Offbeat attraction

Vacant Gahanna car wash serves as art gallery, plant exchange

Working out of a mobile coffee shop in Gahanna across the street from an old, vacant car wash, Matt Roberson couldn’t help but daydream about what that empty, decrepit space could house. h Maybe it could be a gallery for artists like himself — or at least a place for people to hang murals in the abandoned washing bays. h Or maybe he could start a “plant library” where people with green thumbs — like his wife — could exchange greenery from their own yards. h Since 2018, he and his wife, Kayla, who own Blank Slate Coffee, have made those dreams a unique reality — with the blessing of the property’s owner, a local developer, Matt Roberson said.

Tallman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Seattle; and held internships with then-u.s. Senator Barack Obama and U.S. District Judge Wayne Andersen of Illinois, who is retired. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State and a juris doctor from Northwestern University.

The Matriots, which has a $750,000 budget this year, includes more than 1,800 members in more than half of Ohio’s counties. When it was founded in 2017, only 22% of elected officials in the General Assembly were women. After the 2020 election, women made up 31.8%.

Schriver will be able to capitalize on a wave of women engaging in the political process at historic levels.

“She’s very connected to the mission of the Matriots. She has been involved in the organization. That alignment is very important to us,” says Myrita Craig, a longtime Cincinnati business leader who serves as chairman of the board for the Matriots. “[Schriver] is so intelligent, engaging, passionate, organized. She’s just hitting on all cylinders in terms of what we were looking for to take the organization to the next level.”

As it looks toward the next five years of its existence, the organization hopes to begin supporting women with the resources they need in making the decision to run in the first place, Schriver says.

The ultimate goal? Gender balance across Ohio’s elected offices.

For a candidate, an endorsement from the organization means financial support, introductions in its influential network and general support. The Matriots has endorsed 248 candidates with a win rate of 59 percent since 2018 — Democrats, Republicans, independents, Greens and Libertarians. Candidates must align with its values, which are economic empowerment, equity and independence, women’s access to health, education for women and families, and safe communities to live and raise families.

“The political process right now, there are so many challenges with it. We’re at a lot of loggerheads with each other. And if we were to distill things back to what we what we value, core principles that we value as people, I think we’d get a little further,” Schriver says.

Schriver resides in northwest Columbus with her husband, John Schriver, and their three daughters. ksmith@dispatch.com @katywatersmith

PHOTOS BY BARBARA J. PERENIC/THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Matt Roberson refurbished the abandoned car wash across the street from his Gahanna coffee shop, Blank Slate Coffee.

Roberson said he’s not sure the space has brought more business to his coffee shop, but he and his wife are happy with the gathering space, which has attracted lots of attention.