” says Nathan Klein, the CEO of North High Brewing. The brewery, which has locations in Dublin and Westerville, delivers a mix of seasonal styles, including a jalapeno-lime ale, and stalwarts such as Honey Wheat lager made with Ohio ingredients. “People are trending back toward lagers and pilsners.”

In 2017, Scottish brewery BrewDog opened its $30 million U.S. headquarters in Canal Winchester, where the brewery produces the grapefruit-infused Elvis Juice and fruity Hazy Jane IPAs. But most beer drinkers, both in Ohio and nationally, consume crisp, lower-alcohol lagers—and lots of them. “That’s the baseline of beer sold in the U.S.,” says Eric Teodoro Franco, the chief sales and marketing officer at BrewDog USA. BrewDog now leans into lagers with Cold Beer and Ohio Pilsner, a collaboration with The Foundation, which supports Ohio State University student-athletes, and produces both ciders and the AF non-alcoholic beer line. “We have a portfolio that answers all the needs of a drinker,” he says.

In spring 2013, Seventh Son Brew-

ing began producing beer in a former auto garage in Italian Village, cultivating a following for Humulus Nimbus, a pale ale, and Assistant Manager golden ale. “When we started, the brewing was all about, how many tanks can you get? How fast can you make beer?” says Collin Castore, a co-founder. Seventh Son added a roof deck and expanded its larger brewing facility in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood before opening Antiques on High in 2018, bringing cocktails and sour beers to the Brewery District. It debuted its lager-focused Getaway Brewing in Dublin in 2021. Despite three locations and distribution throughout Columbus, Seventh Son still had excess capacity. “We had this great facility, but how could it make sense?” Castore says.

Over time, Seventh Son added new beverages that include the fruited Kitty Paw hard seltzer, canned Oso cold brew featuring beans roasted by Columbus’ Florin Coffee, NA Assistant Manager golden ale and canned Two Cats Fine Cocktails produced with Echo Spirits. “We’re a beverage company now,” Castore says. Last year, the company added restaurateur to its resume with the Pizza Box trailer stationed outside Antiques on High selling pizzas, salads and sandwiches. The trailer gives customers a dependable late-night food option. “Even our best partners want to close at 10 p.m. on Friday,” Castore says, adding that the company plans to bring pizza to Getaway, too. “Our continued longevity will be making food a bigger part of what we do.”

To attract customers, breweries are increasingly creating craveable food. Last spring, Toledo-based Maumee Bay Brewing opened Shawnee Station Taproom and Kitchen, where the menu features blue crab pimento cheese and panko-crusted walleye sandwiches. Jackie O’s on Fourth features Goood Friends, a sandwich shop celebrating the soul of the Midwest from Wario’s and Paulie Gee’s owners. It serves spicy chicken sandwiches and, for brunch, French toast with miso-maple butter. “Food is vital, and if you don’t have food, you want to invite food in,” says Art Oestrike, the president of Jackie O’s. The culinary moves are working: Goood Friends and Shawnee Station were named among Columbus Monthly’s Best New Restaurants in 2024 and 2025.

Scottish

THE EVERLASTING STRAIN

Hops might steal the headlines, but yeast is the engine driving every beer. Through the process of fermentation, yeast creates alcohol, carbon dioxide and distinct aromatic signatures—no two strains are identical. Perhaps the most esteemed yeast in Columbus is the workhorse house strain at Barley’s Brewing Co. Back in 1993, brewer Angelo Signorino made a beer in his kitchen using Wyeast 1968, a strain that excels at making malt-rich beers with a slightly sweet finish. “I brought it here and we’ve been taking it from tank to tank ever since,” Signorino says. The yeast is used in classic beers, like the toffee-tinged MacLenny’s Scottish ale and rich pale ale, and new creations like the fruity Nectaron ESB. Even after 30 years of brewing with the same strain, “I still feel motivated to try new things,” Signorino says.

MacLenny’s

Ale at Barley’s

Coffee and beer at Nocterra

PHOTO BY KATY SMITH

ART BY THE PINT

Each year, Jess Hinshaw helps curate the city’s most exclusive 12-pack. Hinshaw is the founder of Upright Press, a Columbus printmaking studio, and each year partners 12 local artists and designers with area breweries to create a custom print for each. Upright Press then produces 30 editions of each poster, which are signed, numbered and sold during the annual Prints and Pints exhibition at the Daily Growler’s location in German Village. “It helps create a relationship between an artist and a brewery,” Hinshaw says. Prints cost $25 last year, making it “affordable art that’s accessible.” The first edition in 2018 focused on a single brewery, the since-shuttered Four String, but Hinshaw has steadily expanded the event to include both stalwart breweries, like Wolf’s Ridge and Columbus Brewing Co., and newcomers like ThunderWing. Hinshaw starts work on the project in the winter, wrangling a dozen breweries and artists into a cohesive event that will take place mid-August. In the meantime, you can find art in unexpected places at breweries around town. “I just went to Nocterra’s Audubon location, and their poster was in a frame in a bathroom. I love seeing that stuff.” The next Prints and Pints will be in mid-August at the Daily Growler in German Village. For more information, visit uprightpress.com.

Derive Brewing Co. is surrounded by food at its Clintonville taproom. The brewery sits in the same shopping center with Lucky’s Market, and shoppers regularly pop in before or after grabbing groceries. “Recently I didn’t have enough citric acid, so I went to Lucky’s,” says Pete Steffes, the head brewer and a co-owner. Customers are drawn in by the brewery’s smash burgers, Ezzo pepperoni pizza and cauliflower wings, paired with hazy IPAs like Fast Friends and lesser-seen European beer like the food-friendly Belgian-style saison. “We’re a brewer’s brewery,” Steffes says. “We’re making saison because we love drinking saison.”

If you would like to find where brewers are drinking, then go to Gemüt Biergarten in Olde Towne East. On a recent Friday afternoon, I headed to the handsome brewery, housed in a former firehouse and filled with vibrant stained glass murals, to grab a pint with brewer Kayla McGuire. “There are brewers from at least two other breweries hanging out today,” she said over email. When we sat at a communal table, half-liters of Skol Crusher Dortmunder lager in hand, McGuire pointed out brewers from botanical-inspired Forbidden Root and Land-Grant.

The appeal is Gemüt’s textbook, patiently aged European pilsners and lagers like the golden Helheim Helles and Golem, a snappy Czech-style pilsner. The lagers are in constant refinement as McGuire tweaks recipes to improve each beer bit by bit, batch after batch. What’s different? Go find out. “I want people to

meet us, the brewers and the brewery owners,” she says. “We’re all hanging out.”

Events Are Essential Ingredients

Beer’s historical role is as a companion to good times, be it at a baseball game, bar or backyard barbecue. Beer greases conversational wheels and complements greasy food, serving as a reward after exercise. Aligning craft beer with activities can build a broader audience.

Since 2017, irreverent IPA merchant Hoof Hearted Brewing has drawn droves for its run club. Every Wednesday evening at the brewery’s new location in the Short North (in the Brothers Drake meadery’s former tasting room), runners gather for a 5K urban ramble, no matter the weather. “It’s their big social event of the week,” says Trevor Williams, the brewer and a co-founder, who regularly joins the run. “It’s always fun and surreal to see 50 or 60 maniacs running around Columbus.”

The Technicolor, 1980s-flavored taproom also features Killer Queen, an action-packed 10-player arcade game. “There’s a cult of Killer Queen fans,” Williams says, adding that Hoof Hearted hosts one of the few machines in Columbus. Teams regularly gather to play, cold beers close by, the Ray Ray’s Reload food truck stationed outside. “I love beer, but beer is not going to keep your attention for a couple hours,” Williams says.

In the late 2010s, as Bryan and Lori Duncan looked to open a brewery, the married couple were keenly aware that “good beer alone was not enough,” Lori

Understory poster from Prints and Pints

Hoof Hearted Run Club

Duncan says. “From the get-go, it was important to build a brand.” A love of the outdoors led the couple, along with Bruce Vivian, to orient Powell’s Nocterra Brewing around sports, adventure and both environmental and sustainability initiatives. The brewery’s “beer plus outside” mantra plays out with a ski club, a run club and weekly beer discounts for customers that bike to the brewery. Each month, Nocterra also earmarks proceeds of its Take a Hike pale ale to nonprofits like Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed and the Ohio State Parks Foundation.

Last summer, Nocterra opened a second location in Scioto Audubon Metro Park, next to a climbing gym and near a bike trail. “It just felt like our brand,” Lori Duncan says. Climbers pop by for post-descent pints of Beta Flash IPA— named after a climbing term—while the brewery organizes park hikes that end at the taproom and operates a disc golf putting league on the patio. One snowy Friday, around 30 people still gathered to play and grab beers. “You need to connect with your consumers on another level,” she says.

By and large, people head to Eldorado Scioto Downs to gamble and bet on horse racing. But it’s also home to Brew

Brothers, where brewer Ryan Torres makes Toasty, an English-style dark mild that won a bronze medal at 2024’s Great American Beer Festival. “Our average customer is not coming to us because we’re a craft brewery, but they’re open to and interested in drinking craft beer,” says Torres, who has overseen Brew Brothers since it opened in 2015. The brewery acts as another attraction inside the casino. “We get a lot of foot traffic and new people coming in all the time.”

The typical brewery opens in the afternoon or evening, but Standardized Brewing opens at 7 a.m. most days for customers seeking cold brew and hot coffee. The brewery, which opened in the Evans Farm development in Lewis Center last May, pulls double duty as a brewery and coffee shop featuring One Line Coffee beans. “We have a lot of [real estate transaction] closings here for houses,” says Mark Robinson, a co-founder and the brewer. “They might start with a coffee and once the closing is done, they’ll switch to a congratulatory beer.”

Instead of wowing customers with wild ingredients, Standardized leans into approachable blonde ales, classic lagers and not-too-boozy IPAs, complemented by cocktails and a

PERK UP

In Columbus, the trend of infusing beer with coffee began percolating in 2015 when Chris Davison, then the head brewer at Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, infused the brewery’s golden cream ale with vanilla and One Line Coffee beans. Brewers across Columbus now routinely work with local roasters, and Seventh Son hosts an annual coffee-beer festival. Here’s how to perk up with a pint.

Combustion Brewery’s Antidote: A refreshing blonde ale infused with Guatemalan beans from Stauf’s.

Nocterra Brewing’s Terra Java: Nocterra adds just-roasted beans from Jennings Java to this dark and malty Baltic porter, a rotating offering. P.S. Jennings Java is also served at Nocterra’s Audubon taproom.

Olentangy River Brewing Company: Olentangy River Brewing uses Roosevelt Coffee beans to make cold brews and cortados, plus the moderate-strength Roosevelt Coffee Stout.

Parsons North Brewing Co.’s Coffee Kolsch: Cold-steeping this crisp, lightly fruity kolsch with Ethiopian beans from Upper Cup Coffee imparts an eye-opening aroma.

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing’s Daybreak: The brewery’s trailblazing One Line Coffee–infused cream ale won a gold medal at the competitive World Beer Cup in 2023.

Daybreak from Wolf’s Ridge

Founder Lori Duncan and executive chef

Chris Olexa at Nocterra Brewing’s Scioto Audubon taproom

DINE AND DRINK

Over the last decade, breweries and their taprooms have evolved into restaurants offering admirable food to complement—and counteract—all that beer. No matter if you’re a vegetarian or an avowed carnivore, these breweries will ensure you don’t leave hungry.

Ditch the Meat: Yellow Springs Brewery recently redid its Clintonville taproom’s menu to emphasize vegetarian offerings like a no-tuna salad sandwich featuring chickpeas and vegan chicken sandwiches made with seitan from Seitan’s Realm. From 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays, all vegetarian and vegan sandwiches are half off. 2855 Indianola Ave., 614-261-7128

Food With a View: With Understory, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing operates a trio of spaces at the historic Open Air School, including a cocktail lounge and a casual patio offering leafy views of the Olentangy Trail. A mushroom banh mi, shrimp burger and crispy patatas bravas are among the standouts. 2571 Neil Ave., 614-972-6006

Order Excellent Delivery: Customers at Combustion Brewing in Clintonville can order lunch or dinner from nearby restaurants, including burger joint Preston’s, Hank’s Texas BBQ and Middle Eastern restaurant Aladdin’s, that will deliver to the taproom. Pair food with your pint of choice, like the snappy Wanderlust blonde. 2971 N. High St., 614-914-5112

Share Pizza With Pals: Pan-baked pizzas with a thick-ish crust (think Detroit style) are the must-get at Columbus Brewing Co.’s Olde Towne East beer hall. Try an Ezzo pepperoni pie or pizzas inspired by cacio e pepe pasta or loaded potatoes, including sour cream, scallions and bacon. Don’t forget to ask servers for their drink pairing tips. 200 Kelton Ave., 614-274-5199

Smashing Burger Special: Every Wednesday, Derive Brewing Co.’s smash burgers are half price—just $7!—with the purchase of a pint, like the Fast Friends hazy IPA or brisk-drinking Akira rice lager. 2808 N. High St., 614-732-4186

Upgrade Brunch: On weekends at Jackie O’s on Fourth, the Goood Friends kitchen ably combats hangovers with deliciously offbeat dishes like sausage-and-egg sandwiches topped with hash browns and chili crunch, plus buttermilk biscuits dressed in sausage gravy flavored with miso and maple syrup. 171 N. Fourth St., 614-929-5265

customizable hard seltzer. “Standardized has become a meeting point for people from different parts of the suburbs,” Robinson says. People typically move to suburbs for more space for growing families, and Robinson lives in Evans Farm with his wife, Amy (who’s also involved with the brewery), and their three kids. “The majority of our clientele has kids,” Robinson says, and the brewery prioritizes accommodating the under-12 crowd.

A kid’s vending machine dispenses fruit snacks, the menu includes a Shirley Temple and chicken tenders, there’s a box of grab-and-play toys, and children can romp in the brewery’s grassy lawn. Standardized also builds its calendar with kid-friendly events like Lego building. “Our No. 1 complaint is that there are too many kids, but it’s also our niche,” Robinson says. “We want this to be the most kid-friendly brewery in the state.”

Brewery Closures Can Spur Openings America loves rooting for underdogs and celebrating downfalls. As craft brewing grew bigger, detractors deemed the growth unsustainable, a bubble waiting to pop. Last year, America’s brewery count declined for the first time since 2005, with 335 craft breweries opening and 399 closing. Around Columbus, Random Precision Brewing and Pretentious Barrel House, both sour-beer specialists, ceased operations. Downtown lost Species X Beer Project, while outposts of out-of-town breweries Taft’s Brewporium and Goodwood Brewing, respectively in Franklinton and the Arena District, also turned off taps.

“The current state of the industry is a hard pill to swallow,” Species X owner Beau Warren wrote on Instagram of the October closure, just eight months after opening. “This, combined with cutthroat competition from both well-established large and local breweries, made for a perfect storm shortly after opening our doors.”

A slight downturn doesn’t signal an inevitable downward slide that would leave drinkers nothing but light lagers. “This is a more normal maturing market, as opposed to one that’s collapsing,” says Bart Watson, the chief executive for the Boulder, Colorado–based Brewers Association, a national organization. Restaurants and bars regularly open and close, poké bowl concepts and wine bars

The No-Tuna Salad Sandwich at Yellow Springs Brewery

relenting to fresh ideas. “Running any small business is hard, and a hospitality-focused business in particular is hard because consumer tastes change,” Watson says.

A brewery’s closure can create a turnkey opportunity to open a new brewery at a lower cost. Homebrewer Jason Wing began writing a business plan about five years ago, envisioning a scratch-built space. But when the Hilltop’s Sideswipe Brewing closed in summer 2023 after a 10-year run, Wing saw an easier path to swapping his IT job for beer. He took the keys that August, and after two months of furious renovations and brew days, he opened the doors to ThunderWing Brewing in October.

“It was an opportunity to enter the market much quicker,” Wing says. Sideswipe’s location came with a built-in customer base, and Wing acquired the email list for the brewery’s mug-club members and access to its Facebook and Instagram accounts. He contacted fans and followers to communicate ThunderWing’s vision, easing the transition. “There was a following of local people that knew this was a place to hang out and have beer,” Wing says.

No name is more recognizable in Columbus beer than Hoster. In 1836, German immigrant Louis Hoster opened a brewery that became L. Hoster Brewing Co., famed for its Gold Top lager. Prohibition felled Hoster, before the brand returned as a Brewery District brewpub that operated from 1989 till 2001. Daniel Meyers, who owns soda company C-B Beverage Corp., bought Hoster’s brand rights in 2004 and sporadically produced batches of Gold Top at area breweries.

“We were sort of like a pop-up brewery,” Meyers says. Fitful production made it tough to build momentum, especially as contract partners closed. Meyers resolved to build a brewery without a bank loan, cobbling together used equipment and a vintage bar and jukebox, plus a Ruby Tuesday’s lamps and woodwork. Even the leased space is repurposed; it was home to Actual Brewing. “Everything in here is paid for,” Meyers says inside his taproom, which has the warmth of an old VFW hall, a popcorn machine perfuming the room, Hoster memorabilia decorating the walls. Hoster’s airport-area taproom makes it tough to convince people to come for

flights of beer. This spring, Hoster will make its classic lagers more accessible by packaging Gold Top and other lagers in four-packs of 16-ounce bottles to be sold across Columbus. “This brand has been off the market 20 years, so we’re almost starting from scratch,” Meyers says.

Despite an uncertain market, new Columbus breweries are continuing to open. Campfire Brewing debuted in Westerville in January, offering customers chocolaty stouts and tabletop s’mores kits, and Honest Friend Brewing is eyeing a late-summer opening for its long-delayed Steelton Village brewery. It will become the city’s first taproom on the South Side, serving lower-alcohol beers and supporting the arts through events and programming. “Our focus is in the taproom and making that a place that people want to be,” says Chris Carter, a co-founder and the brewer.

Opening a brewery, like any small business, comes with risk, especially as the costs of raw materials, staffing and utilities increase. Beer is a low-margin business with little room for error. “There was a period between 2010 and 2020 where it got a little easier, but the beer business has always been tough,” says Bean of Columbus Brewing.

Hurdles abound. For the breweries in and near Downtown Columbus, office occupancy rates below pre-pandemic levels and hybrid work models mean fewer employees are gathering for postwork happy hours and dinner (though hybrid work is on the decline). “I talk to people all the time that say, ‘Oh, I can’t

remember the last time I went Downtown,’” says Signorino of Barley’s, which sits across North High Street from the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Parking is also a concern, perhaps more so than what’s on tap. “The No. 1 thing I want people to know about Derive is that we have parking,” Steffes says of that brewery’s location in Clintonville, a north Columbus neighborhood that feels suburban. Nocterra’s Powell location has parking constraints, but the Audubon outpost has nearly 400 spots, with more nearby. “We were giddy about parking,” Lori Duncan says.

Some days it can seem like craft breweries are everywhere, permanent landmarks on the hospitality landscape. But people are still discovering breweries. Across Seventh Son’s locations, new customers account for around 40 percent of the credit card receipts. Hoof Hearted opened in 2011, but so “many people in Columbus have never heard of us,” Williams says. “It’s just a matter of trying to get them in here for that first beer.”

Back at Land-Grant, March’s warming weather means an ice rink will give way to pickleball courts. The beer garden will play host to concerts and events like Jeni’s Strawberry Jam, a fruitful celebration with Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. And inside the Extension, Land-Grant’s experimental taproom addition, there might be a brand new tangerine cider, winebeer hybrid or compelling cocktail. “You need to give people a reason to want to come to your place again and again,” Keys says. ◆

Coffee and beer come together at Standardized Brewing in Lewis Center.

Planning Ahead

The pros and cons of using revocable trusts to protect your assets and your privacy.

By Tim Feran

Shakespeare wrote, “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.”

But those who create revocable trusts may put the lie to that statement.

Revocable trusts are “almost a will substitute,” says Kelly Green, chief magistrate of Franklin County Probate Court. But they have many advantages over a will.

“They’re a lot easier to change than a will,” she says. “A will has all sorts of requirements in order to change—most notably, two people witnessing it.”

And, “you can control stuff from beyond the grave,” says Fred Berkemer, a veteran Columbus attorney. Wills merely transfer assets to specified beneficiaries at the time of death with no strings attached, he says.

While revocable trusts are often seen as something used by people with sizable assets, Green says, a trust is “essentially setting up a rule book or playbook” for anyone who wants to protect some assets and dictate how they will be distributed.

For those who substitute revocable trusts in the place of wills, one key advantage is: Trusts can avoid the cost of probate court, “filing fees and legal costs,” says Robert Dunn, an attorney at Bailey Cavalieri LLC who focuses on estate planning and probate issues.

Avoiding probate court also means that the terms of the trust and the amount of assets are not put into the public record—they remain private.

“When you go through probate, you have to list an inventory. That is public record,” Green says.

“The key, though, is you’ve got to be sure that, at least during your life, you put the assets in the trust,” Dunn says. “You fund the trust, or you have a beneficiary designation that will send it to the trust on death.”

How can a revocable trust work be-

Wealth Management

yond the grave? One example: Funds can be paid out over a period of years and in increments.

That’s an especially useful point for parents of young children, says Berkemer, who has set up some revocable trusts—and not just for high earners. “I represent blue collar people primarily. I don’t get involved in the high-end income trusts.”

Even if the parents aren’t especially wealthy, payments can be made for supporting children as they grow up, and then for things like college expenses, marriage, or just to kick in at an age of maturity, Green says, “typically at age 18, 21 or 25, or it can go well past that.”

Another “beyond the grave” example: “I just did a trust for a lady on the Hilltop who owns a piece of land that the family has had since 1947,” Berkemer says. “There are two houses on this place, so we put it in a trust that controls the property so that a son can live there, a grandson can live there, until someone doesn’t

want to live there. Then the trustee can sell it and split the money. You can’t do that with wills.”

As probate court magistrate, Green speaks “a lot to elderly communities, and I tell them that [a revocable trust’s]

Robert Dunn

Kelly Green, chief magistrate, Franklin County Probate Court

greatest use is as an estate planning tool and a will substitute,” she says. “And one of the great things is its flexibility and your ability to change it at any time. You are making the guidelines. You don’t have to default to the oldest son to be the trustee, for example.”

Dunn notes that a revocable trust also can be used “to help an elderly person, a widow, say, to have a house, a bank ac count, all assets titled in the trust. If that person then becomes incapacitated, the trustee can simply pay the bills without a need for guardianship.

“But it doesn’t necessarily need to be incapacity. A person may just be tired of doing it,” he says. “I’ve seen it quite often. I saw it with my own mother.”

The downside of revocable trusts? “It takes a little more effort to prepare the trust as opposed to a will,” Dunn says. “I don’t know if I would recommend it for everybody. There’s really no one size fits all solution. Many small estates may work with a simple beneficiary. On the other hand, I could have a modest estate and have a revocable trust if I’m on a second marriage but want to provide for children from a first marriage.”

Berkemer agrees that many people don’t necessarily need a revocable trust.

“By using transfer on death affidavits, real estate can be transferred without probate,” he says, “and if financial ac counts have listed beneficiaries, probate may be avoided entirely without the ex pense of a trust.”

Ultimately, Green says: “People should talk to a qualified estate planner about this. There are tax implications to all of this. Don’t just pull information off the internet.” ◆

CRAFTING TRUTH TO POWER

of Red Columbus members 2025, from left to right, beginning with front row are: Evelyn Smith, Carolyn Williams Francis, Marchelle Moore, Amanda McCullouch, Laxmi Mehta, Nancy Tobbe. Middle row: Rochelle Bailey, Veronica Knuth, Pam Kerstetter, Tauana McDonald, Terri Hill, Heather Brilliant, Jayme Smoot. Back row: Jennifer Edwards, Erin McFarland, Devray Kirkland, Jenny Barnes and Janica Pierce Tucker. Members not pictured are Anne Albers, Lisa and Bruce Bachmann, George Barrett, Tracy Davidson, Jane Endres, Laura Gravelin, Jane Grote Abell, Michele Holcomb, Brenda Houston Baird, Pamela Hutchinson, Lisa Ingram, Janet Jackson, Donna James, Mike and Linda Kaufman, Unhee Kim, Catherine Krawczeski, Susan Krohne, Erika Lamont, Mel McAfee, K.C. McCallister, Nancy and John McEwan, Bob Phillips, Mindy Price, Luciana Ramsey, Lisa Rogers, Elizabeth Seely, Amy Shore, Ola Snow, Kara Trott, Sharon Tackett, Dawn Tyler Lee, Melinda Urani, Carole Watkins and Anne Zavarella.

Circle

Circle of Red Columbus Leads the Nation

The American Heart Association-Central Ohio’s annual giving society is the fastest growing in the U.S., and its luncheon is No. 1 in national fundraising.

Health is personal. Confounding. And often lonely. Plus, with inequities in research, treatment and funding, women have been undercounted and under-supported. But there is one source of support they can count on: each other. Women connect with other women for information, motivation and inspiration, and the American Heart Association is leveraging the power of that connection to create better health outcomes for all women through its national movement, Go Red for Women and the Circle of Red Society. Circle of Red is Go Red for Women’s annual giving society, made up of passionate individuals who are in the fight against heart disease and stroke in women to win. Members use their influence, generosity and passion to help increase awareness of cardiovascular disease— the leading cause of death in women— and to inspire women to take charge of their health. They are leaders in their communities and families. For many, the fight against heart disease is personal. As some of the Go Red for Women movement’s greatest champions, Circle of Red members not only help save lives, but are

the heart of the American Heart Association’s mission.

Circle of Red shines in communities across the United States, and Columbus is proud to be home to the fastest growing circle in the nation, doubling its membership last year from 33 to 66 members. But they aren’t stopping there—they are working relentlessly to grow the circle to be No. 1 in the nation with 100 members this year. The society is recognized in many ways throughout the year, with their most prominent recognition at the annual Columbus Go Red for Women Luncheon.

The luncheon honors survivors, celebrates advancements in heart health and raises funds to continue to better identify, diagnose, treat and prevent cardiovascular disease in women, which currently claims the lives of one in three women each year. The Columbus luncheon, much like the Circle of Red, also is a leader across the country—most notably the No. 1 fundraising event nationwide.

This type of growth doesn’t happen by accident, but through dedicated and passionate leadership. United in a common

goal, these two leaders and influential philanthropists are building upon a legacy of health and well-being for all women in Columbus and beyond, which will be felt for years to come.

They are Marchelle Moore, Go Red for Women Chair and SVP, External Affairs, Chief Diversity Officer & President, Encova Foundation of Ohio at Encova Insurance, and Carolyn Williams Francis, Circle of Red Chair, and founder and CEO, Williams Interior Design Inc.

You can find their profiles on Page 38.

For 21 years, the Columbus Go Red for Women Luncheon has impacted and inspired more than 100,000 individuals and raised nearly $20 million to fund awareness, research and policy and systems changes that support all women. This year will be no different. For the February 2025 luncheon, more than 600 guests, including the Circle of Red, were ready to don their favorite red attire or accessory and band together, harnessing their power and passion to support all women in every age, stage and season of life.

For more information, visit heart.org/ columbusgored.

Columbus Go Red for Women Luncheon 2024

Where you begin care for your heart or vascular disease makes all the difference. When you choose The Ohio State University Heart and Vascular Center, you’re choosing expert diagnosis and treatment from the team who can manage your ongoing care and treat even the most complex conditions. All at central Ohio’s only adult heart hospital ranked “Best” by U.S. News & World Report.

Survivors and Supporters

Two Columbus Circle of Red leaders are on a mission to educate other women about heart disease and make the city’s society the top in the nation.

By Lucy Clark

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among all women, according to the American Heart Association, despite being largely unrecognized by its sufferers until it’s too late. That’s what Columbus Circle of Red Chairwoman Carolyn Williams Francis and Go Red for Women leadership team member Melinda McAfee aim to correct through educational and fundraising efforts. Francis is the president, CEO and founder of award-winning interior design firm Williams Interior Designs Inc. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, community member and, like many women, a heart survivor.

She wasn’t a cardiovascular disease survivor yet when she got involved with the American Heart Association. Circle of Red—Go Red for Women’s annual giving society—was in its infancy when she and her sister, a heart survivor herself, were brought into the fold in the mid-2000s. Years later, Francis was searching for ways to give back. “When you lose a family member, or your life just changes, you go, ‘What else am I supposed to be doing? What else can I do to help?’” Francis says.

“The biggest thing for me was getting involved more with the American Heart Association.” Francis’ involvement and current chairwomanship, while rooted in her charitable nature, would go on to become a lifesaving decision.

In 2009, Francis was at the gym when she started experiencing mild heart distress symptoms, including shortness of breath and tightness in her neck and chest. While the symptoms quickly subsided, her knowledge of how cardiovascular disease presents itself differently in women made her wary. A hospital visit later, and she was undergoing angioplasty to remove an 80 percent blockage in her heart—one that could have caused a fatal heart attack if untreated.

McAfee is the chief human resources officer and chief legal officer at Victoria’s Secret & Co. and, like Francis, a wife, mother, American Heart Association donor and cardiovascular disease survivor. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation—a rarity given her age and lack of risk factors if it weren’t for a genetic predisposition. Shortly after, Sarah Lewis—the senior development di-

rector for Go Red for Women—reached out to get her involved.

Both women cite community education as one of Circle of Red’s most invaluable endeavors. “The most important thing is to get the word out as best as we can,” says Francis. “This is serious. As women, we’re nurturers, and we take care of everybody besides ourselves. We have to put ourselves first. If we don’t, we’re no good for anybody.”

“The education piece is the biggest part,” McAfee echoes. “Educating people on women’s health, where there’s a huge gap, and lack of knowledge. As a member of the business community, I see the amazing impact we can have on these fundamentally important philanthropic initiatives. Not only financially, but spreading the word to their associates and employees, and providing an opportunity for people to be involved.”

Over the past year, Circle of Red’s membership has doubled from 33 to 66. The Central Ohio society is one of the largest in the country, and aims to reach 100 members by the end of the year to claim the No. 1 spot.

Carolyn Williams Francis Mel McAfee

A special quarterly section of Columbus Monthly

PAGE 40

Camp Pointers From the Pros Directors offer tips on picking the right summer program, whether it’s a day or overnight experience.

PAGE 46

The Go-To Guide: Indoor Play Places 15 spots for family fun featuring go-karts, trampolines, ninja courses and more

EDITED BY JULANNE HOHBACH

Creating CONFIDENT CAMPERS

By Peter Tonguette

Columbus Academy’s Summer Experience

Program directors offer parental pointers on choosing the right summer camp, whether it’s a child’s first experience or they want to try something new.

Parents make impactful decisions for their children all year long, but it’s natural to view summertime as something of a respite—particularly if they have school-age children. However, those weighing whether to send their kids to camp face some tough choices well before the last bell rings in May.

Will their child feel more at home at a day camp, or are they ready to take the plunge into an overnight camp? Do the child’s personality and interests align with a camp tailored to a specific subject, or will they thrive at a broad-based camp with a variety of experiences? What is the right age for a first-time camper?

Summer camp organizers understand that the options can be daunting.

“The camps out there are much more varied and diverse than they used to be,” says Henry DeHart, interim CEO of the American Camp Association. “It’s not just what you see on TV and in the movies anymore. There are day camps, there are urban camps. Imagine the type of camp, and it’s out there.”

‘‘

Every child will benefit from a camp experience, but not every child is ready for a camp experience at the same time.

—HENRY DEHART, AMERICAN CAMP ASSOCIATION

Many parents struggle with which type of camp to choose and whether their child will enjoy new activities and experiences. Organizers, however, say that the benefits outweigh any anxiety, especially the parental kind. “Kids think they don’t like structure, but they thrive in structure,” says Alyssa King, director of special programs at Columbus Academy, whose eight-week Summer Experience

is open to children from age 3 through grade 12, including those who do not attend the school.

“There is structure [at the camp], but it’s also fun and it’s also a little bit looser,” King says. “During the school year, they’re hunkered down and doing their academics, and in the summer, they’re able to explore these things that might be lifelong learning and lifelong loves.”

Academy’s day camp mixes programming in the arts, athletics and academics with outdoor free play, field trips and other age-appropriate activities. “We have a little bit of something for everybody—if you want to cook; if you want to do archery,” King says. “I don’t know how many parents I’ve had come back and say something like, ‘Oh my gosh, my kiddo did chess, and he really loved it. Now he’s on a chess team.’”

Is Your Child Ready for Camp?

There is no magic age at which a child might be ready to go to camp, says DeHart. Instead, parents should look for

cues from their kids. “Start with the child: the child’s interests, what their eagerness is to try new things and to make friends and to take risks,” he says. “I believe that every child will benefit from a camp experience, but not every child is ready for a camp experience at the same time, and not every child will want the same type of one.”

For young children, day camps may be a good compromise between going to an overnight camp and staying home for the duration of the summer. A child will have the chance to learn new things and increase their friend base, but can return to the comforts of home at the end of each day. The YMCA of Central Ohio hosts numerous summer day camps where participants can dive into sports, games, creative arts and more.

“Our focus is on helping kids feel like they belong, that they’re achieving new experiences and accomplishing new tasks and new skills that they can learn,” says Marci Hasty, executive director of camping services at the

YMCA of Central Ohio. “We prefer them to be outdoors more than they’re indoors. Fortunately, we have, in most of our locations, capacity to be inside during inclement weather.”

Even for day camp, parents should consider their child’s tolerance for being part of a big group. “Some of our day camps one would consider might be on the larger side,” Hasty says. “We might have upwards of 90 to 100 children in our day camps at some of our locations. Is that going to be a great environment for your child? Are they OK in bigger groups? Are they OK in what might appear to the naked eye to be organized chaos?”

Many parents turn to day camps to solve summer child care needs, but for others, the main driver is a child’s specific interests. At the Lincoln Theatre, the Patternz Summer Camp focuses on creativity. On a rotating basis, the eight-day camp shines a spotlight on dance, music and visual arts. “We hire what we call artist instructors,” says Quianna Simpson, the

YMCA Camp Willson

theater’s program director. “We often try to make sure that we bring in folks who are actively working as artists inside the Columbus community.”

Patternz campers go on field trips within walking distance of the Lincoln, including to the Columbus Museum of Art, and on Fridays, parents are invited to see examples of their kids’ handiwork. “[Parents] witness what the kids have been learning all week. We turn it into a little show, and they have a great time,” Simpson says.

Simpson says the program draws some children who are deeply involved in a particular area of creative expression, such as dance or theater, but many campers arrive without a particular interest in the arts. “We’re actually a great space for both,” she says. “We have children who come to us and they aren’t overly arts-engaged, but they still find spaces and places to have a good time. … We have noticed, and we have learned, that they do develop at least an appreciation for [the arts].”

Summer Camps & Lessons 2025

Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New Hasty urges parents to consider what their child enjoys, even if those likes haven’t yet been verbalized. If they tried a team sport, for example, did they look like they had fun on the field? In the absence of clearly expressed interests, a broad-based camp may be the best bet.

“Kindergarten, first- and secondgraders [have] just this natural inquisitiveness and curiosity about everything,” Hasty says. “Honestly, at that younger age, they’re really used to the teacher telling them what to do, where to go, what’s happening.”

Kids’ preferences should be respected, but parents should not be afraid to nudge them into new experiences. “If you’ve already taken your kid to a dance recital and they cry the entire time, then you might be pushing it,” Simpson says. But, she adds, “I would say sometimes parents do have to lean on the fact that our little ones are looking to us to help them find a way. If you don’t try, then how do you ever know?”

King, of Columbus Academy, sees camp as the perfect setting for kids to branch out. “You can expand on the subjects that they need help with. You can encourage their interests. But exploring new things is really going to make a well-rounded kiddo,” says King, adding that this ultimately helps prepare them for adulthood. “They’re going to live in a pluralistic society that has all types of people and all types of activities and all types of opportunities.”

struggle, a camp that serves 100 kids might be, too, Hasty says. In the end, parents should trust their judgment about their child’s capacity to do things independently and to form relationships with others, she says—especially when it comes to overnight camps.

Overnight Camp Considerations

Parents should keep several additional factors in mind when weighing decisions on overnight camps.

Hasty, whose organization runs YMCA Camp Willson, a 400-acre overnight camp in Bellefontaine, says one consideration is whether a child makes friends easily. “Shy kids can still go to camp, because our counselors are trained to keep an eye on all of the kids and connect with all of the kids. If they see a kiddo is maybe one that hangs back a little bit on check-in day, then they’re going to go above and beyond to make sure that that child feels connected,” she says.

Camp Willson operates a traditional overnight camp with a wide variety of experiences. Campers ages 6-17 stay for a week at a time, for up to eight weeks. Activities run the gamut from boating and canoeing to climbing walls and archery. Campfires are held at the opening and closing of camp, and games are ongoing.

Still, a child’s personality should be taken into consideration when contemplating camp. If a large classroom is a

Hasty recommends visiting an overnight camp well in advance to familiarize a child with the environment. To that end, off-season camp weekends for kids are available at Camp Willson, as are “family camp” weekends where parents and siblings can participate. Hasty suggests sending a first-time camper with a friend

Patternz Summer Camp at the Lincoln Theatre

or an older sibling, even if they are housed in different cabins, to ease anxiety.

DeHart, of the American Camp Association, suggests a tiered approach that begins with day camp and might progress, a summer or two later, to an overnight camp. At the same time, he says most kids are ready for the experience ahead of their parents’ timetable. “In many cases, the child is ready for overnight camp way before the parent,” he says. “We live in the age of parental anxiety, and the parent is not going to be ready as soon as the child is ready in many cases.”

Parents should be aware that it isn’t unusual for a repeat camper’s enthusiasm to wane after a few years. “Once you hit around that 10 or 11 age group, all of a sudden they realize they’re away from their parents and they’re away from their friends,” DeHart says. “Sometimes a 7-year-old is much more eager to go to camp than a 10-year-old is. I would just coach parents to not worry if you’ve sent your child to camp for a couple of years and all of a sudden, they’re hesitant to go back. … That’s a normal age group characteristic thing. You can coach them through that.”

Parental Pointers

Once a family has agreed to send a child to camp, it’s time to pick a specific program. Asking other parents for recommendations can be a good starting point. Also, research whether organizations your family already has relationships with offer summer programs.

The American Camp Association offers a “find a camp” portal at acacamps.org where people can search 3,900 camps by activities, location and other factors. More than 2,000 of those programs meet ACA voluntary accreditation standards. “A parent assumes if a camp’s in business, it’s run safely, but that unfortunately is not always the case,” says DeHart. “The standards we have developed are what we consider the minimum practices for health, safety and risk management.”

These standards, he says, cover everything from leader and staff experience levels to safety practices for high-risk activities, such as water sports. Accreditation is granted via a peer-review process.

“For me, it’s the first thing a parent should think about,” Hasty says. “Certainly there are good programs that are not accredited, but for us accreditation is

really that hallmark.”

Regardless of accreditation status, parents should ask camp officials about the child-to-staff ratio, the experience of leaders and staff, and the rules on texting and phone usage, DeHart says. Before booking a spot, he stresses, always inquire about the refund policy. “What if your child gets cold feet, or what if he gets sick, or Grandpa has been ill?”

Christina Walls, managing director of education at the YWCA Columbus, says that as parents evaluate camp options, a program with high staff turnover should be a red flag.

“For continuity of education and care, you need to have retention, where staff are staying with the program and the children are getting used to and enjoying the teachers that are leading their programs,” says Walls, whose organization offers eight-week, STEAM-focused summer day camps at seven locations.

Even though parents may feel that researching camp options is a bit like doing homework, the end result can be worth it. “We want to continue learning,” Walls says, “but we still want our children to enjoy a great summer.” ◆

Day campers participate in Spirit Day at the Whitehall Community Park YMCA.

Indoor Play Places

By Heather Lofy

Whether the weather is unfavorable or it’s simply time to get out of the house, the Columbus area has plenty of indoor play place offerings for families to enjoy.

We’ve compiled a list of spots catering to all ages and abilities, including trampoline parks, go-kart tracks, arcades and more. Many also offer classes or party rentals. Before visiting, call or check online to verify prices, hours and other details, such as age and height restrictions. Check out the expanded version of this story at columbusmonthly.com/ columbus-parent to find three additional entertainment categories: Play Cafés, Play Gyms and Shopping Stops.

To suggest a location we should consider adding to our list, send an email to contact@columbusparent.com.

GAMING AND SPORTS

Buckeye Raceway

4050 W. Broad St., Columbus; 614-2727888; buckeyeraceway.com

Have a need for speed? Head to the quarter-mile, indoor course at Buckeye Raceway, boasting European-style performance karts hitting speeds of up to 45 mph. Drivers must be at least 56 inches tall and 12 years old to race at full speed; juniors, who race at half speed, must be over 48 inches and 8 years old. A single race is $21, or snag a three-race pack for $57. Racing is available by reservation or first come, first served. The West Side facility also offers axe throwing and simulation racing (both $15 per person per half-hour) and footbowl, a blend of football and bowling ($10 per person per hour).

K1 Speed

3700 Fishinger Blvd., Hilliard; 440-3327501; k1speed.com/columbus-location.html

Hop into an electric go-kart and zip around the indoor, multilevel track at K1 Speed, a recent addition to the Hilliard area. Up to 12 racers can participate at a time, traveling at speeds up to 45 mph. Minimum height requirements are 58 inches for adult racers and 48 inches for juniors, whose cars top out at 20 mph. A single race is $26.95, with discounted two- and three-race packages. Reservations are available for parties of eight or more. You’ll also find arcade games and a café.

Magic Mountain Fun Center

5890 Scarborough Blvd., Columbus; 614490-5071; magicmountainfuncenter.com

THE GO-TO GUIDE

K1 Speed

Magic Mountain offers a variety of attractions, including an 18-hole miniature golf course, an indoor play area, bumper cars and an interactive arcade with more than 80 games. Go-karts and batting cages operate seasonally. Food and drinks are available. Prices vary by attraction, and packages are offered; note some costs are lower online.

Rule (3)

650 Windmiller Drive, Pickerington; 614864-7853; rule3.com

Rule (3) is a one-stop shop for a day full of activities. The highlight is more than a dozen bowling lanes, but other options include arcade games and summertime sand volleyball. A full kitchen and bar are on-site. Bowling lanes are $24 to $48 per hour; check online for weekly offerings and specials.

Scene75 Columbus

5033 Tuttle Crossing Blvd., Dublin; 614495-8660; scene75.com/columbus

Scene75 Columbus, located inside the Mall at Tuttle Crossing, offers a dozen different attractions, including an indoor roller coaster, go-karts, black-light mini golf, laser tag, a drop tower and more than 200 arcade games. Food options abound at a restaurant, a snack bar and three bars. Pricing is by attraction. Passes, such as the Race All Day unlimited go-kart pass ($15.99 per person per day), are available.

SportsOhio

6314 Cosgray Road, Dublin; 614-7913003; sportsohio.org

SportsOhio’s campus, which includes soccer and golf complexes and a field house, hosts a wide range of activities, camps and clinics, such as indoor and outdoor soccer leagues, basketball, lacrosse, dodgeball and volleyball. Golf enthusiasts can take advantage of a heated driving range and a nine-hole, par-3 course, which operates seasonally. FootGolf, which uses soccer balls on a ninehole course, also is offered.

Ten Pin Alley

5499 Ten Pin Alley, Hilliard; 614-3452427; tenpinalley.com

Ten Pin Alley boasts 24 bowling lanes, with online lane reservations to ensure you get your spot. Visitors will also find an action-packed arcade and laser tag. The venue features a restaurant and full bar with a variety of food and drink op-

tions, including pizza, nacho platters and burgers. Lanes are $84 for two hours.

ADVENTURE AND TRAMPOLINE PARKS

Big Air Trampoline Park

1400 Polaris Parkway, Columbus; 614943-8703; bigairusa.com/columbus

Located at Polaris Fashion Place, Big Air lets the whole family fly high on wall-towall trampolines, with other activities including dodgeball, a battle beam and a zip line. Admission is $24 for one and a half hours, and an all-day pass is $34. There’s a designated toddler time ($12) for kids 6 and younger several times a week. A snack bar offers various food and drinks.

The Bounce

Club

3967 Presidential Parkway, Powell; 614792-2582; thebounceclub.com

This trampoline park offers wall-to-wall trampolines, foam pits and a dodgeball area. The Bounce Club also hosts kid and teen nights, sensory-friendly jump time, and cheerleading and fit jump classes. Open jump rates are $11 to $15 per hour. Dodgeball is $11 per hour per person for an eight-person group. Toddler and preschool jump times are available.

Fun City Adventure Park

2570 Bethel Road, Columbus; 614-5250219; funcitycolumbus.com

Fun City’s extensive activities include ninja courses, giant ball and foam pits, a ropes course, a climbing wall, trampolines, slides and arcade games. Admission ranges from $18 to $31 depending on age and how long you play.

Get Air

3708 Fishinger Blvd., Hilliard; 614-3359864; getairsports.com/columbus 1075 Hill Road N., Pickerington; 614-4901286; getairsports.com/pickerington

Get Air conveniently has a location on each side of Columbus, and both the Pickerington and Hilliard-area locations have trampolines, dunk lanes, tumbling tracks and an extreme trampoline dodgeball court. There’s a separate play area for little ones under 46 inches tall, and a designated toddler time several days a week. More adventurous guests can try the ninja obstacle course with rings to swing and ropes to climb. Open jump rates vary by location. Check the website for online-only deals and special weekly events.

Ninja Citi

2620 Sawmill Place Blvd., Columbus; 614-659-7700; ninjaciti.com

Ninja Citi’s 30,000-square-foot space houses nine ninja courses, two warped walls, a climbing wall, a parkour arena and trampolines. The venue does not serve food, but snacks are allowed in designated areas. The open gym rate starts at $15 for the first hour; 30-day memberships are available.

Recreations Outlet

484 W. Olentangy St., Powell; 614-7923700; recreationsoutlet.com

Not only can you shop for playsets at Recreations Outlet, you can play there, too. Kids can burn off energy on a multitude of slides and swings, as well as with basketball hoops and trampolines. Rates are $9 on weekdays and $12 on weekends and school holidays. Charitable play hours benefiting local nonprofits are $4. Frequent visitors can purchase play passes or an annual family membership.

Rockin’ Jump

1220 County Line Road, Westerville; 614508-6088; rockinjump.com/westerville

5625 Shier Rings Road, Dublin; 614-4070095; rockinjump.com/dublin-oh

Each Rockin’ Jump location offers trampolines, dodgeball, climbing walls, slam-dunk areas and a few arcade-style games. Attractions differ slightly between the two sites: Dublin has a warped wall, bungee trampolines and a zip line, while Westerville has an obstacle area. In-house food options include pizza, wings and soft drinks. Junior jumper sessions are scheduled for ages 5 and younger. Open jump rates vary by location.

Urban Air Adventure Park

6314 E. Livingston Ave., Reynoldsburg; 614-739-1654; urbanair.com/ohio-reyn oldsburg; and 7679 Plain City-Dublin Road, Dublin; 380-204-6390; urbanair.com/ohio-dublin

Urban Air Adventure Park’s two area locations offer activities for all ages. With trampoline parks, rock climbing walls, zip lines, ropes courses and ninja warrior courses, there’s something for everyone. Younger adventurers have dedicated play areas and activities to keep them entertained. Admission varies based on park and attractions chosen; half-price parent passes are available.

EverydayKindness Heroes

Sometimes the beneficiary is a stranger. Sometimes it’s a friend, acquaintance or colleague. We look to honor those who perform extraordinary selfless acts to improve, heal and unite our community.

Consider lifting up the volunteer quietly aiding their neighbors or the community member tirelessly advocating for change. We need your help to recognize the kind, selfless heroes among us.

home & style

A Haven for Entertaining

A couple’s grand Dublin estate with waterfall and ravine views lets them host the gatherings of their dreams. See the home, Page 51.

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Colorful Creations

Sheila Salemme is bringing colorful day wears and her modern bridal designs to Columbus’ fashion scene.

By Lucy Clark

Sheila Salemme opened the doors to her shop on South Third Street Downtown in July. But her lifestyle brand KumaVida and bridal line Delana Muse have had a national presence—and global influence—for years.

Salemme was drawn to sewing and textiles at a young age. Her parents recognized her creative impulse and urged her to pursue architecture when she started school at Kent State University. “My freshman year, I bought my first sewing machine,” she says. “I was so terrified to tell my mom that I didn’t want to continue with the degree, so I stuck around for three years.” Salemme finally got the courage to tell her mom she wanted to change majors and was surprised by her immediate support. “She just said, ‘Oh, OK,’ ” she laughs.

Salemme graduated with a degree in intercultural relations. “I enjoy learning about different cultures, people, the world, how it works,” she says. “I have this feeling like I don’t necessarily belong in once place. Wherever I go, my first instinct is to blend in, learn how the locals do things. We’re all the same, we all want the same things.” This interest fed directly into her design career. After graduation, she worked as a flight attendant, where she made many of the creative and professional connections she still leverages today.

Salemme’s mom didn’t just encourage her to pursue her true passions—she’s the inspiration behind KumaVida, which Salemme founded in 2016. Kuma is her mom’s surname, and the brand reflects her. “Looking at [my mom’s] old photos, I realized how timeless she was. Her style was very classic, but a lot of fun. We’re from Ghana, so we love color. We’re inspired by the tropics.”

The brand is certainly colorful, featuring clothing produced ethically in small

batches with a variety of global collaborators, as well as home pieces including pillows and blankets. “I was thinking of this woman who’s traveling somewhere nice for vacation, but when she comes home, her house is filled with the same vibe and energy,” Salemme says. “She’s joyful, she’s at peace, she’s relaxed.”

Delana Muse, Salemme’s bridal line, is named after the word delana, which in the West African language Ewe means “God gives.” In the context of her business, Salemme sees it as “God gives inspiration.” She got the idea in 2018, when she designed wedding dresses for herself and a friend who also was getting married. “I always wanted to do bridal, but I was nervous about it,” she says. “It’s a very important dress; you can’t screw it up!” The brand launched in 2020.

Delana Muse has grown to offer dress-

SHORTHAND

KumaVida and Delana Muse

267 S. 3rd St., Downtown 614-859-9631 kumavida.com and delanamuse.com

Hours: 2-6 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday; Delana Muse by appointment

es from several collections, and Salemme also designs custom gowns. Each dress is made to order to reduce waste. The brand focuses on modern, ethereal and romantic designs, and many of Salemme’s modern gowns take inspiration from her architectural background, often featuring sculptures and shapes. ◆

BY TIM JOHNSON

PHOTO

Sheila Salemme

A Landmark Revitalized

Story by LAURA NEWPOFF | Photos by TIM JOHNSON

Home & Style | Home

The new owners of a Dublin ravine estate spent two years renovating the 9,000-square-foot home into a spectacular property with a modern aesthetic.

In 2016, Katy Bainbridge and her family purchased land along the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir in Powell with the intention of building their dream home. After receiving a building permit in 2019, they started drawing up plans. Two years into it and before anything had been built, a friend told them the owner of an estate nearby in Dublin was willing to let two couples look at the home and negotiate a sale before it went on the market.

As Bainbridge and her husband walked through the more than 9,000-square-foot home on Deer Run Drive, she took in dramatic views of a ravine, dam and waterfall that flowed from Muirfield Village Golf Club on the west to the Scioto River on the east. In addition to the “mind blowing” views, the bones of the house

Photos on this page and next: The home on Deer Run Drive was brought up to date with clean lines and neutral tones, including in the bar, living room, bedrooms and expansive halls and common areas. New windows showcase the stunning views of the Scioto watershed. The pool is new—previous owners had removed it, and the new ones added it back. The renovations also included painting the exterior in a natural shade and giving the landscaping a more manicured feel.

were good, and it was interesting from an architectural standpoint, she says.

“It’s such a unique piece of property,” Bainbridge says. “We just thought, ‘We can do this.’ We can really modernize this and take it to the next level.”

The home was built in 1986 after former Cardinal Health CEO Bob Walter and his wife, Peggy, had engineers determine construction near the dam built in 1920 was safe. The architect was Dick Trott and the builder was Kevin Knight & Co. Later, architect George Acock and builder Ralph Fallon added a grand entrance and a rotunda at the rear of the home. The Walter family lived there for 30 years before it was sold to a new owner in 2017. That included subdividing 62 acres so the home could be sold with 8 acres in total, including the dam and ravine.

The Bainbridges became the home’s third owners when they purchased the Deer Run property for $4.5 million in 2022 and began renovations with local firm Behal Sampson Dietz as the contractor.

“When we renovate, we think about how we will use each space as a family,” Bainbridge says. “We are constant entertainers and host overnight guests, which was our priority in this home. We do not want rooms that are not utilized.”

The home has five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, five fireplaces and, as part of that affinity for entertaining, 17 refrigerators.

The gathering room renovation included adding a hotel-style bar to draw people into the space. The kitchen redo created a “cook’s kitchen” that includes two island gathering spaces and a new pantry.

The master suite was reconfigured. It originally had separate men’s and women’s bathrooms. The Bainbridges updated it to a spa bathroom with one large closet. “I even found a hidden bookshelf within the room,” Bainbridge says.

Home & Style | Home

New doors and windows were added throughout “to bring the outside in. In the master, [there was] a Juliet door and a small balcony. We used a Marvin modern window. [It is] huge to be able to see the view.”

The back door was opened up by installing a large Marvin door that helped the view and flow of traffic to outside spaces. The doors from the family room out to the rotunda were small and had trim. While it was stylish at the time of installation, the Bainbridges wanted to be able to see the rotunda from the kitchen, so larger doors were added to open up more views. In the basement, original sliding doors and windows were replaced with larger windows and doors, which improved the view of the outside pool and patio and also helped with the flow of guests when entertaining.

Meanwhile, the entire electrical system of the home was updated. This included removing all 1980s-era can lighting. Because those lights were enclosed in large boxes, the ceilings had to be redone when new lighting was installed. “When updating the electricity, we were able to remove the wall clutter and make the home into a smart home,” Bainbridge says. “The house had state-of-the-art electronics for the time. For example, there was an iPod on the wall. Now, houses don’t need as many wires with lighting.” An integrated sound system was installed throughout the home.

All of the home’s bathrooms were renovated, and a workout room with sauna

and Murphy bed were added.

Bainbridge says she was going for continuity of colors. The same muted white is used throughout, while built-in shelving is done in a shade called “iron ore.” Wallpaper warms up the dining room, bathrooms and the primary suite.

The owner before the Bainbridges was a gardener who preferred a natural aesthetic. Exterior renovations included a more manicured design. The previous owner also removed a pool, outdoor bar and bathroom in the pool house. For entertaining, those were essential for the Bainbridges, so they were added back in.

Exterior work also included extending the driveway to allow for more parking. The exterior was painted in neutral colors to blend with the outdoors. Wrought iron fencing from Fortin was installed down to the dam and other areas for safety. Outdoor lighting was added throughout the property so it could be enjoyed at night.

This is the ninth house the Bainbridges have renovated.

Susan Campbell of SC Designs was the decorator. “We are very hands-on,” Bainbridge says. “So, she procures items we are looking for. But after nine houses, often we know what we are looking for in materials.”

Audiovisual, sound and smart home work were done by Aaron Carmack Electronic Services (ACES). Exterior work was done by Adam Tokarz at Luxe Residential. The pool was installed by Landfare Ltd.

Kevin Nimon, a partner at Behal Sampson Dietz, says this is a “landmark home” in Central Ohio. “We met with the Bainbridges, hit it off and had an aligned vision for where they were headed with the house, which was dated,” he says. “Top to bottom it needed new energy, new life and they just really wanted to bring things back up to when it was originally built with a more modern aesthetic. The house lent itself that that nicely.”

Johnny Dwyer, Behal’s project manager for the work, says an interesting element of working on the home was that every space felt like a “premier space.” He observed this, “even if it was a back hall or side door off the kitchen that opened

up to an amazing deck off the back or the beautiful rotunda over the pool. Then there’s the basement that isn’t a typical basement because it opens up to this beautiful patio that overlooks the ravine. It was a unique project in that there were no secondary or tertiary spaces. Everything required the same amount of attention to detail and refined approach to bring it back to life.”

Says Nimon: “The Bainbridges are very detail oriented. They notice all the little things. Bringing it back to life was a lot of that—just making it perfect again, and that house deserved it and needed it. They’ve been very good stewards of this home.” ◆

Clockwise beginning opposite page: The gourmet kitchen has some of the home’s 17 refrigerators; window seats in the adjacent living room; a bathtub framed by a wall of privacy windows; a bar for parties; and modern bedroom and bath fixtures.

Top 25 Home Sales

Jan. 1-31, 2025

ADDRESS BUYER/SELLER

5680 Dublin Rd., Dublin

4615 Yantis Dr., New Albany

Westpatrick Corp. from Jeffrey W. and Lisa A. Edwards

Jason Ryan Hall and Justin Thomas Kern from Robert Polite and Mariette V. Carson-Polite

5177 Rosalind Blvd., Powell Xavier Gaudin from Albert Isaacs

1336 Ridgeview Rd., Upper Arlington

1189 Glenn Ave., Grandview

320 N. Parkview Ave., Bexley

1050 Broadview Ave., Grandview Heights

6328 Moore Rd., Delaware

7660 N. Goodrich Sq., New

325 Dawson Ave., Bexley

1547 Kearny Way, Delaware

1925 Scenic Bluff Ct., Delaware

Columbia Gas of Ohio from Joseph H. and Kathleen K. Carr

Amy Manning and Kevin Jackson from Fredric N. Muccio and Amy Bates Muccio

Meredith A. Arensman and Austin Schenk from Paul E. and Susan B. Avelluto

Bradley and Danielle Carman from Fritz W. and Karina KB Harding

Donna E. and William R. Cochran from John Arrillaga Jr. and Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, trustees

Douglas Thor and Jonathon Douglas Hess, trustees, from Timothy F. and Kimberly J. Masturzo

Valerie and Brian Halas from Lee J. and Elaine T. Tenenbaum

Thulasi Karakula and Sabbasani Rajasekhara Reddy from Cathryn Ann Story

William H. V. Marshall and Lauren Loann Hassen from Bob Webb Liberty Bluff LLC

1200 Jackson Hole Dr., Jashanpreet Singh and Gurinder Babbar from Sydnee R. and Derrick R. Clay

2032 Scioto Pointe Dr., Upper Arlington

2382 Miller-Paul Rd., Galena

1105 Ormsby Pl., Grandview

3973 Farber Ct., New Albany

1 Miranova Pl., Unit 2430

181 Thurman Ave., Columbus

Chris and Andrea Gjorevski from Stephen Cella and Rebecca Hoffman

Bradley II and Alyssa Thomas from Harry L. and Nancy A. Myers

Fredric N. and Amy B. Muccio from Frank D. and Constance A. Lolli

Damien and Brandan Merk from James J. and Josephine H. Harris

Vijay Chandnani, trustee, from John C. and Donna D. Shoemaker, trustees

Christopher and Elisabeth K. Lancaster from Ricardo Ruiz and Heather Kleinman

10189 Widdington Close, Abhijit Prabhakar Suryavanshi and Kalpa Baghasingh from Elaine A. Paul, trustee

5288 Stratford Ave., Powell

Yuqin Guan and Pinjia Chen from Patrick M. and Melanie A. Leneghan

10196 Widdington Close, Charles T. Jr. and Tawnya L. Brannan from George J. and Deborah A. Brahos

3908 James River Rd., New

2229 Cob Tail Way, Blacklick

7728 Genova Dr., Galena

Stephanie Marie Raftery from Brandan and Damien Merk

David Abu from Michael A. and Barbara E. Held

Gregory John and Elisa Anne McClure from Romanelli and Hughes Building Co.

food & drink

Sampling the South Fried green tomatoes at

Subourbon Southern Kitchen and Spirits. Review, Page 58.

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Southern Comfort

Subourbon warms

Worthington and beyond with its relaxed approach to southern food and whiskey.

By Amy Bodiker Baskes

Chef Patrick Marker may have a bit of shopping problem. But his quest to acquire rare and sought-after bourbons resulted in a collection significant enough to inspire the 2022 opening of his second restaurant with co-owner Jacob Hough, aptly named Subourbon Southern Kitchen and Spirits.

It’s easy to say bourbon has been having a moment in recent years. The demand has led to creative collaborations, inventive aging techniques, rare releases and sneaky secondary markets. Subourbon’s guests are the lucky beneficiaries of Marker’s extensive bourbon knowledge and his willingness to wade into the feverish market on our behalf.

Located in Linworth in what was formerly The Crafty Pint, Subourbon offers over 200 different bottles of bourbon paired with a menu of classic southern fare. Established with guests’ comfort and care in mind, Subourbon is a family-friendly casual tavern that was named one of Columbus Monthly’s Best New Restaurants in 2023.

Marker and Hough are local restaurant veterans. They are each armed with culinary degrees and decades of experience behind the stove and in the front of house at spots around town and across the country. The pair worked together for years at Barcelona before opening the acclaimed Alqueria in the University District in 2018.

Naturally, the best place to start your visit to Subourbon is the bar. (This is a whiskey joint, after all.) Whether you’re after a specific find or there to explore the bartender’s creations, you’re in for an education. Like any good tavern, Subourbon’s bar menu is complete with a full list of spirits, wines, beers and mocktails. While bourbon is clearly the headliner here, the bartender was just as busy filling tickets for glasses of wine, draft beers and non-alcoholic spritzes on one visit,

all as he was gabbing about the distinctive qualities of rare bottles.

If you’re seeking a neat pour, try something from Subourbon’s New and Notable list, or stop in on a Wednesday when unique bottles are offered at special rates. On one visit, I enjoyed one of Subourbon’s seasonal cocktails, the Paper Plane ($13), a colorful and citrusy drink typically made with equal parts bourbon, Amaro, Aperol and lemon juice. Subourbon’s is based on its own Woodford Reserve Subourbon Sipper ’24—a blend specially bottled by the distiller for the restaurant. This version gamely switches Peychaud’s Aperitivo for the standard Aperol, which brings stronger notes of grapefruit to this pleasantly tart—and surprisingly not very bourbony—creation.

The menu at Subourbon includes all the cozy classics you associate with traditional Southern comfort food: Country fried chicken with gravy ($22), gumbo ($11), catfish po’boys ($18), cornbread ($8) and collard greens ($7). To this base,

Subourbon Southern Kitchen and Spirits

2234 W. Dublin-Granville Road Linworth 614-505-0773

subourboncolumbus.com

Hours: Open Monday—Saturday for dinner

If you go: You know a restaurant is family-friendly when the kids’ menu is as prominent as the main courses. Subourbon offers all the standards— mac-‘n’-cheese, cheeseburger, chicken tenders and grilled cheese—each for under $10.

Marker regularly adds weekend specials that have recently included smothered Salisbury steak and bacon-wrapped scallops. Though a Worthington native,

Shrimp and grits, Derby Pie, chopped salad, deviled eggs and Bourb Burger

SHORTHAND

Marker’s time spent living in the low country of South Carolina comes through loud and clear on his menu. Supporting your bourbon exploration with a variety of small plates is a great way to get to know Subourbon’s menu. The starters include such good-looking snacks as deviled eggs ($12), barbecue shrimp ($14) or KFC Bites ($13), which are small pieces of breaded and Korean-fried chicken breast glazed with a sweet chili-soy sauce. I particularly enjoyed the fried green tomatoes ($12), a stack of three slices of very puckery unripe tomatoes battered and fried in course cornmeal. The dollop of pimento cheese on top of and under the stack of tomatoes melts a little from the warmth and adds both a richness and a peppery kick to the vegetal crunch.

For my entrées, I sampled both the crispy pork shank ($29) and the shrimp and grits ($21). The shank arrived looking like candied apple on a stick, given its generous coating of a shockingly

sweet and garishly red barbecue glaze. Of course, looks aren’t everything, but I wanted to like this dish more than I ultimately did. It was too sweet, unevenly heated and served with too many woody stalks of broccoli—even as the meat was braised to a melting tenderness and wonderfully flavorful.

The shrimp and grits included six spice-dusted shrimp in delicious tomato-tasso ham gravy, generously studded with pieces of andouille. Unfortunately, some bites were overtaken by the rich pimento cheese in the grits, which were occasionally more competitive than complementary to the outstanding shrimp and sausage in the dish.

Homemade cakes and pies round out Subourbon’s menu, as any good Southern menu should. On one winter visit, I enjoyed a slice of Derby Pie a la mode,

a chocolate walnut pie of Kentucky origins. Subourbon’s was less traditional and trended more toward a chocolate chip cookie bar baked in a pie crust than a syrupy pecan pie.

It’s worth mentioning that there are not a lot of vegetarian options on Subourbon’s menu, though these expand if you ask the restaurant to hold the candied bacon sprinkled atop a couple offerings. And while shrimp, crab and crayfish are featured prominently on the menu— great news if you crave those Southern classics—it’s something to note before visiting if there’s a crustacean allergy in your family (as there is in mine).

If you’re a bourbon aficionado, or even bourbon curious, don’t miss a visit to Subourbon. Chef Marker’s southern menu has plenty of delicious options to support whatever way you choose to navigate it.

The bourbon wall

A Taste of Haiti in the Heart of Columbus

T-Co Islands represents Columbus’ Caribbean community with traditional fried pork and more.

By Bailey Trask

If T-Co Islands Restaurant doesn’t have fried pork, customers walk out. That’s how beloved this dish is at this Columbus Haitian eatery, located at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Morse Road. The signage is easy to miss, and stepping inside might feel a little unfamiliar at first. There’s no printed menu, just a counter where you’re told what’s available that day. The space is small—six tables, bright ads on the walls and a TV streaming a feed from the restaurant’s own Shelove International Radio station. What T-Co lacks in polish, it makes up for with flavor and a warm, neighborhood vibe.

Owned by husband and wife team William and Claucia Jean-Louis since 2021, the restaurant is a reflection of their Haitian roots and love for community. Claucia Jean-Louis learned to cook from her mother, who catered Catholic events in Haiti. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Jean-Louis now caters giant orders for events with up to 700 guests, including regular clients like Catholic churches and the Vineyard next door.

The setup is casual: You order at the counter, and if you dine in, they’ll bring your food—served in Styrofoam togo containers—to your table. Need to share? They’ll bring out a paper plate or two. Delivery is available through Uber Eats and Grubhub, though there’s a caveat: If they’re out of what you ordered, they’ll substitute it with something else. Flexibility is key, but the reward is discovering dishes you might not have tried otherwise.

The menu changes daily, but staples like fried pork ($16), tasso beef ($18),

SHORTHAND

T-Co Islands Restaurant

4466 Cleveland Ave., Northland

614-269-7332

tcoislandsrestaurant.com

Open Tuesday—Sunday for lunch and dinner

and rice are always available. The pork is rich and satisfying—deep-fried chunks of well-seasoned belly, with some bites crisp and fatty and others offering more meat. The tasso beef is bold and bright— marinated, pan-fried and flash-fried for a finish that balances lime, garlic and hot pepper.

Every dish comes with a small salad (lettuce, tomato and a side of ranch), a choice of rice and a container of spicy pickled cabbage and carrots. These pickles, which look like coleslaw but

pack a serious punch, add tangy heat that elevates the flavors of everything on the plate. The broth—thinner than a gravy, heartier than an au jus—features tender, marinated onions that enhance the long-grain rice. You can choose from two varieties: a black rice cooked with black beans, or a white rice speckled with sparse red beans. Both are hearty, flavorful and plentiful in portion size.

The sides round out the meal. The hot cabbage ($5) is layered with garlic, heat and a hint of lemon—this is cabbage for people who think they don’t like cabbage. The fried plantains ($6), smashed and crisp, walk the line between savory and sweet—a perfect accompaniment to the richer main dishes.

T-Co Islands feels like a cross between a neighborhood hangout and a seaside stand. It’s not a place for glossy menus, but it delivers something far better: an authentic taste of Haiti in Columbus, served with heart and a side of community. ◆

Fried pork with plantains, salad and black rice

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Victory Hops

A 125-year-old Belgian beer inspired an award-winning collaboration between two Columbus breweries.

By Linda Lee Baird

Well Positioned, a barrel-aged saison produced through a collaboration between local breweries Forbidden Root and Derive Brewing Co., has been described as “fruity” and “very dry” with “light spice notes,” by Nick Gabriel, head brewer at Forbidden Root. Peter Steffes, co-owner and brewer at Derive, said in an email that the aroma is one of “bright lemon, fresh hay and mild cracker.” When I tried it, the first word that came to mind was “funky,” a characteristic Gabriel said could be attributed to the aggressive fermentation of the yeast.

Certainly, many adjectives can be used to articulate the saison’s unique flavor. And now, for the second time in three years, the words “award-winning” can be part of the description.

Well Positioned took home a silver medal at the 2024 Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer, a national competition with a public tasting component held in Chicago in November. “It’s a very prestigious festival amongst brewers,” Gabriel says.

The event “focuses on barrel-aged beers across a wide range of styles and brings in the pinnacle of breweries who work in [this space],” Steffes says.

A shared love of saisons, specifically a beer called Saison DuPont, first brought the breweries together. The Belgian ale was originally brewed as a thirst quencher for seasonal workers at Brasserie DuPont’s farm-brewery—that’s where its clean and refreshing reputation comes from. The beer is “kind of the high spot for saison in the world, I would say,” Gabriel explains. “It’s a well-made beer, a pretty well-known beer.”

When the brewers discovered how much they all liked Saison Dupont, they decided to create a version using a unique aging process to put their own spin on the classic. Well Positioned is aged in an oak tank called a foeder, which

Food & Drink | Drink

Forbidden Root

4080 Worth Ave., Easton 614-414-6127 forbiddenroot.com

Hours: Open daily for lunch and dinner

Well Positioned is available on tap at Forbidden Root until it runs out for the season. Go before April for the best chance to try it.

enhances the flavor, but not in the way you might assume.

“A lot of people think of oak being a spirit barrel,” Gabriel says, citing a few other beers that are strongly flavored by this approach. But in this case, the flavor is more neutral, with the oak adding what Gabriel describes as a “slight vanilla touch.”

Judges at the competition took notice in 2022, when the collaboration was awarded its first silver medal. “It’s an honor to win once let alone twice for the same beer. I think that’s basically unheard of,” Steffes says.

Since then, the breweries have produced Well Positioned annually, which is not always the way Gabriel works. “There’s only a few beers that I make every year, and this is one of them,” he says.

And though it’s become a crowd favorite, each release is different from those that came before—there isn’t a strict recipe that’s followed. “We approach it

differently every time,” Gabriel says, describing a collaboration that involves talking about ideas, available ingredients and aging processes, and then settling on a plan for the annual batch.

What is known is that this is a tradition both breweries intend to continue. “We love working with Forbidden Root and can’t wait to see what amazing beer we come up with next,” Steffes says. ◆

Well Positioned

Nick Gabriel, head brewer at Forbidden Root

SHORTHAND

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, under $12

NEW Restaurant has opened within the last few months. B Breakfast BR Brunch L Lunch D Dinner

Outdoor Seating

2025 Best New Restaurants

Let’s Eat comprises Columbus Monthly editors’ picks and is updated monthly based on available space. Send updates to letters@columbusmonthly.com.

AMERICAN

Club 185

You’ll find cozy booths and stiff drinks at this dimly lit German Village hangout serving better-than-average bar fare like cheeseburgers, Anchor Bar wings and pizza. 185 E. Livingston Ave., German Village, 614228-3904. LD $

Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace

A hip hot dog joint with retro decor and oneof-a-kind wieners that can be topped with condiments such as sauerkraut, baked beans and Fritos. 248 S. Fourth St., Downtown, 614-824-4673. LD $

Harvest Bar + Kitchen

From the owners of Harvest Pizzeria, these locations offer the same wood-kissed pies plus salads, sandwiches, burgers and more. 940 S. Front St., Brewery District, 614-9477950; 2885 N. High St., Clintonville, 614947-7133. LD $$

RH Rooftop Restaurant

Restoration Hardware’s luxe restaurant provides ample ambiance for patrons. Brunch brings classics like lox bagels and omlettes. Meanwhile, the dinner menu features salads, a charred rib-eye and lobster rolls. 4120 Worth Ave., Easton, 614968-8830. BRLD $$$$

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

SOW Plated

With a “food is medicine” mantra, this handsomely designed restaurant in The Shops on Lane Avenue features a health-conscious menu and cold-pressed cocktails. 1625 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington, 614-826-0028. BRLD $$$

NEW Three Creeks Kitchen and Cocktails

Alumni of several well-known area restaurants are serving up classic dishes and creative cocktails at this family-owned eatery. Seafood and steaks feature prominently on the menu. 258 Granville St., Gahanna, 614468-8997. D $$$$

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 $

BAR FARE

Barley’s Brewing Co.

The microbrewery offers an expansive selection of brews, which can be enjoyed at the hand-carved, century-old mahogany bar alongside American bar favorites like grilled wings, nachos and burgers. 467 N. High St., Short North, 614-221-9767. LD $$

Buckeye Bourbon House

A bourbon bar inside the old Buckeye Federal Savings & Loan building (now a Residence Inn by Marriott), with charcuterie and cheese boards, sliders and flatbreads. 36 E. Gay St., Downtown, 614-456-2020. D $$

Flanagan’s Pub

A casual neighborhood gathering place with an open bar area, large patio and fireplace. The menu includes pizza, sandwiches and breakfast. 3001 Reynoldsburg-New Albany Rd., Reynoldsburg, 614-855-7472. BLD $$

Gallo’s Tap Room

A dark, modern sports bar brimming with top-notch beers and an updated pub grub menu featuring burgers, wings and pizza. 5019 Olentangy River Rd., Northwest Side, 614-457-2394. LD $$

O’Reilly’s Pub

A casual, neighborhood Irish bar with a menu including the Pepper Burger, subs, sweet potato fries and wings. 2822 N. High St., Clintonville, 614-262-6343. LD $

Yogi’s Bar & Grill

A neighborhood sports bar and grill with music, large flat-screen TVs, a jukebox and gaming. The menu includes salads, sandwiches, wings, pizzas and wraps. 3880 Hard Rd., Dublin, 614-799-2660; 5857 Karric Square Dr., Dublin, 614-798-1772; 1126 W. Henderson Rd., Northwest Side, 614-914-8117. LD $$

CHINESE

CoCo Cuisine

CoCo Hot Pot expanded in 2024, adding authentic Cantonese dim sum to its extensive hot pot menu. Six colorful varieties of soup dumplings stand out among the offerings. 751 Bethel Rd., Northwest Side, 614-502-0036. LD $$

PHOTO BY ROB HARDIN

Harvest Pizzeria

Ding Ho Restaurant

This West Side establishment has been serving classic Cantonese dishes since the 1950s, with wor sue gai, pepper steak, lo mein and sesame chicken. 120 Phillipi Rd., West Side, 614-276-4395. LD $$

Jiu Thai Asian Café

Located in the Olentangy Plaza shopping center, this restaurant specializes in flavorful, authentic cuisine from northern China. Go for the tofu skewers, lamb dumplings and handmade noodles in generous portions at low prices. 787 Bethel Rd., Northwest Side, 614-732-5939. LD $$

Joy’s Village

Joy’s serves a mixture of traditional AmericanChinese dishes and more authentic Asian fare, on a large menu that includes a teriyaki and kids’ section. 574 W Central Ave, Delaware, 740-363-6755. LD $

Kung Fu Noodle

This unassuming restaurant is serving up some of the best noodle soups in the area, thanks to its hand-pulled noodles. It offers authentic and affordable dining inspired by the cuisine of Lanzhou, China, from which Kung Fu’s founder hails. 5225 Godown Rd., Northwest Side, 614-5649825. LD $$

SANDWICHES

Alfie’s Granville

This charming eatery in the heart of Granville offers healthful salads and sandwiches like the Happy Tummy salad or the California Veggie sandwich (which can both be prepared vegan). Alfie’s new ghost kitchen delivers in Columbus. 221 E. Broadway, Granville, 740321-1111. LD $

Bears Bagels

After gaining a following at local farmers markets, Bears Bagels opened a Hilliard shop in 2024. The family-owned business serves up handmade bagels, schmears and sandwiches and offers bagel-making classes that sell out quickly. 4142 Main St., Hilliard, 614-319-3561. BL $

Goood Friends

Jackie O’s on Fourth is home to this takeout window featuring seriously goood Midwestern sandwiches. Highlights include the Ol Faithful (fried chicken with Le Delice de Bourgogne) and Warby’s Melt featuring Wario’s Wiz. 171 N. Fourth St., Downtown. D $$

Katzinger’s Delicatessen

A German Village mainstay, Katzinger’s is a traditional East Coast-style deli, with 60-plus sandwiches, potato latkes, pickle barrels, specialty foods and cheeses. 7160 Muirfield Dr., Dublin, 614-389-8444; 475 S. Third St., German Village, 614-2283354. BLD $$

Newfangled Kitchen

Located next to the Drexel Theatre, this chefinspired sandwich shop reimagines the classic American meatloaf sandwich. Don’t miss The Fang, a meatloaf version of a cheeseburger. 2258 E. Main St., Bexley, 614-817-1099. LD $

SEAFOOD

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., 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, everchanging 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 $$$$

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 $$

TEX-MEX/SOUTHWESTERN

Bakersfield

The country-music-loving cantina specializes

in queso, tacos, taquitos, tequila and whiskey. 733 N. High St., Short North, 614-754-8436. LD $$

Chile Verde Café

A small, comfortable café serving great margaritas, plus regional and traditional New Mexican entrées such as burritos, fajitas, the Albuquerque Platter and huevos rancheros. 1522 Gemini Place, Polaris, 614-846-8773. BRLD $$

Local Cantina

These kitschy, Mexican-themed neighborhood bars with numerous locations focus on craft brews and serve good, Americanized Mexican fare, like fajitas, quesadillas and tacos, plus self-serve chips and salsa. 743 S. High St., Brewery District, 614-564-9775; 20 W. Waterloo St., Canal Winchester, 614829-5139; 3126 N. High St., Clintonville, 614754-8554; 4537 Bridge Park Ave., Dublin, 614-389-1684; 1423 Grandview Ave., Ste. B, Fifth by Northwest, 614-488-6146; 1644 Oak St., Franklin Park, 614-670-8171; 3937 Broadway, Grove City, 615-782-2545; 3975 Main St., Hilliard, 614-363-4931; 1670 W. Lane Ave., Ste. 150, Upper Arlington, 614674-6269; 667 N. Cleveland Ave., Westerville, 614-394-8720. LD $

Talita’s

This longtime Columbus Tex-Mex restaurant has a new location, where it serves up its self-proclaimed “world’s best and biggest” burritos, plus American classics like Coney dogs. 1335 Dublin Rd., Ste. 110E, Grandview, 614-824-1354. LD $

Goood Friends

Arthur Marks Creative Space

The professional vocalist found success in his career—and inspiration making more personal music at his church.

By Peter Tonguette

Singer Arthur Marks has received his share of applause and bravos.

Whether on Broadway or in performances with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the 53-year-old countertenor has always left an impression with audiences. But at the First Community Church’s north campus on Dublin Road, he is free to be himself.

“The people here know that I’ve had a career as a performer, a fairly successful one,” Marks says. “When they see me, it’s not Arthur the star, it’s Arthur our community friend, our buddy, our church member.” For someone who has performed almost his entire life, the church offers a safe haven. During services, he

plays the piano, performs with the bell choir and praise band, and lends his voice to various choirs—but he’s never the focal point.

“There’s no expectation after I’m done to walk out and sign autographs,” he says. “It is just fellowship. It’s inspiring, it’s soothing, it’s comforting.”

It’s also a return to the singer’s roots: Raised in Kansas City, Marks gave his first solo performance at age 5 at the birthday party of the minister of his home church.

“It was sort of understood in our family that if you’re going to make music, you’re going to make it in the church,” he says.

He studied opera performance at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, and

at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. From there, he launched a stage career that saw him emerge as a “triple threat.” “I was doing everything—musical theatre, classical, solo artist,” he says. Based in Columbus since 2015, Marks has sung with the Columbus Symphony Chorus, remains a regular soloist in symphony programming (including the recent Holiday Pops shows), and works as a vocal coach and voice teacher. But making music away from the spotlight offers the most satisfaction. “This is where I got to hone my craft, quite frankly—in the church,” he says. “When I release this gift, it becomes a gift for someone else.” ◆

PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON

Arthur Marks at First Community Church in Hilliard

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