3 minutes ago, sono4315 said:

It really is sad how bad it's gone down hill. The place just feels stale and empty. I took a few pictures inside of the screens that used to show the weekly events and now they are either torn out of the wall or not working at all

 Same with the screens in the underpass heading to Axis ( which is also the same owner). 

That’s what happens when a trash person buys a local beloved establishment. They couldn’t care less about the product and he probably just wanted the location. 

Edited January 5Jan 5 by VintageLife

2 hours ago, VintageLife said:

 

I will agree that I hope they are able to fill it with something other than a restaurant. I’ll say it time and time again, but these retail spots need to be split into 1,000-1,500 sqft and you would be able to fill them with many local shops. 

 

This is the size I and many of my peers wanted when operating local retail stores. So many of the spaces offered were 2000+ sqft. That's actually fine for us and we can make it work if you don't charge by the square foot. One thing I liked about being in malls is that most of them no longer charge by the square foot for specialty tenants but rather how badly they wanted the space rented.

On 1/5/2025 at 9:16 AM, NW24HX said:

 

Agree that it's unfortunate. Pre-COVID, the SN seemed to be getting some real momentum as a potential urban retail destination with national brands like Anthropologie, Bonobos, Warby Parker, and Lululemon setting up shop. 5 years later they're all gone... And it's not that I want the SN to be taken over by chain stores, far from it, but the truth is the neighborhood is already being taken over by bars and restaurants (and many of those now are chains). The presence of national brands indicates a strong retail market in general, and having a selection of them in the neighborhood brought balance and was a convenience for city dwellers to do their shopping in the core without having to trek out to Easton or Polaris

 

Ideally we'd have a strong shopping district (with these brands and more) in downtown proper, which is the norm worldwide outside of the US. And we actually had that, but it died in the mid-00s, was buried, and will be a long, long climb back to get something even close to resembling what we lost. The SN is now much stronger than downtown, and I was heartened by the expansion of retail in the neighborhood throughout the 2010s. Unique, local stores are the backbone of the SN and should remain so, but a curated mix of national brands in addition helps them thrive as well by driving more shopping traffic overall IMO - a rising tide lifts all boats. In any event, for the time being that boat is clearly in choppy waters if not sinking. I'm hopeful 2025 brings us some good news that can start to turn back the tide

 

So I hopped on Google Maps and to get the lay of the land in terms of retail in the Short North. There are currently around 30 various types of apparel shops between 670 and 5th Avenue. Almost none are big national brands but there's plenty of apparel options. There are also 25-30 assorted retail locations (candle shops, jewelers, furniture, etc.) as well as around 10 art galleries still in operation. There are also numerous tattoo shops, beauty parlors (hair, nails, etc.), banks, etc. 

 

I'm totally on board with the desire for the SN to be more than just a bar/restaurant district, and I think having a few more national brands might be nice, but I think the neighborhood is fairly well diversified in terms of its mix of uses. 

37 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

So I hopped on Google Maps and to get the lay of the land in terms of retail in the Short North. There are currently around 30 various types of apparel shops between 670 and 5th Avenue. Almost none are big national brands but there's plenty of apparel options. There are also 25-30 assorted retail locations (candle shops, jewelers, furniture, etc.) as well as around 10 art galleries still in operation. There are also numerous tattoo shops, beauty parlors (hair, nails, etc.), banks, etc. 

 

I'm totally on board with the desire for the SN to be more than just a bar/restaurant district, and I think having a few more national brands might be nice, but I think the neighborhood is fairly well diversified in terms of its mix of uses. 

Yeah I don’t get the claims it is empty and doesn’t have retail. There are over 300 businesses or something in the short north district so there isn’t a change they are all restaurant locations. It could have more and I’m sure it will continue to fill up and places will continue to close, it’s the cycle of life. 

4 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

Yeah I don’t get the claims it is empty and doesn’t have retail. There are over 300 businesses or something in the short north district so there isn’t a change they are all restaurant locations. It could have more and I’m sure it will continue to fill up and places will continue to close, it’s the cycle of life. 

 

There's so much turnover with locally owned retail, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc. Those are such difficult businesses to operate, especially in the SN where rents are high and competition is fierce. You are always going to have places closing, but the space rarely sits vacant for long. How many vacant storefronts are there in the SN? Like totally vacant, not a place not currently open because reno work is in process. There aren't many.

13 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

There's so much turnover with locally owned retail, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc. Those are such difficult businesses to operate, especially in the SN where rents are high and competition is fierce. You are always going to have places closing, but the space rarely sits vacant for long. How many vacant storefronts are there in the SN? Like totally vacant, not a place not currently open because reno work is in process. There aren't many.

Yeah I have checked before and there aren’t many vacant storefronts that don’t have something planned or currently renovating for. Columbus underground had an article about retail back in 2023 and found that the short north had a 15% vacancy rate on retail, that’s pretty damn good, especially coming out of the pandemic. 

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

 

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

 

There's so much turnover with locally owned retail, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc. Those are such difficult businesses to operate, especially in the SN where rents are high and competition is fierce. You are always going to have places closing, but the space rarely sits vacant for long. How many vacant storefronts are there in the SN? Like totally vacant, not a place not currently open because reno work is in process. There aren't many.

 

Agreed. There’s a few big spots that I’ve been curious about -

1. 726 N High

2. the parkside on Pearl spot

3. now the whole block where bonobos and the crew spot were 

4. 989 n high (where tin roof was supposed to go)

5. 1195 n high 

 

But for the most part, the rest of the spaces are filled or getting ready to be filled (Goodfellas Pizza, the Rivington, Voodoo).

1 minute ago, smjjms said:

989 n high (where tin roof was supposed to go)

I think this is still happening. It looks like there are people working in that building, getting it ready. 

Edited January 6Jan 6 by VintageLife

3 hours ago, VintageLife said:

Yeah I have checked before and there aren’t many vacant storefronts that don’t have something planned or currently renovating for. Columbus underground had an article about retail back in 2023 and found that the short north had a 15% vacancy rate on retail, that’s pretty damn good, especially coming out of the pandemic. 

 

I can't find it now, but I've also read that the average retail rent per square foot in the SN really isn't that outrageous at $16-18/sqft. When you're running a 2500+ sqft bar or restaurant with the typical American buildout cost of over $1M and today's extra-slim sitdown margins that's where you can really lose some money. Meanwhile opening a 1200 sqft store with a much smaller buildout cost (and timeframe) is less likely to totally rip your face off.

What about that building between The Joseph and the cap (former Blick and Callendar Cleaners)? That's been empty for years.

11 minutes ago, Pablo said:

What about that building between The Joseph and the cap (former Blick and Callendar Cleaners)? That's been empty for years.

The one that wasn’t Blick is currently being remodeled for goodfellas pizza.

 

edit: looks like the old Blick space is a tanning salon now 

Edited January 6Jan 6 by VintageLife

Noticed today Happy Greek will be closing for good after more than 20 years in the Short North. Does anyone have any information on this? I can't read the article on Business First 

Edited February 14Feb 14 by sono4315

4 minutes ago, sono4315 said:

Noticed today Happy Greek will be closing for good after more than 20 years in the Short North. Does anyone have any information on this? I can't read the article on Business First 

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/02/13/happy-greek-short-north-to-close.html

Quote

A Short North restaurant is closing after more than 20 years.

The last day of business at the Happy Greek, 660 N. High St., is Feb. 15.

The restaurant posted a letter in the window as well as on social media announcing the decision, citing an inability to come to a new lease agreement.

“We have loved being part of your special moments – wedding rehearsals, graduations, birthdays and so many more,” the message said. “Seeing your smiles and sharing our food with you has been our greatest joy and we are grateful for the memories.”

 

On 2/14/2025 at 1:04 PM, Pablo said:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/02/13/happy-greek-short-north-to-close.html

 

Something we seem to keep hearing more and more of in the Short North.... Landlords are getting greedy and kicking out the businesses that actually made the Short North worth going to. But maybe we will get a second sports gambling themed bar that you can't gamble at?!

Sometimes a business really wants a space so they approach the landlords and offer double the current rent or more. I'm not saying that's the case here, but some landlords are going to take that no question while others are going to stick with who they already do business with. It's a risk though since the new tenant might have a lot of money now but won't in a year or two.

Have we found out what's going in the Mouton space yet? 

 

Because that landlords gamble was no one wanted the old Devine Space alone. He could only find interest from people who wanted to take over the Devine space AND Mouton space. 

I live in one of the buildings on this block, I will say the same guy owns from the the Macaron Bar all the way around the corner to the row houses on Russell Street. That's a pretty large chunk of property to own in the Short North. 

Edited February 17Feb 17 by sono4315

1 hour ago, GCrites said:

Sometimes a business really wants a space so they approach the landlords and offer double the current rent or more. I'm not saying that's the case here, but some landlords are going to take that no question while others are going to stick with who they already do business with. It's a risk though since the new tenant might have a lot of money now but won't in a year or two.

Oh I'm aware, but it's big box name brand chain type places that typically have the money to do that. They can take a risk and float a potentially  bad location with a few okay locations so it's not super risky for them. 

3 hours ago, TIm said:

Something we seem to keep hearing more and more of in the Short North.... Landlords are getting greedy and kicking out the businesses that actually made the Short North worth going to. But maybe we will get a second sports gambling themed bar that you can't gamble at?!

I think we will see more big name places come into the short north. It’s just a natural progression of retail in popular areas. I would love for it to be only local, but as it becomes more and more of a retail destination, those bigger stores will come in. We are currently seeing things shift to the actual downtown area, and soon Franklinton. 

Noticed the sign is up for Goodfellas Pizza in the long abandoned building at the south entrance of the Short North.  I've been to the one in Lexington and it's pretty good! I like that you can buy just a slice and not a whole pie.  They also had a really nice outdoor area so here's to hoping they utilize some of the small park between their restaurant and El Vequero. 

 

These are some of the photos from the Lexington locations Facebook. I don't own the rights to any of these photos. 

9 minutes ago, sono4315 said:

Noticed the sign is up for Goodfellas Pizza in the long abandoned building at the south entrance of the Short North.  I've been to the one in Lexington and it's pretty good! I like that you can buy just a slice and not a whole pie.  They also had a really nice outdoor area so here's to hoping they utilize some of the small park between their restaurant and El Vequero. 

 

These are some of the photos from the Lexington locations Facebook. I don't own the rights to any of these photos. 

According to permits that have been filed, they will be using the patio space. I’m shocked there are so few by the slice options in the short north. Seems like the perfect area for it. 

1 hour ago, DTCL11 said:

Have we found out what's going in the Mouton space yet? 

 

Because that landlords gamble was no one wanted the old Devine Space alone. He could only find interest from people who wanted to take over the Devine space AND Mouton space. 

Voodoo Brewing is taking over both spaces. They’ve filed permits to turn the windows into garage doors.

 

https://614now.com/2024/food-drink/national-brewpub-chain-opening-in-short-north

Ohhh... that makes sense. I saw someone mentioned voodoo in Columbus and I went straight to donuts but didn't see that announced anywhere. 

 

I wish a good brewery would take over the SeeSaw space or whatever it's called these days. 

 

1 hour ago, DTCL11 said:

Ohhh... that makes sense. I saw someone mentioned voodoo in Columbus and I went straight to donuts but didn't see that announced anywhere. 

 

I wish a good brewery would take over the SeeSaw space or whatever it's called these days. 

 

Goodnight John Boy, and that's a popular late night club (11PM - 3am) kind of spot. It's usually slammed so I doubt it'll change anytime soon.

2 hours ago, VintageLife said:

According to permits that have been filed, they will be using the patio space. I’m shocked there are so few by the slice options in the short north. Seems like the perfect area for it. 

Right! I live a block away so I'm excited to be able to grab a quick slice! They should add a window for walk up orders. 

On 2/17/2025 at 9:29 AM, sono4315 said:

Noticed the sign is up for Goodfellas Pizza in the long abandoned building at the south entrance of the Short North.  I've been to the one in Lexington and it's pretty good! I like that you can buy just a slice and not a whole pie.  They also had a really nice outdoor area so here's to hoping they utilize some of the small park between their restaurant and El Vequero. 

 

These are some of the photos from the Lexington locations Facebook. I don't own the rights to any of these photos. 

The last time I visit in Columbus in October, I noticed that this building was still empty and I couldn’t understand why. It’s a great building with a wonderful outdoor space next to it and I’m glad to see somebody moving in there.

Starbucks coming back to the Short North.  Located inside the Firestone building next to Great Clips. 

1 hour ago, sono4315 said:

Starbucks coming back to the Short North.  Located inside the Firestone building next to Great Clips. 

With the number of local coffee shops in the short north, it will be interesting to see if they are open long 

2 hours ago, VintageLife said:

With the number of local coffee shops in the short north, it will be interesting to see if they are open long 

Starbucks tried maybe 10 years ago at the south end of the Short North but eventually closed. Only time will tell. 

Edited February 20Feb 20 by sono4315

It'll do better at that location than the previous one as it's closer to a higher population density than...next to the Cap.

Partial facade collapse at the southwest corner of 5th and High Street: 

https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/north-high-street-building-collpase-short-north-bricks/530-9b12e011-aa08-46c4-8540-7645b52e74cb

2 minutes ago, PizzaScissors said:

Partial facade collapse at the southwest corner of 5th and High Street: 

https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/north-high-street-building-collpase-short-north-bricks/530-9b12e011-aa08-46c4-8540-7645b52e74cb

Hopefully that isn’t anything hard to fix. Would be a shame to lose a building like that. 

4 hours ago, VintageLife said:

Hopefully that isn’t anything hard to fix. Would be a shame to lose a building like that. 

Probably deferred maintenance tuckpointing brick. The building looks solid but seeing the windows and such its obvious the owner is not keeping up with it.

19 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

Probably deferred maintenance tuckpointing brick. The building looks solid but seeing the windows and such its obvious the owner is not keeping up with it.

Yeah, it seems like it wouldn’t be a hard fix 

In true Columbus fashion, the building will probably be torn down for a parking lot..../jk

Starbucks opening soon on the first floor of The Fireproof. 

6 minutes ago, sono4315 said:

Starbucks opening soon on the first floor of The Fireproof. 

I get credit tenants and all, but this is not good for the overall character of the neighborhood. We need more local that brings people to the area - no one is going to travel to the 6th starbucks on the road

26 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

I get credit tenants and all, but this is not good for the overall character of the neighborhood. We need more local that brings people to the area - no one is going to travel to the 6th starbucks on the road

The ground floor now has Chipotle, Great Clips, Anthem, and Starbucks. One more retail space to fill. 

Edited March 22Mar 22 by sono4315

5 hours ago, columbus17 said:

no one is going to travel to the 6th starbucks on the road

Starbucks begs to differ. They aren’t paying astronomical short north rents to lose money, I can guarantee you that. 

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

Starbucks begs to differ. They aren’t paying astronomical short north rents to lose money, I can guarantee you that. 

It will be interesting to see how they do. There are so many local shops and I feel like the only pull most Starbucks have is a drive thru and they don’t have that. 

21 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

It will be interesting to see how they do. There are so many local shops and I feel like the only pull most Starbucks have is a drive thru and they don’t have that. 

I bet they are counting on people who wfh to utilize the space and buy a drink. I do love the interior though with the cool mural on the wall! 

  Also from NBC4 this will be the 6th Starbucks within a 3-mile stretch of High Street from OSU campus to downtown.  

Edited March 23Mar 23 by sono4315

1 hour ago, VintageLife said:

It will be interesting to see how they do. There are so many local shops and I feel like the only pull most Starbucks have is a drive thru and they don’t have that. 

Im personally not a fan of Starbucks, but if they are opening a shop here it means the market indicates it can handle one. 
 

They are also incredibly common in urban areas. It’s not uncommon to see Starbucks locations only separated by a block or two in denser areas, especially touristy areas. Given that the SN has become increasingly touristy, it’s no surprise Starbucks wants in. 
 

I would much prefer a local shop to Starbucks, but it’s not like there numerous options within the surrounding few blocks. 

10 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

Im personally not a fan of Starbucks, but if they are opening a shop here it means the market indicates it can handle one. 
 

They are also incredibly common in urban areas. It’s not uncommon to see Starbucks locations only separated by a block or two in denser areas, especially touristy areas. Given that the SN has become increasingly touristy, it’s no surprise Starbucks wants in. 
 

I would much prefer a local shop to Starbucks, but it’s not like there numerous options within the surrounding few blocks. 

Yes it is a great confirmation of C-bus' amazing growth that the tourists have invaded Short North, though we have nostalgic memories from when we sadly left the neighborhood/C-bus 20+ years ago. Starbucks placement in touristy areas is similar to the one also this month across from Cleveland's West Side Market in its booming Ohio City/Tremont/Duck Island neighborhood (as also discussed at length in one of the Cle threads). While there is an extremely popular local coffee shop next door in the new timber frame Intro also across from the WSM - and many other local coffee shops in the area as in Short North/C-bus - we think it is a healthy sign when the national chains arrive vs closing (Chipotle and Choolaah among other new arrivals in Cle OC). 

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/03/11/starbucks-is-next-chain-to-arrive-in-ohio-city/

 

I agree with you - always try to support the local coffee shops while watching the tourists parade by and politely ask for directions to the nearest Starbucks.  

On 3/22/2025 at 2:26 PM, columbus17 said:

I get credit tenants and all, but this is not good for the overall character of the neighborhood. We need more local that brings people to the area - no one is going to travel to the 6th starbucks on the road

This is the Short North, the character of the neighborhood is "chain food and bars". This fits in perfectly with the character of the neighborhood, the average person loves Starbucks. There are 4 local coffee shops I can walk to but the Starbucks in the neighborhood is consistently the busiest coffee shop in the area.

On 3/23/2025 at 9:14 AM, Willo said:

Yes it is a great confirmation of C-bus' amazing growth that the tourists have invaded Short North, though we have nostalgic memories from when we sadly left the neighborhood/C-bus 20+ years ago. Starbucks placement in touristy areas is similar to the one also this month across from Cleveland's West Side Market in its booming Ohio City/Tremont/Duck Island neighborhood (as also discussed at length in one of the Cle threads). While there is an extremely popular local coffee shop next door in the new timber frame Intro also across from the WSM - and many other local coffee shops in the area as in Short North/C-bus - we think it is a healthy sign when the national chains arrive vs closing (Chipotle and Choolaah among other new arrivals in Cle OC). 

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/03/11/starbucks-is-next-chain-to-arrive-in-ohio-city/

 

I agree with you - always try to support the local coffee shops while watching the tourists parade by and politely ask for directions to the nearest Starbucks.  

They aren't tourists, we don't really have those here. They're former Ohio State students who moved one neighborhood south after they graduated and other young transplants to the city. People love easy and Starbucks is easy.

40 minutes ago, TIm said:

They aren't tourists, we don't really have those here. They're former Ohio State students who moved one neighborhood south after they graduated and other young transplants to the city. People love easy and Starbucks is easy.

Columbus does have tourist. Anytime there is any kind of event at the convention center it brings in tourist. They will likely get Starbucks since they are used to it and know what they want. The majority of Ohio state grads are more likely to stop into a local spot. 

5 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

Columbus does have tourist. Anytime there is any kind of event at the convention center it brings in tourist. They will likely get Starbucks since they are used to it and know what they want. The majority of Ohio state grads are more likely to stop into a local spot. 

 

Exactly. The convention center brings in thousands of visitors at a time. Their website actually has a calendar of events and has an anticipated number of attendees for the events. Just this past weekend, there were over 8,000 people attending events at the convention center. In 2023, it brought in over 50 million total visitors. With that amount of visitors in the area, the SN trending more chain-heavy was bound to happen. I'm actually impressed it's maintain as much local flavor as it has, given how expensive it is to operate a business there. 

 

I would love to see COTA bring back the CBus Circulator (for free) and really emphasize it for visitors as a way to get to different parts of downtown, German Village, Franklinton, etc. That would allow visitors/tourists who tend to be concentrated around the GCCC to more easily spread out to other parts of the city for food, drinks, and entertainment options. 

36 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Exactly. The convention center brings in thousands of visitors at a time. Their website actually has a calendar of events and has an anticipated number of attendees for the events. Just this past weekend, there were over 8,000 people attending events at the convention center. In 2023, it brought in over 50 million total visitors. With that amount of visitors in the area, the SN trending more chain-heavy was bound to happen. I'm actually impressed it's maintain as much local flavor as it has, given how expensive it is to operate a business there. 

 

I would love to see COTA bring back the CBus Circulator (for free) and really emphasize it for visitors as a way to get to different parts of downtown, German Village, Franklinton, etc. That would allow visitors/tourists who tend to be concentrated around the GCCC to more easily spread out to other parts of the city for food, drinks, and entertainment options. 

Even more so now that the core downtown is starting to grow and bring in new businesses. It would be great for convention center people to be able to experience that and the peninsula/franklinton 

I think the tourism discussion contributes but I would also argue that is more a marker of permanent resident density for this location, so far North and away from the convention center, hotels, etc. If it wasn't for growing density, I'm not sure it would be there. The Short North isn't seeing a spike of tourism that is hasn't seen in the last 10 years. What it is seeing is a large influx of residents with growing potential for more in the undeveloped spaces. I think that is something to be celebrated in a way. 

 

Absolutely, Starbucks will be successful for familiarity of tourists and residents. (Let's not preten that CBUS residents are above Starbucks. Each have their purposes). 

 

To the point of other urban areas, some of the most dense neighborhoods of Chicago and New York have them every couple blocks as pointed out above and that's not to accomodate tourists. 

 

This Starbucks is also a return to Starbucks 'third place' model it seems after years of transitioning away from that and if it was geared to accomodate tourism more than the neighborhood model, it would be less accommodating to sitting and staying. 

 

And 100000000%. It's almost criminal that the CBUS circulator has not been revived. 

Edited March 24Mar 24 by DTCL11

14 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

It's almost criminal that the CBUS circulator has not been revived. 

Here is some info from WOSU back in January. I think this is a great approach. 

 

COTA is also looking into bringing back a version of the old CBus downtown circulator. The CBus circulator was a free-to-ride downtown bus route that ran from the Brewery District to the Short North. That service ended during the pandemic, but COTA hopes to bring back the concept.

Pullin says COTA wants to study how something like the CBus line needs to change from what it was before COVID.

 

"We do see value in having a circulator downtown, but we want to make sure that we're doing it more than just hitting the High Street locations. There might be some better locations that we need to be hitting as well that are east and west of downtown," Pullin said.

 

Pullin says a new circulator line could be complimentary to the bus rapid transit route that connect into downtown. Construction is planned to start on the BRT routes later this year.