May 16, 20178 yr Clearing out a bunch of retail articles that I bookmarked but hadn't posted yet: This one's about Columbus clothing retailer Homage opening its 1st store outside of Ohio (an on-street retail space in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham). Homage was founded in 2007 in the Short North and later added a spot in Easton Town Center. Other Ohio locations are the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, a Cleveland store at the Crocker Park lifestyle center, and another Cincinnati location in the Liberty Center lifestyle center that opened last year: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/29/homage-opening-its-1st-store-outside-of-ohio.html
May 16, 20178 yr Buffalo Exchange vintage clothing store opened at 2643 N. High Street, in the Old North Columbus neighborhood that is north of the University District. Buffalo Exchange originally launched in Arizona in 1974, and has 50 locations across the US: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/09/30/1-buffalo-exchange-used-clothing-shop-to-open-near-osu.html http://www.columbusunderground.com/buffalo-exchange-vintage-shop-opens-columbus-store
May 16, 20178 yr Pop-Up Retail Incubator Launching Downtown By Susan Post, Columbus Underground November 10, 2016 - 6:45 pm The Gay Street Collaborative, the Downtown Special Improvement District and The Columbus Foundation are collaborating on POP Columbus — a dual storefront space retailers can rent for anywhere between one day and two months, located at 44 N. High Street. ... “This project is extremely important for Downtown because it provides the opportunity for small-scale, independent retail to test consumer demand before making a long-term lease commitment,” says Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of Capital Crossroads SID. “It lowers a barrier to entry that is too high for most operators.” With a $70,000 grant from The Columbus Foundation and a willing landlord, POP Columbus will transform the former convenience store into two white-box retail spaces. ... POP Columbus will take the building back to a more original form with exposed brick, hardwood floors, high ceilings, with minimal other additions. ( . . . ) The Gay Street Collaborative will administer the POP Columbus program with support from the SID. The program will accept rental applications, with options for one day, two day, one week, one month and two month plans. ... POP Columbus is aiming for a spring 2017 launch. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/pop-up-retail-incubator-launching-downtown-sp1
May 16, 20178 yr An interesting look at Used Kids Records - a venerable High Street institution across from Ohio State since 1979 - that moved into the burgeoning Old North Columbus/SoHud retail cluster in 2016: 30 Years and Still Kicking: The Ongoing Plight of Used Kids Records http://www.columbusunderground.com/30-years-and-still-kicking-the-ongoing-plight-of-used-kids-records-hh1
May 17, 20178 yr Fount Leather, a Cleveland-based maker and seller of leather goods, plans to open a store at 668 N. High Street in the Short North. Fount Leather started three years ago and was one of four finalists on the CNBC show Cleveland Hustles, produced by LeBron James. The four finalists received coaching and backing to open stores in Cleveland's Gordon Square Arts District: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/12/09/cleveland-retailer-coming-to-the-short-north-with.html Another of the Cleveland Hustles show final four, Old City Soda, also has Columbus plans: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/16/old-city-soda-upping-columbus-distribution.html
May 17, 20178 yr Alison Rose, a Clintonville screen printing studio offering branded and custom designs since 2013, moved Downtown in late 2016. The husband-and-wife team behind Alison Rose moved into the new Blockfort collaborative studios, located at 162 N. 6th Street: http://www.columbusunderground.com/shop-talk-alison-rose-moves-to-new-downtown-location-rw1 https://alisonrose.com/ http://www.columbusunderground.com/photos-new-art-studio-blockfort-opens-downtown
May 17, 20178 yr Profile about Rise Brands from the Metropreneur. Rise Brands is behind two nostalgia-themed entertainment concepts, 16-Bit Bar+Arcade and the Pins Mechanical Company. 16-Bit opened in Downtown Columbus in 2013, in Cincinnati's Over-The-Rhine neighborhood in 2014 and in Lakewood in 2015. Pins opened in Downtown Columbus last year and has a planned 2017 opening in Dublin's Bridge Street District later this year: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/rise-brands-turning-out-concepts-entertaining-columbus-and-beyond/
May 26, 20178 yr More retail articles to clear out: This one looks at the state of retailing in the Downtown: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20161223/is-shopping-finally-making-comeback-in-downtown-columbus
May 26, 20178 yr Looking at the state of retailing in the Short North: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/12/23/indie-retailers-thriving-in-short-north-despite.html
May 29, 20178 yr New Krogers helped boost Central Ohio's retail real estate market in 4Q By Laura Newpoff, Digital Editor - Columbus Business First February 14, 2017, 1:16pm EST A new Kroger store on Morse Road helped bolster a strong retail real estate market in the fourth quarter last year, although online shopping trends will continue to impact stores in the future. Columbus Realtors reported the local retail market saw positive net absorption totaling 192,612 square feet in the fourth quarter, based on data from the Central Ohio Commercial Information Exchange and Xceligent. The region's fourth quarter vacancy rate dropped to 5.3 percent, from 5.6 percent in the last three months of 2015. The opening of new Kroger stores that were larger than three stores they replaced contributed to the slight decrease in the vacancy rate, Kim Begley, director of analytics for Xceligent, said in a press release. The new, larger Kroger stores added 358,000 square feet to the market and replaced 193,291 square feet. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/02/14/new-krogers-helped-boost-central-ohios-retail-real.html
May 29, 20178 yr After ten years in the Short North, "What the Rock?!" traded its High Street location for a storefront on Indianola Avenue in Clintonville: http://www.columbusunderground.com/what-the-rock-leaving-the-short-north http://www.columbusunderground.com/photos-what-the-rock-now-open-in-clintonville
May 29, 20178 yr Abercrombie & Fitch opened a new store design at Polaris: http://www.columbusunderground.com/abercrombie-fitch-launches-new-store-concept-at-polaris http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/02/17/abercrombie-fitch-debuts-brighter-more-inclusive.html
May 29, 20178 yr Value City Furniture has taken over two former Kittle’s Furniture store locations in the Easton Town Center and Tuttle Mall areas: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/02/15/new-furniture-stores-opening-in-former-kittles-at.html
May 29, 20178 yr New stores planned for Easton Town Center in 2017: http://www.columbusunderground.com/eight-new-stores-coming-to-easton-town-center-in-2017-we1 http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/23/heres-whats-coming-to-easton-this-year-ew-stores.html
May 30, 20178 yr After ten years in the Short North, "What the Rock?!" traded its High Street location for a storefront on Indianola Avenue in Clintonville: http://www.columbusunderground.com/what-the-rock-leaving-the-short-north http://www.columbusunderground.com/photos-what-the-rock-now-open-in-clintonville That first Columbus Underground article is from November 2016 and the second is from January 2017. I'd say it's old news now.
June 1, 20178 yr The old Swan Cleaners downtown location got sold off to become a new 11-story apartment building: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1965.msg842146.html#msg842146 The new Swan Cleaners downtown location has moved across High Street and a block north into a ground floor spot at the recently completed Highpoint on Columbus Commons project. This new location is also allowing Swan to rethink its business model for a growing downtown population base. This new downtown Swan Cleaners will include a locker valet service, which will allow members 24/7 access to pick-up and drop-off clothes: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/12/new-swan-cleaners-locker-valet-gives-members-24-7.html http://www.columbusunderground.com/swan-cleaners-opens-new-downtown-location-with-extended-services-ls1
June 1, 20178 yr More articles documenting the on-going retailing trend for home delivery of restaurant food and drinks plus more grocery delivery options: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/15/amazon-debuts-beer-and-wine-delivery-in-columbus.html http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/04/21/another-grocery-delivery-option-launching-in.html http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/17/mcdonalds-teaming-with-ubereats-to-bring-big-macs.html
June 2, 20178 yr Couple bits of grocery store news. First, Kroger is testing a smaller format store called Fresh Eats MKT: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/10/kroger-testing-fresh-eats-small-format-grocery.html
June 2, 20178 yr Also, CAM International Market, an Asian supermarket located on Bethel Road in Columbus for about 20 years, is moving to a larger location that will allow it to triple in size. CAM announced it will be moving into the former ITT Technical Institute location in the Hilliard portion of the Mill Run development next to I-270: http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20170511/cam-international-market-closes-in-anticipation-of-move
June 2, 20178 yr And people's pets need food too. So, a bunch a new pet retailers are moving into Columbus/Central Ohio: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/11/04/pet-store-boom-hits-columbus.html http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/19/pet-wants-opening-areas-1st-brick-and-mortar-store.html
June 8, 20178 yr Big Lots, Grandview Mercantile to share former Giant Eagle building near Grandview Heights By Marla Rose and Tim Feran, The Columbus Dispatch Updated: June 6, 2017 at 3:22 PM A vacant grocery store at the edge of Grandview Heights will be retooled for a new Big Lots location (and) will also become home to local antique shop Grandview Mercantile, which will move from its Short North location as the building it currently occupies there is redeveloped. Big Lots will occupy about 37,000 square feet, with Grandview Mercantile taking the other 22,500. The stores are expected to open in the Grandview area location at 1451 West Fifth Avenue in October. Giant Eagle closed its location there in 2014, after it opened a larger Market District store at the nearby Grandview Yard development. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170606/big-lots-grandview-mercantile-to-share-former-giant-eagle-building-near-grandview-heights
July 11, 20177 yr Delivery robot could be toting central Ohioans’ pizzas this year or next By JD Malone, The Columbus Dispatch Updated: July 7, 2017 at 6:36 AM It’s got six wheels, a pop top, nine cameras and an orange flag lit with LEDs. It’s 6D32, and it’s coming to a sidewalk near you. 6D32 is a personal delivery device made by Starship Technologies. It’s more or less a cooler on wheels with some whiz-bang technology tucked beneath a sleek, black-and-white plastic body. Starship is an Estonian company, founded by the same guys behind Skype, that hopes to bring robotic delivery vehicles capable of transporting food, packages and other goods to cities everywhere. ( . . . ) In Columbus, Starship will be testing and demonstrating its six-wheeled cooler for the next week as it works to plot maps of the heart of the city and the Ohio State University area to use when full autonomous operation begins later this year. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170706/delivery-robot-could-be-toting-central-ohioans-pizzas-this-year-or-next
July 11, 20177 yr Most cities prohibit bikes on sidewalks...let alone motorized vehicles. Where does this fit in?
July 11, 20177 yr Most cities prohibit bikes on sidewalks...let alone motorized vehicles. Where does this fit in? According to the article, "A small change to Ohio law that was passed with recent budget legislation now allows such robotic delivery vehicles to operate on sidewalks across the state."
August 17, 20177 yr Last week's 2017 Retail Summit hosted by Franklin County and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce had discussions on Amazon/e-commerce's impact on bricks-and-mortar retail. -- Some say e-commerce is a big threat: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/10/retail-summit-amazon-is-a-big-problem.html -- Some say e-commerce is an overblown threat: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/09/retail-summit-amazon-isnt-the-biggest-problem.html The answer likely is somewhere in between. But there's no question that the retail world is in the midst of a culling of stores. The articles note that "as many as 9,000 stores are expected to close by the end of the year with names as varied in size and scope as Sears, Macy’s, Payless Shoes, Gymboree, Abercrombie & Fitch and Radio Shack all slimming down and some, such as The Limited and H.H. Gregg, going away completely." Some argue that retail overbuilding and less disposable cash at the lower- and middle-income levels are a primary reason for these closings. Others argue that an overbuilding of cookie-cutter designed stores that no longer meet the needs of current customers are a reason. And others argue that current shoppers, particularly younger shoppers, moving more to e-commerce, with Amazon leading the way, are a reason. The retail experts do seem to agree that successful brick-and-mortar retail stores will need to be more destination locations then ever before. Previously shoppers needed to go to stores because that was the only option. Now successful stores are the ones that customers want to go to. They posit that future retail stores will have to be special in some way and also integrate with e-commerce.
August 17, 20177 yr One of the retail experts that see e-commerce as an overblown threat is Easton co-developer Yaromir Steiner. Business First had a fascinating and lengthy interview with him that discussed the current retailing environment and the future of retailing. He also talked about the future of Easton in the interview - those portions are posted in the Easton developments thread at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,9448.msg869050.html#msg869050. LINK TO FULL INTERVIEW: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/10/easton-co-developer-yaromir-steiner-on-how-smart.html Here's what Yaromir Steiner had to say about the current retail environment and on-line retailing: Q: What’s your general impression of the retail environment right now with the explosion of online retailing and what Amazon is doing? A: There is a false impression that online is the problem, that online is coming and destroying retail. Right now, about 12 percent of sales are online - 4 percent is mail-order business. The next 4 percent is brick-and-mortar merchants where consumers also can buy online. And 4 percent is pure online sales - Amazon would be here, among others. -- To give you an idea, in Central Ohio, Amazon sales are about equal, in the same order of magnitude, to the three Costco stores in the Columbus market. To put things into perspective, how often do you write about Costco in Columbus taking over the retail business? Online-only, 4 percent of sales, should not be disturbing them (brick-and-mortar retailers) or demolishing them. The second thing is, the bottom 90 percent of American taxpayers accounted for 70 percent of the income between 1945 and 1980. Ten percent of Americans, the richest, earned 30 percent of the income. Guess how much income is now declared by the bottom 90 percent of Americans? 50 percent. So why am I saying this? The bottom 90 percent of Americans were the people who spent all their paycheck. So you take that money and you give it to Les Wexner or to me, I’m not going to buy three times more shirts now. So the money doesn’t get spent. We are talking about trillions of dollars here. -- If we are in 1980 and I’m a developer, I am happy. We are building malls, and the malls are doing well, we are opening stores. But today we have 20 percent too many malls, too many retailers, too many everything for the amount of money available. So what’s happening is we’re seeing these very spectacular closures and so forth, which is simply an overhang of the overbuilding of the bubble. This is the crisis coming to a culmination, and just sprinkle another 4 percent going to somewhere else. So what does that mean for us? This means that if your properties are cutting-edge properties that are in the surviving group, that group is always going to do well. As long as they adapt to the socioeconomic realities. OK, we need to adjust, but we can do it. We need to recreate and add office, hotel and residential components, which we are doing. But that’s almost a different cycle - that’s a cycle of urban planning in America. That’s what’s happening - it’s scary and reassuring at the same time.
August 17, 20177 yr And speaking of Amazon - the e-commerce giant is opening a bricks-and-mortar store across from OSU in Columbus: Amazon Instant Pickup ready to launch in Columbus Amazon announced on Tuesday the launch of Instant Pickup in Columbus, one of five cities getting the service along with Los Angeles; Berkeley, California; Atlanta; and College Park, Maryland. The announcement did not disclose the pickup site (or sites), nor is it yet listed on the provided website, but safe money is that it’ll be at 2114 N. High Street, just across from Ohio State University. ... Plans for a pickup and rapid delivery site were approved there earlier this year (then called Amazon Campus) and an Amazon storefront appears ready to open at that spot. The release states that the space will have hundreds of products — food, cold drinks, personal care items, technology, Amazon devices — that can be ordered through the Instant Pickup offering on the Amazon app and can be picked up within minutes in one of the self-service lockers. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/15/amazon-instant-pickup-ready-to-launch-in-columbus.html
September 12, 20177 yr Lifestyle Retail Store Will Open in Short North this Month Before American Apparel vacated their spot in the Short North, the owners at Chicago retail store Madison — USA were eyeing the location for their break into the Columbus market. They made a popup appearance in May, a two-day introduction bringing a little Chicago to Columbus, and revealing the local market’s possibilities to the Chicago entrepreneurs. Four months later, the sign on their door at 1219 N. High St. announces a permanent opening at the end of the month. More below: http://www.columbusunderground.com/lifestyle-retail-store-will-open-short-north-this-month-ls1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 15, 20187 yr ^ CU's first look at Madison-USA opening in American Apparel's vacated spot in the Short North at Fifth & High: http://www.columbusunderground.com/short-norths-madison-usa-opens-today-ls1
January 15, 20187 yr Big Lots, Grandview Mercantile to share former Giant Eagle building near Grandview Heights By Marla Rose and Tim Feran, The Columbus Dispatch Updated: June 6, 2017 at 3:22 PM A vacant grocery store at the edge of Grandview Heights will be retooled for a new Big Lots location (and) will also become home to local antique shop Grandview Mercantile, which will move from its Short North location as the building it currently occupies there is redeveloped. Big Lots will occupy about 37,000 square feet, with Grandview Mercantile taking the other 22,500. The stores are expected to open in the Grandview area location at 1451 West Fifth Avenue in October. Giant Eagle closed its location there in 2014, after it opened a larger Market District store at the nearby Grandview Yard development. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170606/big-lots-grandview-mercantile-to-share-former-giant-eagle-building-near-grandview-heights Business First's article and photo slideshow of the new Big Lots "store of the future" that opened in the former Big Bear/Giant Eagle at 1451 W. Fifth Avenue in the Grandview area: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/09/21/first-look-a-walk-through-big-lots-store-of-the.html
January 16, 20187 yr Article and brief video (linked below) from VOAnews about how immigrants and refugees are reviving the Northland neighborhood in Columbus. This phenomenon in Northland was also discussed back in 2010 by an Ohio Wesleyan University professor, who coined the “immigrantification,” to describe how businesses that immigrants either start or patronize can help revitalize depressed neighborhoods in this post from 2010 posted earlier in this thread: https://www.voanews.com/a/immigrants-and-refugees-revive-depressed-neighborhood-in-columbus-ohio/4028841.html
January 16, 20187 yr Continental Office is expanding its retail footprint into Downtown Columbus from its main campus at 5061 Freeway Drive. Their new 4,000 square foot downtown studio at 130 E. Chestnut Street, which opened in 2017, serves dual purposes as an employee space and a showroom: http://themetropreneur.com/columbus/continental-office-opens-downtown-studio/
January 16, 20187 yr Business First looks at how Easton changed in 2017 and what's in store for 2018: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/12/29/easton-2017-giant-retailers-hot-chicken-and-legos.html
January 17, 20187 yr With the runaway success of the Short North, many long-time High Street retailers are either closing or moving to less expensive areas of the city. One recent retail casualty is Three Dog Bakery located at 611 N. High. The 10-year-old bakery that creates treats for people and their pets announced they will be closing at the end of January because of a rent increase: http://www.columbusunderground.com/three-dog-bakery-will-close-this-month-due-to-rent-increase-ls1 As old retailers leave the Short North, new retailers move in. The Blowout Bar will be opening this spring at 941 N. High Street. Although this is a locally-owned business - and not a national chain that many bemoan as "the death of the Short North" - it is the type of business that reflects the growing affluence of the area and the retail changes taking place: http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-blowout-bar-coming-soon-to-the-short-north-we1
January 24, 20187 yr Short North Retailer Pursuit Will Outfit USA Men’s Curling Team for 2018 Winter Olympics: http://www.columbusunderground.com/short-north-retailer-pursuit-will-outfit-2018-usa-mens-curling-team-ls1
February 5, 20187 yr Warby Parker is opening their first Ohio location in the Short North at 601 N High I'm sure some people won't like another chain, but I think it's great to see more established non-restaurant retail taking hold along here. This could have easily gone up to Easton, so it speaks highly of the SN and Downtown market that they chose a truly urban, street-facing spot instead
February 5, 20187 yr ^ That's cool, and a good fit for the Short North. I think Shinola and Warby Parker would be good fits for OTR, too.
February 22, 20187 yr Not all of the veteran local retailers in the Short North are getting replaced: This summer, Short North retailer TORSO Clothing Co will celebrate 20 years of business. First moving into its spot at 772 N. High Street back in late May of 1998, TORSO has provided men and women’s clothing while supporting local nonprofits and other organizations: http://www.columbusunderground.com/short-north-retailer-torso-celebrates-20-years-ls1
March 20, 20187 yr Eastland Mall had its 50th anniversary last month. It’s the last surviving mall of the original three regional “directional” malls in Columbus: Northland was razed and redeveloped years ago, while Westland sits vacant. Eastland isn't the regional shopping attraction it once was - it lost its three remaining anchor stores over the past two years. Easton, Tuttle and Polaris are the biggest regional shopping centers in Central Ohio now. But the remaining Eastland stores and food court still remain popular for Far East Side residents. Because of this and new ownership, local retail experts feel that Eastland is not in danger of closing down: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,30856.msg858157.html#msg858157 -- The Dispatch ran this recent profile of Eastland Mall at 50: http://www.dispatch.com/business/20180218/golden-years
March 20, 20187 yr Warby Parker is opening their first Ohio location in the Short North at 601 N High I'm sure some people won't like another chain, but I think it's great to see more established non-restaurant retail taking hold along here. This could have easily gone up to Easton, so it speaks highly of the SN and Downtown market that they chose a truly urban, street-facing spot instead More about Warby Parker opening in the Short North: https://www.columbusunderground.com/warby-parker-opening-first-ohio-retail-store-in-columbus-we1
April 25, 20187 yr The former Marshall Field's/Kaufman's/2nd Macy's at Tuttle mall appears to have a new tenant lined up - Scene75, an "indoor entertainment center" chain I'd never heard of before. Apparently they have locations already in Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh though, and the reviews are decent. I don't know if it will long-term solve any of the challenges Tuttle is facing, but it certainly doesn't hurt http://www.dispatch.com/business/20180425/indoor-entertainment-center-could-open-in-former-macys-space-at-tuttle-mall
April 26, 20187 yr Eyewear brand picks Short North for first Ohio shop An online retail innovator is coming to Columbus. New York-based Warby Parker is bringing a shop to 601 N. High St., which most recently was Le Chocoholique. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/26/eyewear-brand-picks-short-north-for-first-ohio.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 26, 20187 yr Easton creates new retail space for test stores Easton Town Center is giving retailers a space to experiment. The Columbus development has created Shop Lab, a 500-square-foot space inside the Easton Station building that will be rentable by retailers for short-run tests, be it a few weeks or a few months. “It’s a platform to enhance brands,” Yaromir Steiner, CEO of Easton co-developer Steiner + Associates, said at an event Tuesday night. “We’ll allow retailers to experiment with a suite of resources.” More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/26/easton-creates-new-retail-space-for-test-stores.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 30, 20187 yr The former Marshall Field's/Kaufman's/2nd Macy's at Tuttle mall appears to have a new tenant lined up - Scene75, an "indoor entertainment center" chain I'd never heard of before. Apparently they have locations already in Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh though, and the reviews are decent. I don't know if it will long-term solve any of the challenges Tuttle is facing, but it certainly doesn't hurt http://www.dispatch.com/business/20180425/indoor-entertainment-center-could-open-in-former-macys-space-at-tuttle-mall More about the Scene 75 indoor entertainment center that will be going into the Tuttle Crossing Mall from Business First. The link also includes a slideshow of Scene 75's Pittsburgh location for a preview of what the Tuttle location will look like: Dayton entrepreneur details plans for family entertainment center at Tuttle Crossing (slideshow): https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/27/exclusive-dayton-entrepreneur-details-plans-for.html
April 30, 20187 yr I've been to the one in Brunswick... err..... Cleveland. It's a good time. It's like a dave and busters but about 40% cooler. It has laser tag, go karts, a laser maze, bumper cars, mini golf, arcade games, and a pretty ok bar. It's definitely worth 40 bucks for the super pass that gets you one trip through all that stuff plus an hour of arcade games. I wouldn't go a lot, but twice a year is definitely a possibility
April 30, 20187 yr It always seems like the costs are out of hand with these places despite the fact that they don't pay rent (as is the case here) or are paying percentage rent. It looks like they are they actually know how to make it work. I'm thinking of how Gameworks and D&B locations keep shutting down, how the one at Tri-County Mall in at the old JCPenny in Cincy was only paying percentage rent but didn't make it, the one in Circleville is now a Sutherlands or if you go way back to 1992, the one in the old State Nissan on the Far East Side of Columbus made it only a year or two. It's like, there's a ton of people buzzing around performing maintenance on the go-karts, cleaning up, tearing apart the video arcade cabinets, unjamming the redemption games, making food that nobody eats, charging batteries, trying to book birthday parties, yelling at kids to behave and a million other things. Too many moving parts. But if you hire highly entrepreneurial people and get everything down to a system maybe it works.
April 30, 20187 yr Axe Throwing Lounge Coming Soon to Downtown Columbus https://www.columbusunderground.com/dueling-axes-downtown-columbus-tm1 This will be a block south of 16-Bit, Dirty Franks, et al in the South Fourth (Short Fourth?) area of downtown. Looks fun!
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