15 Columbus restaurant openings and 8 closings for the month of October
October was a good month to find a new place for a beer or a brew – or in one case, both.
Bada Bean Bada Booze, the café-in-the-morning, bar-at-night spot that first opened in Italian Village 10 months ago, expanded to its second location in Harrison West.
On the café side of the equation, October also brought a move for Jennings Java from one Merion Village location to another. Meanwhile, some of the new bars included Euporia in University District, Homage Bar in the Short North and Thunderwing Brewing in the Hilltop.
Here’s a rundown of more than a dozen restaurant and bar openings for October, and seven notable closings:
El Camino Inn
A mere change in its Facebook cover photo more than a year ago prompted a string of giddy comments but no reopening for El Camino Inn, which had been closed since the early days of the pandemic in March 2020.
The Downtown Tex-Mex bar and restaurant reopened – in its own words, “finally” – on Oct. 12. It’s still at 238 S. Fourth St.
In addition to a menu of tacos, burritos, 34 tequilas, and other food and drinks, El Camino now has vintage clothing and décor for sale.
Thunderwing Brewing
Thunderwing Brewing, 2419 Scioto Harper Drive, opened on Oct. 6 in the Hilltop location formerly occupied by Sideswipe Brewing. Owner Jason Wing, who has been a craft brewer for 10 years, currently has nine beers on tap, including a California common and a dark mild that he says are harder to find.
Programming at the taproom includes a rotation of visiting food trucks and Sunday morning yoga-and-a-pint sessions.
Euporia
The big question at Euporia, the self-serve bar that opened on Oct. 5 at 1568 N. High St., in the University District: How does it work?
Answer: You show your ID and credit card on arrival to receive a radio-frequency identification card. Every time you want a beer, cider, seltzer or draft wine from one of the bar’s 40 taps, just bump your card on the reader and help yourself. You’re charged by the ounce, so pour as much or as little as you like.
Euporia isn’t serving food yet but welcomes people to bring in food from nearby restaurants.
Photo Gallery: New Columbus entertainment venue Eupouria is self-serve heaven with 40 beverages on tap
Cobra
You can drink until the wee hours in Columbus, and you can always find a bite to eat. But there aren’t many places where you can do both at once.
Cobra opened Oct. 18 at 684 S. High St. to fill that void. It’s open until 2 a.m., with a full menu until midnight and a late-night menu until closing.
The food and cocktails lean Asian. Drinks include ingredients such as Roku gin, Toki Japanese Whiskey, yuzu, lychee and pandan. Noodles dominate the food menu, with selections that run from an inexpensive ($8) but elevated take on Cup Noodles, to a Cacio e Pepe pasta that uses Szechuan pepper instead of black pepper.
Homage Bar
Homage Bar opened officially on Oct. 24 in the Graduate Hotel, 750 N. High St., in the Short North. It’s a collaboration between the hotel chain and the Columbus-based T-shirt company, whose founder and CEO, Ryan Vesler, assisted in the design and concept.
The cocktail menu at Homage Bar was developed by local mixologist Joshua Gandee. The food menu fits with the dive-bar motif and includes pickles and pickled eggs, chips and onion dip, beef stick and fried bologna.
More: Homage clothing company opens bar in Short North hotel: See inside
Adelaide’s Gin Joint
A North Campus home built in 1920, the first year of Prohibition, is now home to Adelaide’s Gin Joint, a Prohibition-inspired restaurant and jazz bar that opened on Oct. 13 at 2333 N. High St.
Owners Rodrick Pauley and Laura Justice said they worked to perfect every detail in design, drinks, food and music. Cocktails include two applewood-smoked offerings. The American fusion menu includes handmade pastas, duck-fat fried chicken wings, roasted oysters and vermouth-marinated olives.
Bada Bean Bada Booze
Ten months after debuting in Italian Village, Bada Bean Bada Booze expanded to a second location on Oct. 6. The second spot for the café and bar – it serves coffee and pastries from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and cocktails, craft beer, wine and snacks from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. or midnight – is 527 W. Fifth Ave., in Harrison West.
Bada Bean Bada Booze plans two more locations as well, in Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff.
Jennings Java
After moving out of its S. Front Street facility at the end of September, Merion Village coffee roaster Jennings Java opened its new home at 116 E. Moler St. on Oct. 4.
The new place includes expanded hours: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays.
Crimson Cup
The latest addition for Columbus-based Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea is at the newly renovated Olentangy Motor Inn, 1445 Olentangy River Road in Harrison West. The hotel and coffee shop hosted a grand opening on Oct. 17.
The new Crimson Cup includes drive-through service.
Dunkin'
A next-generation Dunkin', with a dedicated pickup area for mobile orders and a tap system that keeps cold brews colder, opened at 3646 E. Broad St. in Whitehall on Oct. 26. It's the 3,000th modernized shop for the national chain.
Monster Baby Donuts
Monster Baby Donuts opened on Oct. 27 as a tenant at East Market in the Near East Side’s Trolley District.
Owner Emma Fleming started her business in Dayton by selling at farmers markets and pop-ups. This is the first brick-and-mortar location for the vegan and gluten-free bakery.
Smitty’s BBQ & Catering
Owner Herb Smith has expanded Smitty’s BBQ & Catering from pop-ups and food-truck service to pickup and delivery by setting up shop at High Street Kitchens in Clintonville. He opened there on Oct. 22.
It’s the fourth opening in two months for the commercial kitchen host at 2864 N. High St., following the September additions of Nuyorican Pizza & Cuisine, Chef Hiro Xpress and AnA Shawarma.
Smitty’s menu includes ribs, brisket, pulled pork and wings, as well as a Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese, Sweet Potato Corn Bread, and a fried side that incorporates both brisket and macaroni and cheese.
More: These Columbus-area restaurants opened and closed in September
Rosebud’s
Chef Josh Dalton opened a new restaurant on Oct. 25 in the Delaware space that gave birth to Columbus favorites Veritas and Speck Italian Eatery.
He describes Rosebud’s, at 15 E. Winter St., in Delaware’s downtown as a “dive bar, but bougie.” It replaces Cove, which specialized in seafood.
The menu at Rosebud’s ranges from Kaluga caviar and oysters (fried or with a raspberry mignonette) to pork cutlet sandwiches and fried chicken.
Review: Team behind Veritas excels with stellar menu at Speck Italian Eatery
BB.Q Chicken
Korea-based Korean fried chicken chain BB.Q Chicken opened its second central Ohio restaurant on Oct. 22 at 878 Bethel Road on the Northwest Side. It made its Columbus debut in March at 17 E. Lane Ave. in the University District.
BB.Q serves bone-in and boneless fried chicken and wings with sauces from savory to four-star spicy.
More: Who has the best wings in Columbus? Try these 7 eateries
Chicken Salad Chick
Chicken Salad Chick, the Southern chain that has come up with more than a dozen ways to make chicken salad, opened on Oct. 4 at 1056 Dublin Road in Grandview Heights. It’s the restaurant’s third central Ohio location; the others are at Polaris and on the Northeast Side.
Menu items also include Southern favorites such as pimento cheese (regular and spicy) and grape salad.
Closings: Black Box Fix, Kona Craft Kitchen and more
After surviving a kitchen fire in January, Black Box Fix closed its doors on Oct. 24. Owners Eric and LaToya Rogers said on social media that “post-Covid conditions,” including difficulty finding employees, were to blame.
“We hope we've helped open many more doors for minority restaurants to take on the big dawgs and succeed,” the couple behind Easton’s first Black-owned restaurant said on Facebook.
Black Box Fix remains open in Lyndhurst. It expanded to Columbus in May 2021.
The award-winning Kona Craft Kitchen shut down abruptly on Oct. 16. Although owners Stacy and Frank Leary gave no reason in a statement emailed to Columbus Monthly, the magazine reported that one or both of the owners had been subjects of lawsuits filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by two separate parties who claimed they were owed more than $4.2 million combined.
Kona Craft Kitchen – it’s not connected to Kona Grill at Easton – opened in March 2022 in Dublin’s Bridge Park. It was named one of Columbus Monthly’s Best New Restaurants in March of this year.
Woody’s Wing House, 161 E. Campus View Blvd., on the Far North Side, announced on its website and social media Oct. 16 that it had closed. Owners said they hope eventually to reopen in a new location.
The Good Kitchen, which specialized in carryout soul food from its location at 1485 Sunbury Road on the Northeast Side, shut down on Oct. 19. Owners had announced earlier via Facebook that “nothing’s wrong, we’re just tired and need to refocus on family and more.”
Their food truck, the Rolling Kitchen, will hit the road occasionally, they promised.
As construction continues for more new restaurant tenants at the Hamilton Quarter retail development at Hamiton Road and Route 161 on the Northeast Side, an existing business has closed.
LemonTree Café, which had served sandwiches, salads, juices and smoothies since it opened in July, posted a note on its door that it had shut down Oct. 14.
Marlow’s Cheesesteaks ended its run at Budd Dairy Food Hall’s popup kitchen, Hatch, on Oct 1. Marlow’s is still serving up its classic cheesesteaks, as well as its chicken, salmon and veggie versions, at 93 N. High St., in Gahanna.
The owners of Hunan Lion, 2038 Crown Plaza Drive on the Northwest Side, say they’re working diligently to reopen after an early-morning fire on Oct. 4 destroyed all kitchen equipment at the Chinese restaurant. It could be closed three to six months, they said.
Woodhouse Vegan closed its Italian Village café on Oct. 21 to prepare for a move to into its bakery at 19 W. Russell St., in the Short North. The café will be integrated into its new space within a few weeks, according to its post on Instagram.
rvitale@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus restaurant openings and closings in October
