Grab your people and explore Park City, the historic entrance to Mammoth Cave and Diamond Caverns. Stay at Grand Victorian Inn or one of our cottages. Paddle the green, tour a cave, go shopping, or enjoy local eats at Miss Betty’s Diner or Esters Farm Cafe. Eat, stay, shop, play in Park City — I-65 Exit 48.
visitparkcityky.com
Carrollton is not only where rivers come together, but also where people come together to experience the friendliness and authenticity of a town teeming with opportunities for exploration, recreational activities, shopping, new ideas and growth. At mile 545 on the Ohio River, it’s not just the confluence of two rivers, but also a confluence of history, river culture, nature and the scenic outdoors.
visitcarrolltonky.com
BOUNDLESS ADVENTURES AWAIT
Discover Kentucky’s State Parks, All Year Long
From rolling hills and scenic lakes to majestic waterfalls and underground wonders, Kentucky’s 44 state parks offer nature escapes, each with its own charm. Explore over 300 miles of maintained trails or dig into farm-to-table fare and local favorites like Kentucky Hot Browns and bourbon-infused dishes at a park restaurant. Whether it’s wildflower hikes in spring, lakefront fun in summer, vibrant foliage in fall or cozy cabin getaways in winter — there’s always a reason to visit.
parks.ky.gov
Stories That Matter
Columbus Monthly was honored by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists and the Press Club of Cleveland with 11 awards for excellence in 2024 coverage.
Best Feature Reporting
Editor Katy Smith, for her compelling story about the founding of the Arc of Appalachia land preservation trust.
Best Sports Reporting
Freelance writer Chris DeVille, for his powerful profiles of OSU women’s ice hockey coach Nadine Muzerall, Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy, and Dr. Anthony Williams, whose youth soccer efforts transformed urban Columbus.
Best Environmental Reporting
For our first-place October 2024 feature, “Pollinator Gardens vs. Perfect Lawns."
Best Architecture and Design Writing
Editor Katy Smith, first place, for her home feature on a Bexley resident's inventive use of vintage pieces.
Best Photographer in Ohio
Photo editor Tim Johnson, second place, for a portfolio of 2024 work.
Plus six more awards across categories including arts reporting, medical and health reporting and overall third place for Best Magazine in Ohio, highlighting the depth and range of our newsroom.
We’re grateful for the recognition and inspired to keep delivering stories that inform, challenge and connect our community.
Understanding alcohol’s effects on cancer risk
Why kidney cancer care innovation is more important than ever
As science sheds more light on links between alcohol and cancer, doctors are advising patients to think before they drink.
The possible connections between alcohol consumption and cancer risk have been widely discussed in the aftermath of a January 2025 report from the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General stating that previously recommended “safe” amounts of alcohol might not be accurate.
“The big highlight that came through in this report was that the amounts of alcohol that we had been counseled to tell our patients were safe was maybe a little bit of an overshot,” says Dionisia Quiroga, DO, PhD, a breast medical oncologist at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.
“In reality, several studies suggest that any regular alcohol use may increase cancer risk. While alcohol’s effects on individuals can vary depending on other factors, oncologists are encouraging everyone to learn the latest info so they can make informed lifestyle choices that could help lower cancer risk and improve overall health.
“There might be seven cancers that have increased probabilities of occurring with exposure to increasing levels of alcohol, but it doesn’t mean that if you drink alcohol, you’re going to get one of those seven cancers. It also doesn’t mean that if you avoid alcohol, you’re not going to get them,” says David Cohn, MD, MBA, the OSUCCC – James Chief Operating Officer. “It’s another piece of information that helps people make decisions for themselves.”
Scan the QR code to learn more about cancer care and research at the OSUCCC – James.
Established links between alcohol and cancer
Researchers continue to examine alcohol’s health impact, but studies have already
established links to cancers that affect the following areas of the body:
• Breast
• Colorectum
• Esophagus
• Liver
• Mouth
• Throat
• Voice box
Earlier research indicated that one drink per day for women and two for men were likely safe levels of consumption, but evidence now shows that even a small amount of alcohol may increase cancer risk.
“There are many hypotheses on how alcohol can induce tumor-promoting environments and tumor growth,” Quiroga says. “One is that alcohol in our system breaks down into certain substances that can cause DNA damage, which could lead to cancer development.”
Continued research into the details of the connection shouldn’t slow down efforts to share the message that there is no safe amount of alcohol, which is linked to approximately 20,000 annual cancer-related deaths in the U.S.
“Data findings show that most Americans don’t know alcohol is a risk factor for cancer development,” Quiroga says. “While I don’t counsel my patients that they need to quit alcohol altogether, it is important that people know the potential risk so they are empowered to make the right decisions for themselves.”
Scan the QR code to learn about cancer screening and diagnosis at the OSUCCC – James.
How alcohol may lead to cancer development There’s still more to learn about alcohol’s links to cancer, but researchers have already identified multiple mechanisms that likely contribute to the rise in risk.
“We now know that if somebody’s drinking alcohol every day of the week, even in smaller amounts, that cumulatively can still cause problems in the body that can lead to an increased risk for cancer,” Quiroga says.
In addition to DNA damage, research has pointed to other possible effects of alcohol that could promote cancer development:
• Reducing antioxidant benefits: Antioxidants can be beneficial because they can reduce oxidative stress in people’s cells. Alcohol, on the other hand, can have the opposite effect by increasing oxygen species in our bodies, which can lead to cellular damage.
• Toxin development: After consumption, alcohol can break down, becoming a toxin called acetyl-aldehyde, which can create “typos” in the genetic code that can lead to the development of some types of cancer.
• Hormonal changes: Most breast cancer cases are linked to hormonal issues, and alcohol can increase the levels of different types of hormones, including estrogen. Researchers believe alcohol usage could also raise the risk of breast cancer recurrence for previously-diagnosed patients.
• Making other carcinogens more harmful: Research shows that, in addition to alcohol’s direct impact on the body, it may also amplify some of the negative effects of other carcinogens (substances that can cause cancer in humans). For example, while smoking is widely known to cause cancer on its own, experts believe that alcohol consumption could increase that risk, possibly by making carcinogens from tobacco absorb more easily into the body.
Scan the QR code to read the Alcohol and Cancer Risk report from the Office of the Surgeon General.
COMPETITION FALL 2025 COCKTAIL
Columbus Monthly’s Cocktail Competition brings together the city’s top bartenders and standout bar programs for an unforgettable evening.
Guests will sip inventive cocktails crafted with Noble Cut Distillery spirits, enjoy live music and entertainment, and experience the creativity of Central Ohio’s favorite bars. Bartenders will compete in three categories—Most Creative, Best Booth Design, and Best Overall —and attendees will help decide the winners with their votes.
Nov. 6, 2025 | 5:30-7:30 PM
Vitria on the Square
Early bird tickets are $40
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22
SEARCHING FOR BIGFOOT IN SALT FORK STATE PARK
Does Bigfoot live in Ohio? Sightings have been reported at Salt Fork State Park in the eastern part of the state, where the Bigfoot curious visit regularly. Meet some local experts on the cryptid, and learn where to stay and what to do when you visit.
ON THE COVER:
A Bigfoot model created by Bo Bruns stands in the Salt Fork State Park Eco-Discovery Center.
Photo by Tim Johnson
Julie Wright poses with Bigfoot at Salt Fork State Park.
through JANUARY 4,
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Randy Edwards
The longtime science writer traveled to eastern Ohio on assignment looking for Bigfoot. Follow in his footsteps starting on Page 22.
CONTRIBUTORS
Zach Trabitz
The senior at Washington University in St. Louis and freelance writer spoke with people bringing various perspectives to the Christopher Columbus statue conversation, Page 12.
The Columbus journalist brings us the story of a Short North home renovation that includes one of the first mortgages granted to an Ohio woman without a male co-signer, Page 49
Laura Newpoff
Kaleigh Pisani curator
Bigfoot and the Nature of the Universe
It took little convincing when freelance writer Randy Edwards pitched me on the idea of a feature on Bigfoot in eastern Ohio last spring. I’m endlessly fascinated by stories about creatures we can’t verify as actually existing, and judging by the growing fan club around Bigfoot in the Buckeye State, so are other people.
Katy Smith katy@columbusmonthly.com
Campers, hunters and hikers have repeatedly reported catching glimpses of the cryptid—“an animal (such as Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster) that has been claimed to exist but never proven to exist,” according to Merriam-Webster—in the dense forests in and around Salt Fork State Park, about 90 minutes east of Columbus. So much so, the park has dedicated its new education center to the Sasquatch.
For the center, Columbus artist Bo Bruns created an imposing Bigfoot statue, a composite made from present-day people’s memories and lore passed down through generations. Bruns is best known for his work crafting scary animatronic beings, mostly for use in haunted houses around the country. His Unit 70 Studios is one in a proud line
COMMENTS
Readers embraced the Fall Arts Issue, which probably set a record for the most Columbus Monthly pages (36) in a single issue dedicated to the arts. (We will let Max Brown, Herb Cook Jr. or Ray Paprocki complain if we are wrong about that.) The September book was graced by the outstanding work of photo editor Tim Johnson and freelance writer Peter Tonguette, a longtime Columbus arts writer. Peter wrote about 10 “titans” of Columbus jazz; introduced readers to the new CEO of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra; updated us on how the Contemporary Theatre of Ohio is doing as it turns 40, leaving behind its old name of CATCO; and helped us get to know Jazz Arts Group CEO Katy Coy. Coy reached out to Peter to share her
of Columbus-based horror production companies. In Randy’s story (Page 22), Bruns has a wonderful way of connecting Bigfoot and Halloween. He believes the ancient fall celebration was a way for people in the northern hemisphere to embrace and process their fears as darkness fell on the year. Would there be enough food to last the winter? Would the season be one of abundance or starvation? Similarly, Bruns says the dual fondness for/ frightened by response to Bigfoot is a projection of how we feel in the very big, supremely unpredictable universe: Chaotic and destructive, or benevolent and creative?
It’s October, the time of year when the harvest dwindles to dry reeds, night overtakes day and many of us begin to reflect on the previous year and how we can repent, be better and do better. The veil between the seen and the unseen grows thin, friends. Let’s dance around the fire—and try not to be too afraid of who might be watching from the woods.
praise: “I wanted to send a note of thanks for the beautiful pages dedicated to Byron, me, and other Jazz Arts Group musicians in the September magazine. We are so proud and humbled to be part of it and have gotten tons of compliments. Your support of JAG and the arts is so appreciated. Thank you for telling our stories!”
Likewise, Peter and Tim heard from jazz drummer Jim Rupp, who is part of the Ohio State University School of Music. “I just wanted to send you both a note to say thanks for the amazing job on the recent jazz article! The interviews were great and the photos spectacular! I very much felt honored to be included. It really is a tight knit community of musicians, and hopefully your feature gets folks out to hear the music we all love!”
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 residents propose a plan for the city’s controversial namesake statue.
By Zach Trabitz
When Kimberly Danielle began organizing community meetings to discuss Christopher Columbus’ legacy, she quickly realized the process would be complex. However, the community engagement director for Reimagining Columbus didn’t let this deter her, or her team, from trying.
“When talking about [Christopher] Columbus, people sometimes have to set aside their personal perspectives, since there are many realities happening at once,” Danielle says of the community group’s quest to reframe how the Italian explorer’s legacy is honored in his namesake Ohio city. “That can get messy. But, the best human-centered work is messy, and people try to avoid messy work. That’s just what it looks like if you’re going to try and honor the human being in someone.”
Christopher Columbus, known for his 15th-century voyage to the Americas, has a complex history that has been criticized in recent decades. Some, particularly activists from Native American communities, view the celebration of Columbus as a valorization of colonialism. Others, including some Italian Americans, view him as an important symbol of their acceptance in a country where they historically were the victims of discrimination.
In 2020, amid calls from community groups and racial justice activists, Columbus officials removed the city’s namesake statue, which had been subjected to vandalism, from outside City Hall. Now, five years later, Reimagining Columbus has finalized proposals to update the art at City Hall and recontextualize the Columbus statue within a proposed park, which is envisioned taking a spiral shape around a community gathering space.
“This whole project was about helping people understand their feelings,” says
Front & Center | Community
Shelly Corbin, a member of the Lakota Nation and Reimagining Columbus’ Indigenous engagement specialist. “Ultimately, we wanted to cultivate a space where instead of the conversation being exclusively about the statue, it was also about connecting people with themselves and the natural world.”
Amanda Golden, managing principal and co-founder of Designing Local, the arts and culture planning firm behind Reimagining Columbus, said now that the proposals are finished, it is up to Columbus’ government to carry the project forward. The city’s elected officials must decide whether and how to secure funding and find a location for the proposed park.
The park is designed at 5 acres and near the Scioto River, though the group did not identify a specific site. The Columbus statue would be within the park, and a trail of panels with art and text would lead to it.
The work of Reimagining Columbus was funded by a $2 million grant by the Mellon Foundation’s Monument Project, which aims, in part, to create solutions
to problems faced by cities reckoning with complex historical figures. The city of Columbus itself was the recipient of the grant, but Designing Local wrote the grant and was selected to manage it.
Golden said the $2 million was used to hire experts such as community engagement facilitators, architects, planners, videographers and photographers, and more. Funds supported events with educational and engagement opportunities for the public, the creation of a City Hall Art Plan and a “generational vision” for the Columbus statue. Reimagining Columbus will need to finish its work by October, when the grant expires.
Messy Conversations
In 2020, shortly after the Columbus statue was removed, a group called the Statue Committee was convened by the city and included members from the Italian American community, the Indigenous community, the Black community, city representatives and other stakeholders. After Designing Local was brought on, the original committee was dissolved, with some members joining the new
Photos by Tim Johnson
Reimagining Columbus Advisory Board. Members of the board include Corbin, who led nature walks for people to better understand Indigenous perspectives. “In the Indigenous knowledge world, we are the flowers and we are the trees. We have a relationship with living beings,” Corbin says. The walks were “an opportunity for
Four options for displaying the Christopher Columbus statue
unity, which was the whole point of the advisory team.”
The Columbus statue was a gift to the city from Genoa, Italy, in 1955. James Sisto, a member of the Columbus Italian Club and an Italian representative for the advisory board, says the statue was a symbol of Italian solidarity with Columbus’ immigrant Italian community. Sisto says while he respects the other viewpoints that were brought up throughout the advisory board’s conversations, he views the decision to remove the statue from City Hall as an unfair attack on the Italian-American community.
“A member of the original committee said, ‘I don’t want to walk down the main street of Columbus and look up and see this towering figure that, to me, represents horrible things,’ ” Sisto says. “If that’s what it represents to him … I don’t agree with it, but I have to respect it. But, is there some other way to mix Columbus in with other things, and not to bury him off to the wilderness?”
Columbus is not the only city reckoning with these histories. In St. Louis’ Tower Grove Park, a statue of Christopher Columbus began to be questioned in 2019. A task force was formed similar to the one in Columbus. In 2020, the statue was removed with little public explanation. Bill Reininger, the park’s execu-
tive director, said the statue was removed because it was no longer being seen for its original intent and had become a target of controversy during 2020’s racial justice protests. The park removed it to protect the statue and people.
Unlike in Columbus, Reininger said there are no plans to reinstall St. Louis’ Christopher Columbus statue. “I think before we would decide to replace it, there would have to be a larger conversation within the community,” Reininger says.
As for Columbus in Ohio, Danielle says one of the biggest takeaways from the process was how complex people’s relationships with Christopher Columbus’ history are. Ultimately, the city’s decision to continue with Reimagining Columbus project will take bravery, she says. “It was a beautiful, messy story. … For the future, will our city and the leadership in the city be brave enough to see and actualize the perfection and imperfection? That’s what I think is, for me, the big question.”
Corbin says the city’s decision about the statue will be a reflection of its trajectory. “It will be very telling on how [the city] handles this project. And we’ll all be watching,” she says. “Is our city going to become more connected in this community vision or not?” ◆
Josh Lapp of Designing Local at Whetstone Park
Kimberly Danielle
Looking Ahead
Gateway Film Center leaders are optimistic for the independent theater’s future amid industry uncertainty and a national search for a new president.
By Peter Tonguette | Photos by Tim Johnson
When a movie is compared with a rollercoaster ride, it’s generally considered a good thing. For the movie theater industry, however, a rollercoaster ride is less than ideal, but that’s just what it’s felt like in recent times.
From the profusion of at-home streaming options to the reduced output of content in the wake of the 2023 industry labor strikes to the shifting audience habits after COVID-19, movie theaters of all sizes have struggled to get anywhere close to capacity.
“It’s the hardest time since I’ve been associated with the business,” says Chris Hamel, the outgoing president and programmer of the Gateway Film Center, the independently operated, nonprofit theater near Ohio State University. Hamel also is stepping down as CEO of the Gateway Film Foundation.
At the end of October, Hamel plans to move on from the film center he has
run since 2009. His successor had not been hired as of press time, but Hamel says he would not be departing if he was not confident the organization is in OK shape. He characterizes the business as stable right now, especially when compared to the aftermath of the pandemic.
Even so, Hamel’s departure comes at a critical juncture as the film center reckons with a challenging and ever-changing landscape.
“As long as I’ve been involved, it’s been a tough business,” says longtime Gateway board member Amanda Hoffsis. “I don’t think that’s going to change and get easy all of a sudden.”
A Tumultuous Legacy
As Hamel sees it, the challenges accelerated when theaters throughout the nation transitioned from exhibiting 35mm prints of movies to digital presentations,
which were about on par with many home theater setups, in the early 2010s.
“[That] had a really unexpected impact on sales that I think is more dramatic than even streaming channels,” Hamel says.
The theater had struggled under previous owners and operators long before it adopted its nonprofit model. The location opened in 2005 under the ownership of Campus Partners, the real estate development organization for the university, and the management of the then-owners of Bexley’s Drexel Theatre. Within a few years, national chain Landmark Theatres took over. Neither stint proved successful.
“The theater was losing about $1 million to $1.5 million every year,” says Hamel, who attributes part of the problem to the film center’s location. While the theater’s proximity to Ohio State was attractive, a reliance on student
The Torpedo Room at the Gateway Film Center
ticket-buyers was unrealistic. “For about a third of the year, the primary population of the University District moves away—they go home,” he says.
When the third iteration of the theater space, the Gateway Film Center, opened for business in 2009, Hamel aimed to replicate a film festival atmosphere where moviegoers can regularly choose between big-budget movies, acclaimed art film releases, cult flicks or films straight from the festival circuit. Over time, the film center says that it has broadened its audience base, with Ohio State students, faculty and staff today making up only about 20 percent of ticket buyers.
The film center also has committed to repertory programming that focuses on important historical films, including an ambitious Pioneers of African American Cinema” series in early 2023 and the popular Hitchcocktober selection of chillers by the eponymous director each October.
Hamel says revenue improved 67 percent in the first year of the Gateway Film Center, which, in a bid for long-term sustainability, moved to nonprofit status in 2015. Without such a move, he says, the theater likely would have ceased operations amid the pandemic downturn.
Today, about 50 percent of the theater’s revenue is derived from ticket sales, concession and bar sales, and rental bookings; the other half is drawn from individual donors and support from entities like the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Columbus Foundation.
Creating a Community of Cinephiles
The film center also introduced a membership program—enrollees can attend unlimited screenings for a starting monthly fee of $14.95. Although the theater has grown that program from about 75 members to close to 3,000 members, Hamel says its impact goes beyond numbers. As he sees it, the program fosters a community of cinephiles that will help the film center in the long run.
“The average MyGFC member sees four to five movies a month, and the national average [is] four to five movies a year,” he says.
The film center’s restaurant and bar, the Torpedo Room, recently underwent a design overhaul, and the area once available to all moviegoers was made exclusive to members to foster that feeling of community. (Members can bring a non-member guest.)
“We’re seeing a little turbulence in the nonprofit sector, especially in the arts sector, nationally right now,” says Hoffsis, who is CEO of Campus Partners. If audience support for some of the film center’s more adventuresome programming dips, the film center can pivot to bigger studio releases, she says.
Film center attendance is between 60 and 65 percent of what peak attendance was prior to the pandemic—and Hamel doesn’t see that changing dramatically. “We may wander into 70 [or] 75 percent, but that’s probably about where it’ll max out,” he says. That means the theater is going to have to continue to rely on fundraising instead of ticket sales.
Along the way, though, the film center has acquired a reputation among its peers.
Stephanie Silverman, the executive director of the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee, says the Gateway Film Center is a leader in exhibition.
“It’s definitely considered one of the best film houses in the country,” says Silverman, whose venue also operates as a nonprofit. “The hangout place that it is [is] exactly what you want to have in a vital city like Columbus.”
Gateway board chairman Larry James says while Hamel’s institutional knowledge and relationship building are unmatched, he is optimistic about the national search for a new Gateway leader. The film center has cast a wide net, and James is open to the new CEO being someone with a film background or “a
more business-model person.” The new executive also is likely to inherit a unionized workforce; officials say the Gateway Film Foundation is negotiating with Gateway Film Center United, AFSCME Local 281, on a first contract.
When reflecting on the future of moviegoing, James is encouraged by the broad appeal of the art form itself.
“There’s a home for everyone at our Gateway,” he says. ◆
Gateway Film Center
Chris Hamel
Front & Center | Everyday Kindness Heroes
Final Moments Made Beautiful
Dr. Nellie Wilbers comforts animals in their final days, helping families say goodbye.
By Sophia Veneziano
When veterinarian Dr. Nellie Wilbers first heard of Lap of Love—a veterinary hospice and in-home euthanasia team—on a podcast interviewing the organization’s co-founder, Dr. Mary Gardner, she got goosebumps and knew it was something she wanted to do.
While the organization has been operating in Central Ohio for nine years, many still don’t know it exists, Wilbers says. Born and raised in Columbus herself, she celebrates eight years with Lap of Love in October.
Wilbers says she loves not only pets but also their people. With a specialty in animal behavior, she treats animal hospice care with intentionality and euthanasia with dignity. When talking about a process of letting go that, for most pet owners, is one of the hardest days of their lives, Wilbers says she works to provide care to pets and support to their owners.
“Most people don’t know it’s a thing, but once they experience in-home euthanasia, they’re like, ‘There’s really no other way to do this,’ ” she says. “There’s no better place than home.”
While the vast majority of the appointments she takes are for in-home euthanasia, Lap of Love also offers hospice support for pets. Wilbers explains endof-life care can go on for months and is focused on quality of life: prescribing medications addressing pain, appetite or nausea, and providing advice on how to modify the home for extra needs.
In many cases, hospice care extends the animal’s life.
Dr. Colleen Shockling is a friend, colleague and client of Wilbers. With the help of the hospice services Wilbers provided, she was able to have more time with her Great Dane mix, Tritium.
“The care that she gives is incredible.
She puts her whole entire heart and soul into her job.
“The euthanasia she did for Tritium was the most beautiful, incredible euthanasia I’ve ever been part of. ... It was just a beautiful moment with my dog and my partner, and Nellie made that happen.”
Other times, however, Wilbers first meets with pets in their last 24 to 48 hours. In these cases, she says, what people need is someone telling them it’s OK to say goodbye.
When asked about the emotional toll of being with a pet’s family members on such a dark day in their lives, she laughs. “I get that question every day. People
are like, ‘Your job sucks. How do you do this?’ ”
She answers her own question.
“It is hard. But what keeps me going is just what an honor it is to be able to share in those sacred moments with families,” she says. “It’s beautiful work that I love. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” ◆
This article was made possible by the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which partners with Columbus Monthly to showcase kindness in the community. Help us by suggesting kindness profiles to Reporter Sophia Veneziano at sveneziano@dispatch.com. Learn more at ColumbusMonthly.com/Kindness.
BY
Dr. Nellie Wilbers
PHOTO
TIM JOHNSON
2025 Celebration of Philanthropy Award Honorees CONGRATULATIONS
2025 HARRISON M. SAYRE AWARD
The Edwards Family
The Harrison M. Sayre Award, given in honor of The Columbus Foundation’s founder and 25-year volunteer director, recognizes leadership in philanthropy in central Ohio.
2025 COLUMBUS FOUNDATION AWARD
ProMusica Chamber Orchestra
The Columbus Foundation Award recognizes organizations that have made a difference in the quality of life in our community.
Solidarity is Essential
As the Columbus Jewish community experiences a rise in antisemitism, its members ask for support in saying enough is enough.
By Julie Tilson Stanley
As a Jewish woman, I am proud to have been born and raised in Columbus. When I returned to the city six years ago after 25 years away, the city looked and felt different. We had become a big small town filled with great restaurants, religious diversity, and strong cultural and research institutions, neighborhoods and schools. After Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 innocent victims and taking 251 hostages—Columbus felt different again. When things happen in Israel, our Jewish community feels the impact here at home.
Here in Ohio, there were 233 reported antisemitic incidents in 2024, according to the Anti-Defamation League. From hateful rhetoric online to threatening graffiti, to open displays of extremism, the noise of antisemitism feels louder than it has in decades. Sadly, antisemitism impacts all of us. Hate targeted at any group leaves us all on edge, makes us more careful with where we go, and
causes us to rethink how we worship. As the new school year started this year, we learned of a horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, targeting children who had gathered for morning prayer. FBI investigators say the attacker had made antisemitic statements along with expressing messages of hate for other groups.
In November of last year, a neo-Nazi march in the Short North spewing hate against Jews, the African American and LGBTQ communities shook us all. This hate became local and personal.
The outpouring of support was immediate. Interfaith leaders, law enforcement, elected officials, school districts, business owners and neighbors stepped forward to say, “We are with you.” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther called it a “cowardly display.” Clergy across denominations condemned the hate. Law enforcement deepened coordination with our synagogues and institutions.
Our resolve hardened.
While these partnerships might have been built in the wake of pain, we know that convening partners, building coalitions and having honest, sometimes hard, conversations is what truly will combat the hate we all face. Those relationships are now the scaffolding for a safer, more resilient Columbus.
We all have witnessed or know someone who has been the target of hate. It’s no different for your Jewish friends. Stand alongside us when we say enough is enough. Your solidarity is not just comforting—it is essential. Hate is too destructive not to address it together.
There is still so much work to do. But when I look around at the existing partnerships and newly forming ones across our city, I see a Columbus that chooses empathy over division. And that makes me proud to call this city my home. ◆
Julie Tilson Stanley is president and CEO of JewishColumbus.
Julie Tilson Stanley, CEO of JewishColumbus
PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON
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.
Franklin Park Conservatory
Hat Day 2025
Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens held the 24th annual Les Chapeaux dans le Jardin—Hat Day—on May 2. This year’s event featured a runway show highlighting 12 local floral designers. Led by White Castle’s Ingram family and event co-chairs Maryann Kelley, Erin Shannon and Meg Kelley, the program honored Tom Katzenmeyer of the Greater Columbus Arts Council. The event raised over $495,000 to support the conservatory’s education programs.
1 Emily Toney, Shannon Morgan, Kelly Stevelt and Chad Jester 2 Becca Scacchetti, Randy Siegel, Bonnie Upp and Julie Arguelles 3 Kristie Nicolosi Lagos and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty 4 Danielle Sydnor and Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor 5 Remi Wörtmeyer, Sue Porter and Malcolm Rock
6 Kristen Rost, Melissa Nail and Julie Maitino 7 Mary and Tom Katzenmeyer
8 Rosetta Brown, Jessica Sullivan and Alyvia Johnson 9 Gayle Saunders and Rhonda Burns
Contemporary Theatre of Ohio’s 40th Anniversary Celebration
The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio celebrated 40 years of bringing professional, locally produced live theater to Columbus at an event held March 29 at the Riffe Center Studio Theatres. With 160 guests in attendance, the evening raised more than $84,000 to support the theater company and featured performances from local artists, speeches from Contemporary staff, and raffle and auction items.
1 Ed and Chasity Hofmann with Lisa and Philip Kessler 2 Leda Hoffmann, Jeff Keyes, Blythe Coons and Christy Farnbauch 3 Mary Gray and Chiquita Mullins Lee 4 Kenneth Eaddy, Earth Jallow and Dominic Ali 5 Sarah Song and Jami Goldstein 6 Mike Davis and Maureen Metcalf 7 Shiloh Todorov, Michelle Moskowitz Brown and Jackie Davis
8 Christopher Green and Rachel Rinehardt
9 Adrienne Williams and Lauren Emond
Bigfoot sculpture outside the Eco-Discovery Center at Salt Fork State Park
Searching for Bigfoot in Salt Fork State Park
The new Eco-Discovery Center at Salt Fork State Park introduces visitors to the legendary cryptid, who just may have a home there.
By Randy Edwards | Photos by Tim Johnson
Anew Eco-Discovery Center at Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County opened on April 22—Earth Day, naturally, but also conveniently in time for the annual Ohio Bigfoot Conference in early May. The event draws thousands of cryptozoologists and Bigfoot hunters to the park to swap stories, scrutinize trail camera photos and compare plaster casts of footprints.
Yes, Bigfoot is big at Salt Fork, and the cryptid’s persistent popularity is evident in the interpretive displays at the new nature center, where a cheerful cartoon Bigfoot offers advice on walking light on the land. Heather Bokman, sustainability coordinator for the parks and watercraft division of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, explains:
“Bigfoot has big feet but his [ecological] footprint is actually very small,” she says during a pre-opening tour. “He practices recycling and keeping the park clean, conserving energy and water.”
That’s pitch perfect for the youthful audience the nature center is aiming to influence and entertain, but if you believe the stories, the hairy beast has been seen or heard dozens of times at Salt Fork, making dogs howl and frightening visitors enough to make them flee in the middle of the night, leaving their camping gear behind.
Adam Sikora, the park’s general manager, acknowledged the park’s claim to fame by leading me to a representation of Bigfoot that isn’t a cartoon: a hulking model standing silent and hairy in a sunlit corner of the exhibit space.
“Can’t go through [the exhibit] without seeing the actual life-sized Bigfoot here,” Sikora says.
Wait. Life-sized? The Bigfoot effigy at Salt Fork is a little less than 8 feet tall and barrel chested, with long arms ending in fingertips that nearly reach his knees. His glassy eyes are fixed in the near distance beneath his prominent brow.
But who’s to say that it’s life-sized? Who decides the physical stature or proportions of—dare we say it—a figment
of folklore? How do you determine the life-sized measurements of a creature whose place on the evolutionary tree can be found only by searching a taxonomic forest altogether separate from the one where Homo sapiens exist, not to mention any animal actually described by science? Is Bigfoot bigger than the Mothman? Smaller than the Yeti?
I asked that exact question and was sent to the model’s creator, Bo Bruns.
The owner of Unit 70 Studios, an industry leader in creating both static and animatronic props for haunted houses and amusement parks, Bruns is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design. He can usually be found in his warehouse-sized prop shop out by John Glenn Columbus International Airport, busily creating hand-crafted terror, one monster at a time.
His answer to the question “How do you know what a Bigfoot looks like?” was straightforward and reasonable: He consulted with the eyewitnesses.
Visiting a Very Squatchy Place
Salt Fork, about 90 miles due east of Downtown, is Ohio’s largest state park, with about 20,000 acres of forested land and water sprawling over rolling Appalachian foothills. No one knows who first
Salt Fork State Park naturalist John Hickenbottom shows his Bigfoot tattoo.
Salt Fork State Park naturalist John Hickenbottom at the Eco-Discovery Center
reported an unidentified hulking hominid at Salt Fork, but it’s generally agreed that the infamy of the park as a center of Bigfoot activity was solidified in 2012, when Animal Planet’s popular reality television show, Finding Bigfoot, aired an episode titled Buckeye Bigfoot. The episode focused on the large number of reported encounters at the park.
Later that same year, USA Today named Salt Fork one of the “Top 10 ‘Squatchiest’ Places” in the U.S. And also that year, John Hickenbottom became the naturalist at Salt Fork. Hickenbottom, who grew up in Eastern Ohio’s Appalachian region and had hunted and fished all his life in and around Salt Fork, fielded plenty of Bigfoot questions in his early years on the job. Then, as it did for so many other aspects of our daily lives, the coronavirus pandemic changed everything.
“In 2020 we stopped doing public engagement for a while, and I was looking for things to do. We started doing these five minute creature features,” Hickenbottom says. The short videos, featuring snakes and birds and pollinators, were popular enough on social media, drawing a few hundred views each and helping to feed the public’s lockdown-inspired interest in the outdoors.
Then, to mark Halloween in 2020, Hickenbottom made a video featuring an unexpected denizen of Ohio’s forests—Bigfoot—and he played it as straight as he would have a lecture about owls. (Or, as he says, “without the wink.”) The feature proved to be so popular that ODNR made a series of Bigfoot stories the following March, which eventually drew 1.5 million views and remain among the most popular videos on the ODNR YouTube site, he says. “And I was happy with my box turtle video getting 300 views. Things got very weird after that. Good weird, but weird.”
Although it generates gentle ribbing from staff biologists and other naturalists, Hickenbottom leaned into the Bigfoot story at Salt Fork.
An exhibit at Salt Fork shows the size of reported Bigfoot feet
Bigfoot sculpture created by Bo Bruns
His Instagram profile starts with “The Bigfoot Naturalist,” he sports a tattoo of the beast and leads monthly, family-friendly Bigfoot hikes at Salt Fork.
Salt Fork is heavily visited by campers, equestrians, hikers and boaters, so it may be a stretch to suggest that it’s the sort of remote wilderness typically imagined when one thinks of the Pacific Northwest habitat most commonly featured in Sasquatch tales. Yet the park is also surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of other natural areas. The Wilds (at roughly 10,000 acres), Jesse Owens State Park and the Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area (about 50,000 acres combined) and Woodbury Wildlife Area (nearly 20,000 acres) are all within 40 miles of Salt Fork.
At Salt Fork, park leadership has also embraced the Bigfoot narrative, naming its primitive campgrounds “Bigfoot Ridge” and choosing a Bigfoot theme for its new, $4.9 million, 3,332-squarefoot Eco-Discovery Center. The airy, well-lighted space features all the things you’d expect from a modern environmental education center: solar panels, a green roof, LED-lighting and interactive exhibits highlighting the inter-connectedness of nature, along with other conservation messages.
And Bigfoot. The theme is carried out throughout the center, inside and out, from the greeting at the entrance to the “Take the Pledge” opportunity at the end, where visitors can have their photo taken with Bigfoot, pledging to keep their environment cleaner.
A Local Creep Creator
It might seem just a wee bit off message that, when choosing someone to create the more “realistic” Bigfoot model for the center, the park system turned to Bo Bruns and Unit 70 studios, a company whose primary commodity is terror. A walk through the shop on Columbus’ East Side is like paging through a catalogue of nightmares populated by bloodied corpses, vampires and zombies, demons and deranged clowns. Even Bruns, who created the company more than two decades ago, admits it’s “a little creepy” to turn out the lights when you’re the last one out the door at night.
Bruns says his love for creating creatures draws on iconic popular media from his 1970s childhood. The original Star Wars, especially the cantina scene, “ignited a fire in me” for modeling
BIGFOOT COUNTRY TIPS
A GUIDE TO WHERE TO STAY AND WHAT TO DO IN GUERNSEY COUNTY
Thinking of making a Bigfoot expedition of your own? The center of outdoor recreation, lodging and dining at Salt Fork State Park is, of course, the park itself. With over 17,000 acres of mostly forested land and almost 3,000 acres of open water, Salt Fork is more than a popular attraction for Bigfoot enthusiasts. It’s also an ideal destination for hiking, camping, fishing, boating, waterskiing, horseback riding and golf. Park officials estimate these attractions draw around 750,000 visitors a year, with 52,580 overnight stays in 2024.
More than half those nights were in the campgrounds, among the busiest in Ohio’s state park system, which offer more than 200 sites with electricity, many within sight of water. For less rustic accommodations, try one of the 148 guest rooms or 53 fully furnished two-bedroom cabins at Salt Fork Lodge and Conference Center
The lodge restaurant, Timbers, is the place to go year-round for a view of Salt Fork Lake through its floor-to-ceiling windows. Follow the signs to the lodge as well if you’re interested in playing the par-71 golf course, 18 holes spread over 250 acres of forested hills. Boaters can find launch areas, boat rentals and food service at one of the two park marinas.
The park is about seven miles from the I-77 interchange on I-70. Take I-77 north to U.S. Route 22 east and follow the signs to the park. On the way, get off the interstate to fuel up with breakfast at Angie’s Roadside Diner (and take some of their homemade pies home for later), 3394 Glenn Hwy. And just before the park entrance, stop by Stillion Center Market, 11790 Cadiz Road, to stock up on Amish meat and cheese, ice, firewood and other camp supplies.
What to do outside of the park
Salt Fork is about half an hour’s drive from Cambridge and 40 minutes from Coshocton, offering plenty of opportunities for turning your Bigfoot excursion into a multi-day visit.
Dining
In Coshocton, popular restaurants include Sorrell’s on the Square, 119 N. 3rd St., Warehouse Steak and Stein, 400 N. Whitewoman St. (located within a historic warehouse building in Roscoe Village) and the Boathouse Tavern, 51 Pine St.
Cambridge likes its beef: Try Central Station Steak and Ale, 2281 Central Ave., or Bear’s Den Steakhouse, 13320 E. Pike Road. For casual fare visit Theo’s Restaurant, 632 Wheeling Ave.
For an alternative to lakeside dining at Salt Fork, the Dockside Restaurant at Seneca Lake at 16592 Lashley Road in Senecaville is about 40 minutes away and is popular with Seneca Lake summer people as well as tourists
Visitors to Stillion Center Market on the way to Salt Fork State Park are greeted by a Bigfoot sculpture.
year-round, who come for the barbecue and the ice cream.
Lodging
Coshocton Village Inn and Suites offers a free breakfast, an indoor pool, and frequently offers packages that include tickets to Roscoe Village or local wineries. Or try The Roscoe, a 15room two-story motel located at the edge of Historic Roscoe Village.
Attractions and Shopping
Cambridge is well known for its glassmaking a century ago, and the National Museum of Cambridge Glass, 136 S. 9th St., is a place to view 10,000 pieces of Cambridge glass and shop for glassware and glass jewelry. It’s open primarily April–October, but there are special holiday hours in the weeks leading up to the winter holidays, when Downtown Cambridge is transformed into a Victorian-era holiday attraction called Dickens’ Victorian Village
In its 20th season this year, the Dickens event runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 30, when the city’s historic 19th
century downtown brings 1850s London to the National Road. Local artists create scenes and shops are open for holiday shopping.
Coshocton’s Historic Roscoe Village brings to life a 19th-century port town along the bustling Ohio and Erie Canal. Watch costumed tradespeople do their work as printing press operators, broom squires, weavers and teachers, or take a canal boat ride.
Coshocton is also the hub of the Three Rivers Wine Trail, an experience created by the proximity of seven wineries and a brewery all within a scenic drive around Coshocton’s hills. Wine lovers can taste Ohio wines at a California-style bar, in a converted flour mill, or a big yellow barn.
And if your efforts to find Bigfoot don’t pan out, and you’re still looking for adventures with wild animals, visit The Wilds, the 10,000-acre conservation center and safari park in nearby Cumberland, where visitors can see giraffes, rhinos, cheetahs, bison and camels from open-air buses.
beings that come from the fringes of the imagination, he says. And his boyhood brain readily soaked up a wide range of paranormal and fantastical tales while watching Leonard Nimoy host the television series In Search of... .
“I’ve always had an interest in cryptids, UFOs, any kind of unexplained things,’ Bruns says. “I guess it lends itself to this art form.”
While still a student at CCAD, Bruns worked for the ScareFactory, another Columbus-based horror prop shop. In 2003, after helping ScareFactory install a haunted house at the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles, Bruns decided to launch his own business. Since then, his company has supplied a menagerie of creepy, frightening and disturbing static and animatronic props and models to haunted houses and amusement parks across the country, including some popular Ohio attractions like Blood Prison in Mansfield.
The Bigfoot work came later, after Unit 70 was well established and Bruns had some time to indulge his interest in the outdoors, camping and hiking and kayaking throughout Ohio. He’d already heard about Ohio’s growing population of Bigfoot enthusiasts, partly through talking with a friend, Bucky Cutright, founder and co-owner of Columbus Ghost Tours and author of Haunted Cemeteries of Ohio. Cutright, who had started his business leading haunted tavern crawls for friends, was growing interested in the Bigfoot audience, and was ever happy to share Bigfoot lore with his pals.
“I had heard of people claiming to see Bigfoot in Ohio but never took it seriously until I began talking with Bucky,” Bruns says.
One day, while hiking at Salt Fork, Bruns was inspired to create a “a realistic recreation of what people claim to see.”
He was hooked on Bigfoot.
What ‘Finding Bigfoot’ Really Looks Like Bruns has spent a career tapping into the psyches of audiences that love horror, and plenty of time with Bigfoot enthusiasts. They are similar, he says, but there are fundamental differences.
“I think, when it comes to Halloween and horror, it’s a way for humans to deal with their own fears,” he says. “That’s why Halloween is in that time of year when winter is approaching, and I think
Bigfoot apron for sale at Stillion Center Market
Salt Fork Lodge and Conference Center
Timbers restaurant at Salt Fork Lodge and Conference Center
about how it must have been back then, at night when the sun went down it was just dark, and as winter approached you knew that you were going to be spending the majority of your time in the dark.
“Halloween was a way for people to embrace their fears. Instead of dreading this darkness, to embrace and process it.”
He adds, “but with Bigfoot and the other cryptids, it’s more a manifestation of people’s feeling about the natural world. Nature is this big powerful thing that we hope is benevolent. It can make us feel really good and inspired, but nature can be very unforgiving and scary, too.
“Bigfoot also reflects our hope that the world isn’t as small as it feels sometimes, with all of our modern technology. It’s kind of this hope that we don’t know everything, and there are things out there that are waiting to be discovered.”
When he decided to move into the Bigfoot modeling business, Bruns developed relationships with members of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, a virtual community of Bigfoot enthusiasts that tracks Bigfoot sightings throughout North America and leads expeditions in search of evidence to support the existence of an animal not known to science that lurks in the forests throughout the continent.
Founded by Matt Moneymaker, one of the Finding Bigfoot hosts, the organization has a database of all the cryptid encounters collected since its launch
in 1995. Bruns went into the field with members of the organization, and although he never saw Bigfoot, he learned a lot about Bigfoot lore and had a lot of fun.
“I love hiking and camping. Any excuse to be out in the woods at night is fun, especially when people have night vision goggles and all kinds of crazy stuff.”
The group also gave Bruns access to the database, and he spent hours poring over stories of people hearing things, seeing things, or otherwise sensing things that they felt couldn’t be explained by mainstream zoology.
They include several locations at Salt Fork, including Morgan’s Knob, Parker Road and the Bigfoot Ridge primitive campground (the site of a Today Show episode focused on Bigfoot).
Bucky Cutright knows several of those stories. He has spent some time at Salt Fork, collecting stories to share with his ghost-tour patrons.
“In July 2023, a couple came out here [to Salt Fork] because of its reputation,” he begins. After dark, one of them banged a stick against a tree, creating a “wood knock” believed to be a form of Bigfoot communication. “After that, they started hearing whoops coming from the woods and their dog was acting erratically. At 1 a.m., the woman woke up to the sound of footsteps outside the tent. After the footsteps retreated, she opened the
Salt Fork State Park naturalist John Hickenbottom, who has popularized Bigfoot at the park.
Columbus Ghost Tours co-owner
Bucky Cutright
tent and shines a flashlight out and she saw two yellow eyes in the wood line and a figure she described as larger than her boyfriend, who was a 6-foot-5 guy.” The nocturnal visitor walked into the woods, “and the couple ran to their truck and left their tent and retreated, quite disturbed and traumatized.”
Cutright is a storyteller by trade, and believes that the Bigfoot stories bring people closer to nature, and to one another.
“It brings people to nature and becomes part of the culture through storytelling, which makes our lives all the richer, you know? Whether Bigfoot exists or not, the notion of Bigfoot is a very powerful thing.”
Building a Believable Beast
In developing his first Bigfoot model, Bruns said the most important—and trickiest—part was the face. Many people who say they’ve seen Bigfoot say the face is quite human; many more say the beast has ape-like features. So he tried to create a face “that some would see as human-like and others would see as animal-like.” And indeed, his models all share a visage sort of like one of the shimmering tilt-cards that show one image when looked at straight on, and a different image when looked at from a slightly different angle.
After the face, there is the hair. Hair, not fur. He uses the same material used for hair extensions. The color varies, because the reports vary, from brown to black to a silvery gray.
And then there is the height. “Many reports suggest that what they saw was 9-to-10 feet tall. Respectfully, I have to say that kind of stretches the boundaries of believability,” Bruns says. “Of course, if someone actually sees a giant, hairy monster in the woods, your perception of it is probably larger than life.”
Beyond the plausibility, there is the very practical issue that very few rooms can fit a 10-foot cryptid. But he knew it had to be taller than most people. “If people go in there and Bigfoot is shorter than they are, they’re going to be disappointed.”
The Bigfoot model at Salt Fork is only one of several Unit 70 Bigfoot effigies. Bruns has created and sold them to Bigfoot museums in Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and the Bigfoot museum in Oregon founded by Cliff Barackman, another of the Finding Bigfoot hosts.
“We’re getting pretty well known for being the place to go for realistic Bigfoots.”
Bigfoot or Bear?
It’s true, Hickenbottom says, that most Bigfoot reports turn out to be something far more ordinary. The call of a barred owl, the howl of a coyote, a glimpse of another human in the distant woods. But in reading the thousands of accounts in the database, Bruns was struck by the similarity of the stories and how few strayed into the realm of the supernatural or fantastical.
“Nobody is saying they saw a UFO touch down and a Bigfoot stepped out. Nothing like that,” Bruns says. “The vast majority of them seem to be reasonable. And you do see patterns, a lot of people who claim to see Bigfoot at the same time and in the same area. And these people don’t know each other. So, they’re definitely seeing something. I don’t know if it’s a black bear they’re misinterpreting or what? But it’s pretty compelling.”
That a number of Bigfoot sightings could actually be black bear views is plausible, at least based on an analysis by Floe Foxon, a Pittsburgh-based researcher and data analyst who recently compared the data from the Bigfoot field researchers with black bear censuses in North America and found a statistically significant relationship between bear populations and Bigfoot sightings.
Black bears are on the rise in Ohio, with 285 sightings reported in 2022, the highest number since the animals were extirpated from the state in the 1800s. The home range for a male black bear averages 100 to 120 square miles, and young males wander far and wide in search of mates. They can and sometimes do stand on their hind legs. They are most commonly sighted in eastern parts of the state and, although it seems it would be hard to mistake their snout-forward faces and rounded ears for Bigfoot, it’s important to remember that in 1493, Christopher Columbus’ report of three mermaids off the coast of Haiti turned out to be the first recorded sighting of manatees by European Americans.
In the end, says Hickenbottom, it doesn’t really matter whether there is physical proof of Bigfoot. For thousands of people, the hairy beast is as real as any other animal in Ohio’s woods, most of which they also haven’t seen.
“ ‘Is Bigfoot real’ is a difficult question because it all depends on how objective your reality is,” Hickenbottom says. “If you mean, ‘is Bigfoot a flesh-and-blood animal that we can go to a museum and see,’ if that’s your only definition of real, then maybe not.
“For me, when something is part of our collective shared experience like that, when it’s so ingrained in our collective subconscious, it makes it real already. Finding a Bigfoot body would be icing on the cake.” ◆
Bo Bruns, owner of Unit 70 Studios, with a Bigfoot he designed.
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Senior Living Directory 2025
These 91 communities across Central Ohio offer various levels of care for yourself or a loved one.
Wesley Glen
Central Ohio has a wealth of retirement and senior communities spanning a full continuum of care. Here are 91 options across the region to suit a variety of needs, whether you seek independent living, skilled nursing or something in between.
ABBINGTON ASSISTED LIVING abbingtononline.com
Abbington of Arlington Assisted Living
1320 Old Henderson Road, Columbus; 614-451-4575; AL
Abbington of Pickerington Assisted Living
9480 Blacklick-Eastern Road, Pickerington; 614-577-0822; AL
Abbington of Powell Assisted Living 3971 Bradford Court, Powell; 614-789-9868; AL
ALPINE HOUSE
alpinehouse.net
Alpine House of Columbus 1001 Schrock Road, Columbus; 866-468 7302; AL
KEY
IL – independent living units
AL – assisted living units
MC – memory care units
SN – skilled nursing units
AMBER PARK SENIOR LIVING amberparkseniorliving.com
401 Hill Road N., Pickerington; 614-834-3113; AL
ARROW SENIOR LIVING arrowseniorliving.com
Carriage Court Senior Living 3570 Heritage Club Drive, Hilliard; 614-892-7686; AL/MC
BICKFORD SENIOR LIVING bickfordseniorliving.com
Bickford of Bexley
2600 E. Main St., Bexley; 380-333-6746; AL/MC
Bickford of Lancaster 1834 Countryside Drive, Lancaster; 740-901-0912; AL/MC
Bickford of Upper Arlington 3500 Riverside Drive, Columbus; 380-800-6440; AL/MC
Bickford of Worthington
6525 N. High St., Worthington; 614-505-4499; AL/MC
The Bristol 7780 Olentangy River Road, Columbus; 614-886-2818; IL/AL
Cherry Blossom Senior Living 79 Blossom Field Blvd., Columbus; 614-530-7726; IL/AL/MC
The Ashford of Grove City by Wallick Senior Living
At Life Enriching Communities, seniors in life plan communities live with confidence and thrive in community. Our Wesley communities in Columbus offer: Meaningful connections in welcoming neighborhoods. Peace of mind with care that adapts to your needs. A foundation of well-being for mind, body & spirit.
Scan the QR Code to start exploring your future.
Wesley Glen Wesley Ridge
Wesley Woods
The Coventry 3240 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington; 614-967-9697; IL/AL
Dublin Glenn Memory Care 6355 Emerald Parkway, Dublin; 614-761-9200; MC
Ganzhorn Suites 10272 Sawmill Parkway, Powell; 614-356-9810; MC
Middleton Senior Living 1500 Weaver Drive, Granville; 740-587-0059; IL/AL/MC
Life in our communities is full of small joys that make a big difference. From morning chats to evening activities, every day offers new reasons to smile and connect with others.
Ask us about:
+Inviting social spaces for gathering + Delicious, chef-prepared meals
+Spacious, modern living areas
+Caring staff available 24/7
Friendship Woods at Westerwood
Grand of Dublin
4500 John Shields Parkway, Dublin; 614-889-8585; MC/SN
Mill Run Rehabilitation Center
3399 Mill Run Drive, Hilliard; 614-527-3000; AL/SN
Monterey Rehabilitation Center 3929 Hoover Road, Grove City; 614-875-7700; MC/SN
New Albany Rehabilitation Center
5691 Thompson Road, Columbus; 614-855-8866; AL/SN
Riverview at Clintonville 3710 Olentangy River Road, Columbus; 614-457-1100; AL/SN West Park Rehabilitation Center 1700 Heinzerling Drive, Columbus; 614-274-4222; MC/SN
OUR HOME SENIOR LIVING
ourhomesl.com
Cotter House Worthington 800 Proprietors Road, Worthington; 614-896-8700; MC
Our Home New Albany 5055 Thompson Road, Columbus; 614-855-3700; IL/AL
RITTENHOUSE VILLAGE BY DISCOVERY SENIOR LIVING
rittenhousevillages.com
Rittenhouse Village Gahanna 1201 Riva Ridge Court, Gahanna; 614-933-8640; IL
SENIOR STAR
seniorstar.com
Dublin Retirement Village 6470 Post Road, Dublin; 380-205-2393; IL/AL/MC
Harrison on 5th 579 W. Fifth Ave., Columbus; 308-208-1268; IL/AL/MC
STORYPOINT GROUP
storypoint.com
Danbury Senior Living of Columbus 2870 Snouffer Road, Columbus; 614-339-0459; IL/AL/MC
Danbury Westerville – Parkside Village 730 N. Spring Road, Westerville; 614-794-9300; IL/AL/MC
StoryPoint Gahanna Central 775 E. Johnstown Road, Gahanna; 614-541-1792; AL/MC
StoryPoint Gahanna North 5435 Morse Road, Gahanna;
614-924-8144; IL/AL/MC
StoryPoint Grove City 3717 Orders Road, Grove City; 614-532-4385; IL/AL/MC
StoryPoint Pickerington
611 Windmiller Drive, Pickerington; 614-953-5421; IL
The kind of place you’d love to call home. We are a premier assisted living & memory care residence. Each private suite has been designed with optimum comfort, security and privacy. We offer personalized service including: 24-hour resident assistants, on site licensed nurse, three full meals daily, cable TV, electric, gas & water, daily social events & activities, weekly housekeeping and laundry services.
The general store in the heart of Amish Country is a cornucopia of housewares, homesteading supplies and handmade products crafted for living simply.
As the seasons change from summer to fall, a common ritual in Ohio is a road trip to explore changing leaves in the scenic countryside. Have you considered making a day, or even a weekend of it, with a visit to one of the most unique shopping experiences in the Midwest?
Situated less than two hours from Columbus in the heart of Amish Country is Lehman’s, a store and museum-like experience that’s full of thousands of American-made goods that are timeless treasures. The full shopping experience, in fact, is nearly a quarter mile long.
The store was founded 70 years ago by Jay Lehman as a hardware store that sold non-electric household goods to the Amish. Early on, it focused on providing the community with sustainable home heating and food preservation, and products were curated to help peo-
ple who desired a simpler way of living.
The product line grew over the years, and several expansions increased the physical space to 32,000 square feet, including gathering four pre-Civil War era buildings under one soaring roof.
Lehman’s joined HRM Enterprises in 2021, a business owned by the Miller family, who were longtime friends of the founder and his family.
Cornucopia of Goods
So, what’s in store when you visit Lehman’s? It’s a place to embrace the past, from old-fashioned treats and sodas to practical, non-electric goods. As visitors shop and reminisce as they move through the store’s different departments, they also will see Jay’s antique collection throughout the space.
Lehman’s is organized around its different departments: housewares, pantry, garden, hardware, home décor,
non-traditional lighting, Aladdin Museum of Light, candles, laundry and cleaning, apparel, personal care, a toy barn, home heating, appliances, Christmas and antiques.
There’s also the Cast Iron Café in the center of the store for snacks, salads, soups, sandwiches, desserts and specialty drinks. A 200-square-foot “Tiny Homestead” also is on site. A restored buggy barn is used for kids’ activities, seasonal and educational seminars and demonstrations by artisans and musicians.
Some of the items you’ll find at Lehman’s include wood cookstoves, oil lamps, nonelectric toys, housewares, gadgets, 250 different types of cookie cutters, 420 flavors of old-fashioned sodas, 300 different puzzles and 1,150 pocket knives.
Lehman’s “stands for a simpler life, a life that is satisfying, understandable,
sustainable, prepared and comforting.” It has been voted the Best Destination in Amish Country five years in a row.
“I have been shopping online for years and finally got the chance to visit the store last summer,” Joel Salatin writes in a testimonial for Lehman’s website. “I love that they stand for a simpler life, are family owned and operated and are the one-stop shop for homesteaders.”
Zach Coblentz, HRM’s COO, says the store has something for everyone, and visitors come from Ohio, other states and even internationally. Families with young kids enjoy the old-fashioned candy, soda and games, and they often use the store as a place for scavenger hunts. Older customers appreciate the nostalgia of the timeless products they find in the store.
“Customers of all ages appreciate the unique products and also find a visit here to be quite entertaining, with shopping, exploration and fun foods, sweets and beverages as part of the overall experience,” Coblentz says. “It’s a place with so much history and one-of-a-kind experiences along with locally made products and products that are used for both fun and for healthy living.”
Fall Events at Lehman’s Lehman’s also puts on events and demonstrations throughout the year. This includes hosting local artist Paul Weaver on the fourth Saturday of each month so visitors can learn about his deep-relief woodcarvings that are on display at the store. A late September festival featured hands-on demonstrations, children’s crafts and face painting, Flower the balloon artist and delicious food samples.
Stephen Lindenberger, store manager, says there’s so much to see and do that the average length of stay is 80 minutes, and many customers spend three or four hours in the store.
Many visitors make a stop at Lehman’s part of an Ohio vacation where they can also enjoy nearby attractions like Amish home and farm tours, local theater, buggy rides, hiking and biking trails, bed and breakfasts and Amish stores, bakeries and restaurants.
“Lehman’s has become a gathering point for families,” Lindenberger says. “It’s a joy to watch grandmas and grandpas explain to their grandkids
how these old tools are used. It’s also fun to watch the kids light up when the see the toy barn or the buggy barn. For 70 years, this has been a place where families have made memories that are
passed down from generation to generation. The chance to have this kind of unforgettable experience is what continues to bring people back to visit year after year.”
FIVE STAR AWARD WINNERS 2025 COLUMBUS
These days, it takes a village to manage your financial world. Whether it is managing your assets with a wealth manager, or picking the right life insurance, finding the right team can be a daunting task. In fact, many consumers have a hard time figuring out where to even begin.
Sometimes, a few simple questions can put you off on the right path. Asking a professional what makes working with them a unique experience can help you understand how they work and if their style meshes with your own.
This is a great place to start! Five Star Professional uses its own proprietary research methodology to name outstanding professionals, then works with publications such as Columbus Monthly to spread the word about award winners. Each award candidate undergoes a thorough research process (detailed here) before being considered for the final list of award winners. For the complete list of winners, go to www.fivestarprofessional.com/public/research.
Financial Planning
John John Bean
The Financial Solutions Network, LLC
Cory Benton Cook Cox & Cook Wealth Advisors
Brian Joseph Edwards Morgan Stanley
Nicole Edwards
Morgan Stanley Page 2
Jason Eliason
Waller Financial Planning Group, Inc. Page 3
Jason Farris
Waller Financial Planning Group, Inc. Page 3
Russell Fish
Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC/Sandstone Financial Group Page 4
Jeff Gomez G2 Capital Management Page 3
Jaime Lee Goubeaux Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Greg Grabovac G2 Capital Management Page 3
Amy Kelly IGG Wealth Advisors
Katherine Kincaid Waller Financial Planning Group, Inc. Page 3
Andrea L. Nameche Lifetime Financial Growth
Chris Olsgard Waller Financial Planning Group, Inc. Page 3
Andrew Michael Panyik Money Concepts Sunbury
Richard L. Pierce
Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC Page 4
Mark Robert Poulin Morgan Stanley
Heather Lee Powell
Morgan Stanley
Scott Rendle
Waller Financial Planning Group, Inc. Page 3
J’Neanne Mary Theus Theus Wealth Advisors Investments
Stephen G. Daley Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
RESEARCH DISCLOSURES
In order to consider a broad population of high-quality wealth managers and investment professionals, award candidates are identified by one of three sources: firm nomination, peer nomination or prequalification based on industry standing. Self-nominations are not accepted. Columbus-area award candidates were identified using internal and external research data. Candidates do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final lists of Five Star Wealth Managers or Five Star Investment Professionals.
• The Five Star award is not indicative of a professional’s future performance.
• Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients’ assets.
• The inclusion of a professional on the Five Star Wealth Manager list or the Five Star Investment Professional list should not be construed as an endorsement of the professional by Five Star Professional or Columbus Monthly.
• Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager, Five Star Investment Professional or any professional is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected professionals will be awarded this accomplishment by Five Star Professional in the future.
• Five Star Professional is not an advisory firm and the content of this article should not be considered financial advice. For more information on the Five Star Wealth Manager or Five Star Investment Professional award programs, research and selection criteria, go to www.fivestarprofessional.com/public/research.
FIVE STAR WEALTH MANAGER
DETERMINATION OF AWARD WINNERS CRITERIA
Award candidates who satisfied 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria were named 2025 Five Star Wealth Managers. Eligibility Criteria – Required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser or a registered investment adviser representative. 2. Actively employed as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of five years. 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review. 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal firm standards. 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation Criteria – Considered: 6. One-year client retention rate. 7. Five-year client retention rate. 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered. 9. Number of client households served. 10. Education and professional designations. 1,436 award candidates in the Columbus area were considered for the Five Star Wealth Manager award. 60 (approximately 4% of the award candidates) were named 2025 Five Star Wealth Managers.
FIVE STAR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL
DETERMINATION OF AWARD WINNERS CRITERIA
The investment professional award goes to estate planning attorneys, insurance agents and select others in the financial industry. Eligibility Criteria – Required: 1. Credentialed with appropriate state or industry licensures. 2. Actively employed as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of five years. 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review. 4. Accepting new clients. Evaluation Criteria – Considered: 5. One-year client retention rate. 6. Five-year client retention rate. 7. Number of client households served. 8. Recent personal production and performance (industry specific criteria). 9. Education and professional designations/ industry and board certifications. 10. Pro Bono and community service work. This year, we honored 1 Columbus-area investment professional with the Five Star Investment Professional award.
This award was issued on 09/01/2025 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 01/01/2025 through 07/18/2025. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Columbus-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 60 (4% of candidates) were named 2025 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics 9/1/23, 12/12/22 - 6/30/23; 2022: 1,164, 78, 7%, 9/1/22, 12/27/21 - 6/24/22; 2021: 1,157, 77, 7%, 9/1/21, 12/14/20 - 7/9/21; 2020: 1,048, 71, 7%, 9/1/20, 7/26/17; 2016: 712, 112, 16%, 8/1/16, 2/10/16 - 8/2/16; 2015: 1,257, 107, 9%, 10/1/15, 3/10/15 - 8/5/15; 2014: 1,333, 133, 10%, 10/1/14, 3/10/13 - 8/5/13;
Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria – required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP’s consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client’s experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria – considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients’ assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com. This year, we honored 1 Columbus-area investment professional with the Five Star Investment Professional award.
WEALTH MANAGERS
Nicole Edwards
Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor
Nicole Edwards, Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor, joined her brother, Brian Edwards, at Morgan Stanley and its predecessor firms in January 1999. Nicole’s focus on manager research, asset allocation and portfolio design was a natural outgrowth of her analytical personality. She works with clients transitioning into retirement and coordinates family wealth and legacy planning. Nicole also has experience in working with widows, divorcees, and clients who experience significant life events. She serves as one of the team’s liaisons for our nonprofit clients. She currently has the distinction of being a Senior Investment Management Consultant/Financial Advisor and a Financial Planning Specialist.
Before coming to Morgan Stanley, Nicole spent 14 years at United Parcel Service (UPS) in various operational and managerial positions. She received her BA in English from the University of Tampa and her MA degree in American Literature from Vanderbilt University. Nicole is an avid reader and a wine and bourbon connoisseur. She volunteers with local food pantries. Nicole and her long-time partner, Renee, reside in Westerville and enjoy traveling and spending time with friends.
4449 Easton Way, Suite 300 Columbus, OH 43219 Phone: 614-473-2401
Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 1,436 use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2024: 1,231, 72, 6%, 9/1/24, 12/12/23 - 7/9/24; 2023: 1,291, 81, 6%, 12/23/19 - 7/10/20; 2019: 1,061, 79, 7%, 9/1/19, 12/17/18 - 7/19/19; 2018: 1,165, 67, 6%, 9/1/18, 1/8/18 - 7/31/18; 2017: 828, 71, 9%, 9/1/17, 1/11/172013: 968, 97, 10%, 10/1/13, 3/10/12 - 8/5/12.
(RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP’s consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager’s future performance. Wealth the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will
• Wealth management: creating structure that will empower you to make informed financial decisions
• Legacy planning: recognizing the importance of passing along valuables and your values
Waller Financial Planning Group partners with clients to assist them in the pursuit of their desired lifestyle and legacy goals by serving as trustworthy advocates of their financial futures. They believe effective financial planning begins by taking a team-based, comprehensive view of each client’s financial status and combining it with a long-term vision.
2016 and 2018 – 2025 winner Jeff Gomez, CPA, CFP®, Kevin Vannatta, CFP®; Sean Luttrell, CFP®
Capital Management is an investment, wealth management and family office advisory firm. We are independent, we are a fiduciary and we believe clients should get more from their financial advisors. We are driven to transform the financial lives of our clients from complicated to clear. G2 Capital Management provides investment and financial planning advice to high net worth individuals and families, including executives, professionals and business owners.
This award was issued on 09/01/2025 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 01/01/2025 through 07/18/2025. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Columbus-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 60 (4% of candidates) were named 2025 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics 9/1/23, 12/12/22 - 6/30/23; 2022: 1,164, 78, 7%, 9/1/22, 12/27/21 - 6/24/22; 2021: 1,157, 77, 7%, 9/1/21, 12/14/20 - 7/9/21; 2020: 1,048, 71, 7%, 9/1/20, 7/26/17; 2016: 712, 112, 16%, 8/1/16, 2/10/16 - 8/2/16; 2015: 1,257, 107, 9%, 10/1/15, 3/10/15 - 8/5/15; 2014: 1,333, 133, 10%, 10/1/14, 3/10/13 - 8/5/13;
Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria – required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP’s consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client’s experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria – considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients’ assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com. This year, we honored 1 Columbus-area investment professional with the Five Star Investment Professional award.
Left to right: Eight-year winner Chris Olsgard; Nine-year winner Katherine Kincaid; Seven-year winner Scott Rendle; Charlie Kerwood; Twelve-year winner Jason Eliason; Nine-year winner Jason Farris
Left to right: Rachel McClure; Brad Gregory; 2018 – 2025 winner Greg Grabovac, J.D., CPA (inactive);
WEALTH MANAGERS — INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS
Richard L. Pierce
• Wealth management strategies
• Retirement plan strategies
445 Hutchinson Avenue, Suite 500 Columbus, OH 43235
Estate planning strategies • Small business strategies
Helping you reach your financial goals is my priority. Today’s financial environment is complicated. We will work together to help you gain the confidence to navigate through what happens today so you can reach your dreams tomorrow.
ClearCourse Wealth Advisors, A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Not FDIC
Hiring a wealth manager ensures that enough effort and time is going towards your finances.
Life can easily get in the way of giving adequate attention to your savings, make sure that you have a wealth manager looking out for you who can put your mind at ease.
Wealth Managers
Christopher Edward Adkins Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Amy K. Arthur
Wells Fargo Advisors
Mark D. Beaver
Keeler & Nadler Family Wealth
Gary Steven Beckman
Morgan Stanley
Michael Beers
Morgan Stanley
Jonathan Evan Berniger
First Financial Group
Ryan Carl Thomas Bibler
Wells Fargo Advisors
Geoffrey Lewis Biehn
Trinity Financial Advisors
James Desportes Bishop Morgan Stanley
Mark L. Bucklaw Lifetime Financial Growth, LLC
Jason Alan Buehner Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
James Cain
Baird Private Wealth Management
Kevin Robert Clark Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Karen Sue Cookston Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Gerald Anthony Costa ZWC Asset Management Group
Jason Joseph Gilbert Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Troy Laverne Green T.Green Wealth Advisors
Robert Cole Hammack
John E. Sestina & Company
Jared Michael Hoffman Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Rachael C. Holm Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Brian Timothy Houts Frazier Financial Advisors
Edward Henry Inbusch Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC/ Envisage Wealth
Subhash C. Jatana Skylight Financial Group
James Barnhart Johnson Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Kathleen E. Lach
Morgan Stanley
Sarah J. Lawson Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Michelle Matthias Merkel Merkel Wealth Management
Matthew David Meyers Meyers Wealth Management
Josh Christian Nalli Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Joseph Peter Panfil Wells Fargo Advisors
Mark John Randall Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
Thomas Geoffrey Robertson Morgan Stanley
Matthew John Sangalli Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC
John W. Schatz Osaic Wealth, Inc.
Derek James Scheetz Lifetime Financial Growth, LLC
Mark Allen Stoneburner Stoneburner Wealth Management
Joshua C. Woodby Wells Fargo Advisors
Thomas David Wyatt Lifetime Financial Growth, LLC Investment Professional
Joette Funderburg JMF CPA, LLC
Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 1,436 use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2024: 1,231, 72, 6%, 9/1/24, 12/12/23 - 7/9/24; 2023: 1,291, 81, 6%, 12/23/19 - 7/10/20; 2019: 1,061, 79, 7%, 9/1/19, 12/17/18 - 7/19/19; 2018: 1,165, 67, 6%, 9/1/18, 1/8/18 - 7/31/18; 2017: 828, 71, 9%, 9/1/17, 1/11/172013: 968, 97, 10%, 10/1/13, 3/10/12 - 8/5/12.
(RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP’s consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager’s future performance. Wealth the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will
– 2025 Five Star Wealth Manager
home & style
PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON
Personal Touches Edwin Loy Home offers an array of gifts, home decor and rustic-chic refurbished furniture. Read more about the Uptown Westerville shop, Page 55.
English garden in Karla Rothan’s backyard
Preserving History in Victorian Village
Karla Rothan has rebuilt her late spouse’s Victorian Village craftsman home to maintain it for another 100 years.
STORY BY LAURA NEWPOFF | PHOTOS BY TIM JOHNSON
When you step into Karla Rothan’s Victorian Village residence, it’s easy to envision it as a place where people came to visit a doctor in the early 1900s. Even though the craftsman home, built in 1875, has just undergone a complete renovation, the bones of the medical practice are still evident. An enclosed front porch that is believed to have once been a waiting room for patients remains. Just behind it is Rothan’s office, which retains the examination room’s cabinetry where the doctor likely kept his vials, syringes and medicine.
Rothan’s research on her home on West First Avenue found that many doctors worked in Victorian Village at the time, and it was common to have medical practices on the first floor while their families lived upstairs. It’s part of the home’s rich history that lives on along with original stained glass, transoms and working fireplaces.
The home was purchased in 1995 by Rothan’s late spouse, Linda Schuler, who worked at the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department while also restoring properties in Clintonville and the Victorian Village and Short North area.
When Schuler bought her first property in Victorian Village in 1976—a double also on West First Avenue—the oncegrand neighborhood was in a state of urban decay. Many of the late 1800s-era’s stately brick homes had been razed or were crumbling and the elegant features of others were destroyed as they were converted to rental units.
Amid the blight, Schuler saw an opportunity. She was one of the first women in the Columbus area to receive a loan to purchase, renovate and restore property without a male co-signer when she bought her first property in Clintonville in 1974. The Victorian Village double cost just $25,000. The neighborhood was so run down, however, that she couldn’t get the home insured.
“Linda was an urban pioneer,” says Rothan. “When she wasn’t working her full-time job, she was busy sanding floors, stripping the woodwork and doing the renovations on her properties on her own.”
doors leading from open living/ dining room to a sitting area; kitchen; open living/dining room
Clockwise from left: Karla Rothan with dogs CiCi and Ella in living room;
The over 3,000-square-foot single family home intrigued Schuler because it was spacious enough for her to take care of her ailing mother at the time. She made updates to the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home and created living quarters for her mom downstairs.
Rothan and Schuler became a couple in 1996 after performing together in a play—Murder at the Lazy L Saloon—at the now closed Far Side bar on the city’s West Side. They began living together and made the home a mix of both of their styles, including collecting works of art from local artists and their world travels. They were married Oct. 6, 2018. After Schuler died in October 2022,
Rothan decided on a complete interior renovation to rebuild the house from the inside out “so it will last another 100 years.” She worked with John Behal and Dan Morgan of BSD Architects on the design work in the summer of 2023. Demolition and construction started in the summer of 2024.
Rothan wanted all new hardwood floors on the first floor and a modern kitchen with a gas stove. When the old floors started coming up and the kitchen walls started coming down, massive termite damage was discovered in wooden beams, which had to be remediated by installing new support joists in the basement. Unbeknownst to her, the termite
damage was why the kitchen tile had been cracking.
A wall that separated what was then the dining room and kitchen was removed to create an open entertainment area. A new kitchen with an island was built. All the crown molding matches and you can’t tell the old from the new—a feat by the architects that Rothan describes as “an art.”
Upstairs, Rothan reconfigured the layout to create a primary suite with a walkin closet and bath. The closet formerly was a bedroom and “every single woman who comes in here says, ‘Oh, come on, Karla,’” referring to its large size.
To achieve the connection of the three
Clockwise from top left: primary bathroom; sculptures; Howdy Doody puppet; painting of Karla Rothan’s dogs CiCi and Ella in bedroom
rooms, plumbing had to be rearranged while the ceiling in the parlor below was lowered to make room for the plumbing in the two upstairs baths. The primary bath features striking porcelain blue tile sourced from Hamilton Parker that reminds Rothan of the couple’s trip to Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada.
The third floor was finished and duct work was installed so the home could have down draft air-conditioning.
In the backyard, designer Leila David created a British garden as an homage to Schuler’s love of the Cotswolds and incorporated personal touches, such as bricks Schuler brought back from her parents’ hometown of Pomeroy, and heart-shaped features that remind Rothan of the love the two shared. Pieces of an old cistern that the couple dug up in the backyard were used as part of the creation of walking paths.
Rothan moved back into the home this past June. It is part of this year’s 50th
anniversary of the Short North Civic Association’s Tour of Homes and Gardens, which will take place Sept. 21. She describes her style as “eclectic and transitional” with design touches that reflect the old and the new. The renovation was meant to make the home feel elegant and comfortable and pay tribute to Schuler’s passion for restoration.
“I channeled Linda’s energy,” she says. “I tried to do all the things she was going to do and didn’t have time to do it. Even though it’s aesthetically pleasing, what’s more important is the work we did to restore the structure of the home so it lasts for a long, long time.
“Linda really cared about preservation,” she says. “When you restore an old home, you restore the significance of your history, your neighborhood and your community. You leave something for future generations to look at so they can understand—this is how we lived, this is how we carried on.” ◆
Clockwise from top: a photo of Linda Schuler; storage cabinet in entryway; windchimes in garden
Refurbished Finds in Uptown Westerville
Edwin Loy Home keeps family and community at the forefront of its unique and always-fresh stock.
By Lucy Clark
Spend a day exploring the shops in Uptown Westerville, and you will quickly feel the deeply embedded sense of community and collaboration between the various shop owners. This is especially true of Edwin Loy Home, owned by Amy Winter Cabilovski—a graduate of the nearby Otterbein University—who operates just across the street from her sister apparel store Stone and Sparrow, and next door to her husband Tony Cabilovski’s Uptown Deli and Brew.
After graduating with an art degree in 2006, Amy worked for her aunt and uncle’s furniture store in Delaware, accompanying them to shows and learning the tools of the trade. The store closed in 2009, but her interest in the industry didn’t fade, and in 2012 Amy, her mother and her sister stumbled upon a building for lease at 12 W. College Ave.— what would become Edwin Loy Home’s first location.
The original stock was made up mostly of found and vintage furniture pieces. Today, you will find a few of these remnants, along with gifts, candles and home decor. “We’re a key location for people to come find a gift,” Amy says.
The star of the show, though, is Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan. The paint was developed by the Oxford, England native in 1990. After coming across it in a Columbus store, Amy attended workshops—including one hosted by Sloan in Oxford— to become certified to teach others how to use the paint.
Customers can buy cans, attend howto workshops or buy furniture already refurbished with a fresh coat, giving it a rustic-chic, chalk-like effect. Amy started stocking it in 2013, and interest has
Business: Selling gifts, home decor and new, antique and refurbished furniture. You can also find Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan and take workshops led by owner Amy Winter Cabilovski.
grown exponentially since. “You might see something in a catalog that you love, but the price is just outrageous. You can take something that you have and make it beautiful and unique,” she says.
Customers can also get a glimpse into the familial and communal heartbeat that sustains the neighborhood when
they visit the store, Tony says. Amy and Tony met in 2015 and have been partners in enterprise since, opening a combined furniture and clothing store together in Delaware before relocating just the clothing shop—Stone and Sparrow— to Westerville.
Tony says that Westerville’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA)— which allows the sale and consumption of alcohol in marked outdoor areas during select hours—makes the sense of community-wide collaboration even stronger, and significantly expands their already broad demographic. “On Friday nights, if [people are] waiting for a table by me, they can just come shop here, and vice versa. ... It’s just part of the excursion.”
Amy describes Edwin Loy Home’s style as a one-of-a-kind, eclectic blend of new and old. “We offer an experience you’re not going to get by shopping online,” says Amy. “You come in, and it feels like a home. You’re always going to find something unique and different; it’s always changing in here.” ◆
Amy Winter Cabilovski and Tony Cabilovski
food & drink
PHOTO BY TIM JOHNSON
Flavor Profiles
Pickles and sesame seeds enhance entrées at Osaka Ton Katsu. We visit the South High Street newcomer, Page 60.
Big Flavors Celebrate a Big Milestone
Cameron Mitchell’s 100th restaurant, Cento, celebrates Italy in grand style on a classic corner in German Village.
Ask anyone in the business: Running a restaurant is hard work.
Sure, they can be fun and creative and at times even magical places for guests and staff alike to enjoy a delicious and convivial experience. But the work is physically demanding, the pay is nominal and the margins are notoriously slim. In this environment, it’s remarkable to maintain one restaurant, let alone many, for any period of time.
I was thinking about all this when I first ate at Cento, one of Cameron Mitchell’s newest restaurants, an Italian concept that opened in 2023 in German Village (and was named one of Columbus Monthly’s Best New Restaurants the following year). Cento, which means 100 in Italian, is Mitchell’s “century restaurant:” the 100th he’s opened since he started in the business over 30 years ago. Take a moment to let that accomplishment sink in.
An Upper Arlington native, Mitchell graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and worked in Columbus kitch-
ens for years before opening his original namesake restaurant, Cameron’s American Bistro in Linworth, in 1993. Today, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, a privately held enterprise, is a multi-concept operation in 15 states across the country grossing annual sales over $400 million.
In the air as I pulled into my seat at Cento’s bar was the announcement that another celebrated German Village establishment, Chapman’s Eat Market—with its James Beard nominations and recognition as a Top 50 Restaurant in the country by The New York Times—was closing after five years. G. Michael’s Bistro and Bar, Cento’s predecessor, closed in 2021 after a 23-year run due in part to a lease dispute.
Does Cameron Mitchell have the secret formula to restaurant success? Does the mere scale of his operation give him an outsized advantage over the littler guys? And how does all this play into the experience of the restaurant itself?
My meals at Cento were lovely experiences, enhanced by attentive service,
stylish decor, and quite a few outstanding dishes. Cento promises “a celebration of Italy” with a menu of largely familiar yet elevated (and pricey) bistro classics filled with traditional Italian cheeses, cured meats, wines and pastas.
To start, I ordered the octopus ($26) from the antipasto menu. With no indication of its cooking method, just the accompaniment of pistachios and olives, I assumed I would receive a whole tentacle roasted or grilled. I was instead surprised by something reminiscent of carpaccio, but this was not raw. Here, tentacles had been packed and cooked together sous vide before being sliced to form what looked like a purple and cream colored cold cut. “It’s a visual nod to mortadella,” the server later explained, the Italian bologna studded with cubes of creamy pork fat and whole pistachios. The surprise presentation only made it more delicious.
Another antipasto, the yellow tail ($19), is served raw, with small pieces of the fish cured in Meyer lemon and
Story by Amy Bodiker Baskes | Photos by Tim Johnson
Veal parmesan with pasta al forno
orange juices and garnished with a salty olive powder. It arrived in a frilly glass plate sitting on a bed of ice, which all made it lovely to look at, but perhaps a little too cold for me to taste the full flavors of the buttery fish amid the briny and puckery citrus bath it was served in. I preferred the salty-sweet combination of the prosciutto and melon starter ($23), which is also artfully presented with sweet, colorful ribbons of honeydew and cantaloupe playfully offsetting the rich colors and leathery, umami flavors of the traditional ham.
From the house-made pasta menu, I enjoyed the carbonara ($29), a simple classic with dense, toothsome noodles in a light sauce of Pecorino cheese studded with pieces of guanciale. At Cento, this pasta is topped with a golden egg yolk that you swirl into the dish yourself to coat the warm noodles and enrich the sauce before your first bite. I was grateful for the soup spoon I was given to ensure not one bite of this dish was left behind.
The veal parmesan entrée ($67) is also dramatic in its presentation, with an enormous bone-in chop that had been butterflied, pounded thin, breaded and then fried. Like many classic Italian dishes, it delivers the red, green and white colors of the home country’s flag in its topping of tomato sauce, melted pieces of fresh mozzarella and whole fried leaves of basil. I could have skipped the accompanying baked pasta side dish, which was served bubbling hot from the oven. While tasty, the fresh rolled pasta sheets filled with ricotta, escarole and bechamel weren’t necessarily additive to the overall dish.
Service at Cento is thoughtful and
Cento
595 S. Third St. German Village 614-696-6565
centogermanvillage.com
Hours: Open for dinner nightly
If you go: Head to happy hour (4–6 p.m. weekdays and 3–5 p.m. on weekends) for $12 cocktails and a lounge menu that includes select discounted appetizers and a happy hour-only artichoke heart ($10) with crispy fried leaves punched up by a garlicky lemon mayonnaise.
showcases Mitchell’s signature “people-first” culture of hospitality as described in his memoir, Yes is the Answer. What is the Question? I experienced a flurry of conscientious servers. Dishes like the burrata ($23) and Caesar salad ($16) are crafted tableside. When I shared I didn’t particularly care for how tart my non-alcoholic Bella Vista cocktail ($12) was, my server took it away and off my bill without questions. All of this attention and these embellishments add to the theater of the meal.
The decor, with its ornate chandeliers, moody dark wood and draped velvety fabrics, reinforces this lavish ambiance. While Cento exists in much the same footprint as its predecessor, an extensive renovation brought a new garden room overlooking an outdoor patio to rival other German Village stalwarts.
Though little on the menu is terribly innovative at Cento, and the prices are at times breathtaking, all of the food I tried was beautifully executed and delivered with an abundance of friendly attention. While the corporate air of proven formu-
las that only operators of a certain scale can offer was part of the experience, these tried-and true touches also worked. The overall experience was pleasurable and made me hope that Cento will become the neighborhood’s next mainstay. ◆
Octopus starter, prosciutto and melon, and artichoke heart
Entranceway at Cento
The Place for Pork
New Downtown restaurant
Osaka Ton Katsu specializes in hearty Japanese pork tonkatsu.
By Claudia Owusu
There are those particularly cloudy summer days in Columbus that warrant a feeling of melancholy. Osaka Ton Katsu has the cure for that. Opened in March on South High Street near the Columbus Commons, founder Coz Sakamoto and his wife Eiko pride themselves on authenticity of culture, even down to the detail of dual Japanese and English translations on the restaurant’s website.
The doors of Osaka Ton Katsu open to upbeat Japanese pop and a rhythm of chopping in the back kitchen. It is one of many Japanese restaurants in the city, but is unique in its special focus on pork tonkatsu: a crispy panko fried pork fillet, usually served sliced neatly onto a bed of warm rice.
Osaka Ton Katsu offers versions of this dish such as the katsu curry ($15.95), katsu don ($9.95), and tonkatsu teishoku ($15.95). “Ton means pork in Japanese. We wanted to say that out loud, hence the space in the name of the restaurant,” Coz says.
The Sakamotos found their way into the food industry by way of Coz’s early travels and his food explorations in Japan as a mechanical engineer, and Eiko’s home cooking for their intergenerational family. As Coz developed a palette of preferences, Eiko developed the recipes, which remain authentically Japanese while bridging cultures with the Midwest. Throughout this time, the duo has prided themselves on not cutting corners: “We want to do it right,” Coz says, “like a good home cooked meal.”
I visited Osaka Ton Katsu midweek, just after the lunch rush. The restaurant was airy with large windows looking out onto the busy street. I ordered both a chicken sauce katsu don and a pork sauce katsu don and ambled toward one of the booths.
I found both the chicken and pork perfectly seasoned, crispy on the outside yet tender on the inside, and the shredded
Osaka Ton Katsu
194 S. High St., Downtown 614-456-7709
osaka-tonkatsu.com
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday
If you go: The restaurant does not have a dedicated parking lot but is close to the Columbus Commons garage. Street parking is available, but be mindful of restrictions from 4-6 p.m. on South High Street.
cabbage added a lightness to each bite. I like my food on the spicy side, so I added a drizzle of ghost pepper sauce, one of many packaged sauces lined on the
back shelf for customers who request it. This paired well with the tanginess of the house special dashi sauce, which is a feature of both dishes. The meal was hearty and comforting, and the staff, including Coz, were polite and attentive.
In more ways than one, Osaka Ton Katsu is a brief respite from the everyday rush of South High Street; a delightful, memorable and affordable escape. ◆
From left: Jessica Guadarrama with Eiko, Coz and Hanna Sakamoto
The tonkatsu teishoku with cabbage salad, rice, miso soup and pickles
PHOTOS BY TIM JOHNSON
let’s eat
WHERE TO DINE THIS MONTH
Editor’s Note: Please call restaurants to check hours and menu availability.
$$$$ Very expensive, $30 and higher
$$$ Spendy, $21–$29
$$ Moderate, $13–$20
$ Affordable, $12 and under
NEW Restaurant has opened within the last few months.
Outdoor Seating
Brunch
2025 Best New Restaurants
2025 Best Restaurant
Let’s Eat is Columbus Monthly’s guide to area restaurants. The list is updated monthly with picks from our editors. Send updates and suggestions to letters@columbusmonthly.com.
AMERICAN
1808 American Bistro
Josh Dalton’s American bistro uses both contemporary and classic elements in décor and cooking. The menu features short ribs, filet medallions, and shrimp and grits. 29 E. Winter St., Delaware, 740-417-4373. BRD $$$
Asterisk Supper Club
Owner Megan Ada offers teatime and suppertime in a bibliophile’s dream atmosphere. Craft cocktails are served at a handsome bar, while the eclectic menu ranges from fancy grilled cheese to lamb chops. 14 N. State St., Westerville, 614-776-4633. LD $$
NEW The Blue Danube
After shuttering in 2018, the classic Old North restaurant has returned, albeit with a smaller menu than it once had. But you’ll still find deep fried starters, soups, salads and sammies—and a sense of Columbus history—to wash down with a cold beer. 2439 N. High St., Old North, 614-261-9308. D $$
NEW Flamin Feathers
Flamin Feathers is the second area restaurant from the owners of New Jersey-based Food Street. The restaurant focuses on Nashvillestyle hot chicken, which is available served
Visit columbus monthly.com to read about the latest restaurant openings.
as tenders, wings, sandwiches and on their signature Belgian waffle. The craveable Halal menu is rounded out with smashburgers, shakes and fried sides. 1329 Cameron Ave., Lewis Center, 614-396-7748. LD $$
Local Roots
A downtown Powell restaurant with an eclectic menu that utilizes locally sourced ingredients and focuses on farm-to-fork dining. The menu offers salads, scallops, pizzas, calzones, steaks and a solid selection of Ohio beers. 15 E. Olentangy St., Powell, 614-602-8060. LD $$$
The Rossi Kitchen & Bar
This Short North hot spot offers a menu of gourmet pizzas, lamb lollipops and pastas in a new-meets-old atmosphere straight out of Manhattan. 895 N. High St., Short North, 614-525-0624. D $$$
Three Creeks Kitchen + Cocktails
Alumni of several well-known area restaurants are serving up classic dishes and creative cocktails at this family-owned eatery. Seafood and steaks feature prominently on the menu. 258 Granville St., Gahanna, 614468-8997. D $$$$
Two Rivers Restaurant and Bar
Don’t be fooled by its home in a strip mall: Two Rivers is serving well executed food in a comfortable atmosphere. From seared salmon to steaks and spaghetti with meatballs, this family-friendly spot is sure to please. 4046 W. Powell Rd., Powell, 614593-1716. BRLD $$
COFFEE SHOP
Fox in the Snow Café
A bakery and coffee shop offering pastries made in-house daily and coffee from Tandem Coffee Roasters. Be sure not to miss the famous egg sandwich. 38 W. Bridge Street, Dublin; 210 Thurman Ave., German Village; 1031 N. Fourth St., Italian Village; 160 W. Main St., New Albany. BL $
NEW The Light Meeting House Coffee Bar and Café
The former home of Addella’s On Oak has gotten a new life as the Light Meeting House Coffee Bar and Café. Enjoy classic caffeinated beverages and baked goods in the spacious interior or on the back patio. The business stays open for occasional late night hours to host poetry readings and other events. 1485 Oak St., Olde Towne East. BL $
One Line Coffee
Although One Line’s Short North café is known as a place to get your Chemex pourover or Kyoto-style coffee fix, its coffee shop in the River & Rich development also serves beer, wine and a small food menu. 471 W. Rich St., Franklinton, 614-929-5877; 745 N. High St., Short North, 614-564-9852; 41 S. High St., Capitol Square, 614-824-2642. BLD $
Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co.
Qamaria is Columbus’ original spot for Yemenistyle coffees and teas. Try the chai-like Adeni tea or go for a Yemeni pastry such as sabayah or honeycomb sweet bread. 3221 Hilliard-Rome Rd., Hilliard, 614-742-7110; 8911 S. Old State
Flamin Feathers
Rd., Lewis Center, 614-396-7601; 6181
Sawmill Rd. B, Northwest Side, 614-3890135. BLD $
The Roosevelt Coffeehouse
A local coffee shop and roaster with a do-good mission, this nonprofit uses proceeds to fight injustices like human trafficking, hunger and unclean water. Roasts include blends from nationally renowned Stumptown and local One Line Coffee. 300 E. Long St., Downtown, 614-670-5228; 462 W. Broad St., Franklinton, 614-892-9633; 303 Green Meadows Dr. S., Lewis Center, 740-803-1561. BL $
Stauf’s Coffee Roasters
Columbus’ oldest roaster continues to grow. Go for the excellent coffee selection and espresso drinks in a low-key coffeehouse atmosphere. Grandview’s popular café offers a full breakfast menu. 627 S. Third St., German Village, 614-221-1563; 1277 Grandview Ave., Grandview, 614-486-4861; 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614-456-7685; 1334 Neil Ave., Victorian Village, 614-928-3993. BLD $
Upper Cup Coffee
This coffee shop started out in historic Olde Towne East and now offers a second location in Gahanna. A small menu of sandwiches complement its single-origin coffees that are roasted in-house. 121 Mill St., Gahanna, 614-383-7496; 79 Parsons Ave., Olde Towne East, 614-220-0206. BLD $
CONTEMPORARY
Flour Modern Pasta Bar
Whether you’re sampling the a la carte menu or ordering prix fixe, at Flour you’ll get bread, salad and innovative pasta dishes that draw from different cultures. The original cocktails and desserts are well worth trying here. 1540 Polaris Parkway, Polaris, 614396-9100. BRD $$$
Goodale Station
Topping Downtown’s Canopy by Hilton hotel is this rooftop restaurant, bar and patio led by executive chef Jonathan Olson. The restaurant’s city views are complemented by a large bar, high-end cocktails and sophisticated fare inspired by global cuisines. 77 E. Nationwide Blvd., Downtown, 614-2279400. BRD $$$
The Guild House
Cameron Mitchell goes contemporary at the Guild House with a smart collection of small plates, house-made pasta and many dishes crafted with locally sourced ingredients. Sleek with a rustic edge, the 140-seat restaurant and bar is connected to Le Méridien Columbus, The Joseph. 624 N. High St., Short North, 614-280-9780. BBRLD $$$$
NEW Isla
After hosting meals in their home through the Roy’s Avenue Supper Club, chef Andrew Smith and his wife Devoney Mills transferred the experience of communal fine dining to their new restaurant. Two groups of 14 guests
are seated nightly at a shared table for a tasting menu, with a chef’s counter experience available on Thursdays for an additional cost. Advanced prepaid reservations are required. 116 E. Moler St., Merion Village. D $$$$
J. Liu Restaurant and Bar
J. Liu offers a blend of Asian, Italian and classic American cuisines in a modern, trendy setting, with Jason’s Spicy Chicken, pad thai, Chophouse Burger and scallop risotto. 50 W. Bridge St., Dublin, 614-718-1818; 6880 N. High St., Worthington, 614-888-1818. LD $$$
Natalie’s Grandview
Amplify your dining experience with live music hosted nightly on two stages featuring local and national acts. The wood-fired pizzas and craft cocktails are worth buying tickets in advance for, but for a lower-key night, try visiting during the free happy hour show or dining on the seasonal outdoor patio. 945 King Ave., Fifth by Northwest, 614-436-2625. D $$
Veritas
Chef Josh Dalton’s modern, tasting-menustyle restaurant celebrates the art and science of cooking while offering one of the finest dining experiences in town. Located in the Citizens Trust Building, Veritas prides itself on excellent service and exhilarating cocktail and wine lists. The menu’s theme changes often. 11 W. Gay St., Downtown, 614-745-3864. D $$$$
FILIPINO
Bonifacio
Krizzia Yanga’s eatery offers a modern take on Filipino home cooking, with frequent kamayan-style dinners served on banana leaves. Try dishes like lumpia, lechon and chicken inasal. 1577 King Ave., Fifth by Northwest, 614-914-8115. BRLD $$
Laguna Bay Bistro
Formerly Kuya Ian’s Bistro, this restaurant offers meals for all appetites, from an entrée plate with one side dish to a platter with three; family-style and catering options are also available. You’ll find Filipino beef, chicken, pork, fish and vegetarian dishes served with optional add-ons like spring rolls and skewers with traditional desserts rounding out the menu. 6863 Flags Center Dr., North Side, 614-948-3333. LD $$
IRISH & BRITISH PUBS
Byrne’s Pub
A family-run Irish pub and music venue that also hosts extensive St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Enjoy dishes such as Irish nachos, sauerkraut balls, wings and sandwiches. 1248 W. Third Ave., Fifth by Northwest, 614486-4722. LD $$
Dublin Village Tavern
A traditional Irish tavern nestled in a 135-year-old building offering Irish favorites like fish and chips, Irish egg rolls and shepherd’s pie. 27 S. High St., Dublin, 614766-6250. LD $$
Fadó Irish Pub
This Dublin-inspired pub caters to soccer fans and thirsty shoppers alike. The menu offers standards like fish and chips, shepherd’s pie and Irish breakfast to go along with dozens of international and local beers. 4022 Townsfair Way, Easton, 614284-2380. BRLD $$
Fadó Pub and Kitchen
Fadó owner Ian Montgomery (a native of Dublin, Ireland) brings that spirit to Dublin’s Bridge Park. In addition to an extensive catalogue of drinks, the kitchen offers European-inspired menu options and brunch on Saturday and Sunday, all locally sourced whenever possible. 6652 Riverside Dr., Dublin, 614-408-1500. BRLD $$
Mac’s, A Proper Pub
This Scottish pub in the Short North got a full renovation recently but continues to serve pub fare like Scotch eggs, burgers, sauerkraut balls and more. 693 N. High St., Short North, 614-221-6227. LD $$
The Old Bag of Nails Pub
A locally grown chain of Irish-themed pubs that feel like true neighborhood haunts, with salads, fish and chips, steaks, burgers and sandwiches. 4661 E. Broad St., Whitehall, 614-655-2424; 18 N. Nelson Rd., Bexley, 614252-4949; 66 N. Sandusky St., Delaware, 740-368-8083; 4065 Main St., Hilliard, 614-777-0713; 797 Hill Rd. N, Pickerington, 614-834-3927; 3220 Tremont Rd., Upper Arlington, 614-486-6976; 24 N. State St., #26, Westerville, 614-794-6900; 663 High St., Worthington, 614-436-5552. LD $$
T.T. Murph’s
A charming neighborhood pub serving up some of the coldest beer in town and boasting in-booth flat-screens for watching the game, with wings, subs and pizza. 2996 E. Livingston Ave., East Side, 614-231-2996. D $
KOREAN
Ajumama
Owner Laura Lee’s truck offers a mix of traditional Korean and Midwestern comfort food including bulgogi, kimchi, sesamegrilled pork belly, potstickers, jackfruit and french fries. Food truck, Citywide, 614859-6119. LD $
CM Chicken
Excellent Korean fried chicken is the specialty of this fast-growing chain. Try the snow onion chicken, curry chicken or charcoal-grilled tikkudak chicken. 1132 W. Henderson Rd., Northwest Side, 614-914-6144; 1510 Cross Creeks Blvd., Pickerington, 614-626-8898; 5947 S. Sunbury Road, Westerville, 614-392-2948. LD $$
Diaspora
A fun and modern Campus eatery with authentic Korean dishes, spicy soups, daeji bulgogi, dol sot bibimbap, goon mandu and sushi. 2118 N. High St., Campus, 614458-1141. LD $$
Don Pocha Korean BBQ
A fun KBBQ spot where meat, seafood and vegetables are cooked at the table and paired with pickled side dishes (banchan) and dipping sauces. Flavorful Korean soups and stews round out the menu. 4710 Reed Rd., Upper Arlington, 614-459-9292. LD $$$
Gogi Korean BBQ
Gogi means “meat” in Korean, and that’s what you can expect (and lots of it) at this restaurant where diners can grill their own meat at the table. The expansive menu also includes bibimbap, grilled fish platters, soups and rice pancakes, plus Korean beers and liquors like makgeolli and soju. 1138 Bethel Rd., Northwest Side, 614-670-4790. LD $$$
Restaurant Silla
You’ll find real-deal Korean cuisine and a menu with semi-explanatory color photos at this casual restaurant. Its bibimbap is a textbook example of how the dish should be done— served in a scalding hot stone bowl with crispy rice on the bottom. 1802 Henderson Rd., Upper Arlington, 614-459-5990. LD $$$
NEPALESE
Everest Cuisine
Combining Nepalese, Tibetan and Indian fare, Everest Cuisine boasts authentic dining at affordable prices in Old Worthington. 652 High St., Worthington, 614-601-6004. LD $$
Jhapali Kitchen & Bar
Located next to GN International Grocery, Jhapali specializes in Indian cuisine and traditional Nepalese dishes such as chicken choila, thukpa, momos and sekuwa (flavorful grilled meats). If you enjoy variety, order one of the restaurant’s Nepalese thalis. 859 Windmiller Drive, Ste. 300, Pickerington, 614-694-0300. LD $$
Momo Ghar
Since 2016, Momo Ghar has gained a loyal following thanks to the handmade dumplings that co-owner Phuntso Lama and her crew make by the hundreds, weekly. No trip is complete without the bestseller, jhol momo. 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614-495-6666. LD $$
Namaste Indo-Nepali Cuisine
At humble Namaste you’ll taste Nepal via influential neighbors India and China. Familiar favorites like samosas, tandoori chicken and curries are all here, but the menu lets you know they’ve been seasoned Nepali style (think ginger, cumin, fenugreek, cardamom, coriander, cloves and mustard seeds). 1307 Stoneridge Dr., Gahanna, 614-705-6077; 1279 Morse Rd., Northeast Side, 614-261-3636. LD $$
Sargam Restaurant & Bar
Specializing in Nepalese cuisine, Sargam’s menu includes momos and thukpa soup, plus a variety of biryanis and thalis. For dessert, be sure to try the gulab jamun or sevai kheer. 1371 Hentz Dr., Reynoldsburg, 614-892-7474. LD $$
SANDWICHES
Bears Bagels
After gaining a following at local farmers markets, Bears Bagels opened a Hilliard shop in 2024. The family-owned business serves up handmade bagels, schmears and sandwiches and offers bagel-making classes that sell out quickly. 4142 Main St., Hilliard, 614-319-3561. BL $
Dave’s Cosmic Subs
At this Northeast Ohio-based submarine sandwich chain, rock ’n’ roll meets Italian, vegan, gluten-free and whole wheat sub rolls. Try out the Original Dave’s Cosmic Sub or Dave’s Best Meatball Ever Sub and wash them
down with a flavored soda. 1766 N. High St., Campus, 614-824-5494. LD $
Goood Friends
Jackie O’s on Fourth is home to this takeout window featuring seriously goood Midwestern sandwiches. Highlights include the Ol Faithful (fried chicken with Le Delice de Bourgogne) and Warby’s Melt featuring Wario’s Wiz. 171 N. Fourth St., Downtown. D $$
Katzinger’s Delicatessen
A German Village mainstay, Katzinger’s is a traditional East Coast-style deli, with 60plus sandwiches, potato latkes, pickle barrels, specialty foods and cheeses. 7160 Muirfield Dr., Dublin, 614-389-8444; 475 S. Third St., German Village, 614-228-3354. BLD $$
Newfangled Kitchen
Located next to the Drexel Theatre, this chefinspired sandwich shop reimagines the classic American meatloaf sandwich. Don’t miss The Fang, a meatloaf version of a cheeseburger. 2258 E. Main St., Bexley, 614-817-1099. LD $
SPANISH
Barcelona Restaurant & Bar
Longstanding Barcelona is a classic for approachable Spanish tapas and other palate-expanding fare with an American influence. The patio is one of the most charming in the city. 263 E. Whittier St., German Village, 614-443-3699 BRLD $$$$
Lupo on Arlington
From La Tavola’s Rick and Krista Lopez, this tapas spot offers a menu of seasonal small plates combining Spanish and Italian influences. The full bar focuses on aperitivoinspired cocktails and a curated list featuring Spanish and Portuguese wines. 2124 Arlington Ave., Upper Arlington, 614-9145455. D $$$
Vaso
Located on the rooftop of the AC Hotel in Dublin, Vaso offers small plates and a large bar selection, with beautiful views of the Scioto River and historic downtown Dublin. 6540 Riverside Dr., Dublin, 614-698-2525. D $$$
VEGAN/VEGETARIAN
4th & State
This vegan eatery for the Downtown crowd features meatless alternatives to American favorites like Just Egg omelets, pancakes, pizzas and burgers. 152 E. State St., Downtown, 614-224-5461. BBRLD $$
Portia’s Café
This Clintonville café serves only vegan and gluten-free options with an emphasis on raw foods. The menu includes dips like hummus and guacamole, falafel, soups, salads, wraps, smoothies and vegan-friendly Cheezecake. 4428 Indianola Ave., Clintonville, 614-9283252. BBRLD $
Don Pocha Korean BBQ
Creative Space
Yani Sheng
Yani Sheng’s artistic influences are as diverse as the variety of mediums she works in at High Road Gallery and Studios in Worthington. She was born in Taiwan, raised in Belize and spent undergraduate school and 10 years living in various areas across Canada.
“You find the rhythm of people through travel,” she says. That worldly rhythm flows through her work and life, exemplified in part by the Japanese tattoos she sports on one arm and Chinese on the other.
Sheng has been living in Columbus for the past eight years.
“It’s inspiring in Ohio. Columbus is a city where you can have community.
Columbus has been wonderful for me,” Sheng says while preparing a silk screen for printing. Her global influences coalesce in her studio space. Yoga movements and meditation inspired her Flow series of paintings showing the motions of the human body. Other work includes intricate and detailed linoleum carvings of Columbus landmark buildings, and paintings inspired by Netsuke—small Japanese sculptures—that she interprets into large scale pieces.
She encourages others to tap into that flow of joy, energy and creative ideation. “Go out and experience and gain knowledge, then share it with the world,” Sheng says. ◆
Photos by Tim Johnson
Applying paint to silk screen
Miniature porcelain sculptures
Test silk screens
Yani Sheng in her Worthington studio
Yani Sheng
stories. Local voices. Local beer. Brewed in our community.
“ ”
The Thurber House Museum has been keeping James Thurber’s legacy alive for over 40 years. Wolf’s Ridge and The Dispatch want to celebrate and spread his work to new generations. Scan the QR code to see how you can help continue the mission.
than all of the answers. some of the questions
— Dispatch Alum James Thurber (Also the cleverest Columbusite of all time) The wittiest brew of the summer is available now. Grab it while you can wherever you find your Wolf’s Ridge Brewing favorites.
