New Columbus restaurants specialize in superfoods
Superfoods − no matter how you define the term − became more abundant around central Ohio last month.
If you go by the most widely accepted definition and count nutrient-packed foods, such as acai, sprouted-grain breads, fresh fruit and spirulina, a new Pure Green franchise opened in Polaris.
If you consider a fine-dining menu super, there's 24 Main, a beautifully appointed restaurant and cocktail bar in New Albany.
And if your idea of a superfood is chicken wings, a good Italian sub, a juicy smashburger or smoky barbecue, read on.
Here's a rundown of notable restaurant that opened and closed recently.
24 Main
Co-founders Jess Mccarter and Candice White opened 24 Main on March 1 in a former New Albany farm house.
They call it a “bar-centric restaurant” that features a menu of curated cocktails and a rotating selection of small plates ranging from Somali beef suqaar to hamachi crudo and mushroom gnocchi. The address is in the name: 24 E. Main St. in New Albany.
“We'll introduce you to new techniques, new drinks, new things you have not tasted before,” Mccarter told Explore New Albany, a city Youtube channel.
Crunchick
The Korean fried-chicken trend continues in central Ohio with the opening of Crunchick, a locally owned stall that began serving customers March 6 at Bubbly Hall, 6065 Central College Road in New Albany.
Crunchick serves chicken sandwiches, tenders and bone-in wings, all with the light but super-crispy batter that is Korean fried-chicken's signature. They come with a choice of three housemade sauces: white garlic, soy garlic and spicy red.
Dibella's Subs opened its third central Ohio location March 6 at 7105 N. High St. in Worthington, in a new development called Worthington Gateway. The Rochester, New York-based chain is building another shop at Hamilton Quarter, a still-expanding retail development near New Albany on the northeast side.
Other Dibella's are at 4949 Tuttle Crossing Blvd. near Dublin and 1539 Olentangy River Road, near the University District.
Finjan Café
Yemen has been a source of coffee for the world for almost 600 years. Finjan Café, a Yemeni coffeehouse that started in Garden City, Michigan, has opened its first Ohio café at 4734 Cemetery Road, in Hilliard.
Finjan, which means cup in Arabic, is showcasing coffee's history and
giving customers an authentic Yemenicoffee experience, according to the website.
I Like It Like That
I Like It Like That opened March 18 inside Natalie's Grandview, 945 King Ave. in Fifth by Northwest. It's run by Chef Megan Hodges, Sous-chef Dustin Mustard and drinks specialists Genevieve Johnson and Lindsay Koontz.
Current menu highlights at the venue: the Bahn Megs pizza, a báhn mi-ish pie topped with marinated tofu, carrot, jalapeno, pickled onion and cilantro, as well as the Aqua Tofana, named after what was literally a killer cocktail in 17th-century Sicily. It was poisonous, sold publicly under a disguise and purchased by more than 600 women to kill their husbands. Today's version has tequila, turmeric, lime, sugar, soda and a “secret ingredient.”
Johnson's Real Ice Cream
The temperature was 10 degrees cooler than usual, but people lined up out the door for free scoops March 21 for the opening of the newest Johnson's Real Ice Cream shop at 1325 Grandview Ave., near Grandview Heights.
It's the first of three new shops for Johnson's. Locations in Italian Village and Canal Winchester are to open soon.
Lion Cub's Cookies
Let the record show that the first batch out of the oven at the new Lion Cub's Cookies in Worthington was a sheet of Lucky Lions, a frosted Lucky Charmsbased cookie filled with colored cereal marshmallows.
Lion Cub's opened its second shop March 6 at 7105 N. High St., next to the Dibella's Subs that opened at Worthington Gateway on the same day. Owner Brad Kaplan, who started selling cookies from a folding table at North Market, offers about seven different flavors each month from the new shop in Worthington and the original in Grandview Heights.
Martha's Fusion Kitchen
After closing for nearly two years, Martha's Fusion Kitchen reopened March 21 at 3331 Maize Road in North Linden.
“It was fantastic seeing good-old faces. Everyone welcomed us again. People were happy to see us, people were shaking our hands, people were telling us how much we were missed,” the restaurant's page had on Facebook.
Martha's serves birrias and other food from the central Mexican state of Guanajuato. One of its signatures is the Guanajuato Pizzadilla, which is mounds of birria, cheese, cilantro and onions between two 12-inch flour tortillas.
Mochi Ring
Mochi Ring, the first Ohio location of a national chain that serves Japanese mochi doughnuts, Korean hot dogs and Taiwanese bubble tea, opened March 16 at 1144 Kenny Centre Mall on the northwest side.
Mochi Ring's doughnuts are made of glutinous rice flour and frosted in any of two dozen flavors. The hot dogs (or a piece of mozzarella cheese) are coated in a sweet flour batter and rolled-in toppings, such as crunchy ramen noodles or Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
Pastimes Pub & Grill
Listed by Columbus chicken-wing connoisseur Austin Yochus as one of his
top 10, Pastimes Pub & Grill opened its fourth central Ohio restaurant March 4. It's at 775 Yard St. in Grandview Heights.
The Grandview Yard location has 50 TVS for sports fans and a full pub menu with daily specials.
Pure Green
Pure Green, a nationwide chain of superfood bowls, smoothies and juices, opened March 8 at 665 Worthington Road in Westerville. The 10-year-old chain is rapidly expanding, listing 19 pending locations on its website, including at 1475 N. High St. in the University District.
The menu at Pure Green also includes sprouted grain toasts with toppings, such as avocado, nut butters and fresh fruit
Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co.
The owners of another new Yemeni coffee house in central Ohio, near Polaris on the far north side, say they aim to combine traditional coffee culture from the country with a modern café experience.
Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co., 8911 S. Old State Road, hosted a soft opening March 23. Qamaria is based in Dearborn, Michigan, and has another central Ohio shop at 3221 Hilliard Rome Road in Hilliard.
Ray Ray's Reload
The latest venture from Ray Ray's Hog Pit founder James Anderson is Ray Ray's Reload, a food truck serving smoked street foods, such as a beef brisket fry bread, jerk-chicken fried burrito and hot honey pork belly.
Ray Ray's Reload is located Tuesdays through Saturdays at the Bottle Shop, 237 King Ave. in the University District.
Sexton's Burger Bar
Brothers Joey and Jamey Sexton have followed up on their Sexton's Pizza success with Sexton's Burger Bar, a smashburger, fries and cocktails restaurant at 921 E. Johnstown Road in Gahanna. It's a collaboration with Ohio State football player Braxton Miller.
Sexton's Burger Bar opened March 8. Its menu includes three burgers, fries, soft-serve ice cream and an array of specialty cocktails.
Shakers Public House
A month after fire destroyed its home on Georgesville Road last September, Shakers Public House was serving its popular chicken wings out of an AMVETS hall in the Hilltop. On March 20,
owners Spencer and Caitlin Campbell opened a new, permanent location at 480 E. Wilson Bridge Road in Worthington.
It's another favorite of chicken-wing connoisseur Yochus.
Wing sauces run from honey barbecue to the habanero-based Death Nectar. And starting this month, Shakers Public House began teaming up with Pizza Cottage to begin serving the central Ohio chain's pizzas on its menu.
Closings: El Segundo, Pizza Rustica, Zamarelli's and more ...
Cameron Mitchell's El Segundo Mexican Kitchen closed March 3 after two and a half years at 698 N. High St. in the Short North. Neither Cameron Mitchell Restaurants nor building owner The Wood Companies would say what's planned for the space.
Less than a year after moving from Lewis Center to 6457 Hamilton Road on the northeast side, The Fat Girl Bakery closed shop March 30. “Our move was financially too much and we just were never able to climb back with such high overhead,” owner Amy Whalen said on Facebook.
Goodwood Brewing and Spirits, the largest brewer in Louisville, closed its Arena District brewpub at 401 N. Front St. in late March. The brewery's only location outside Kentucky opened in March 2022 in the space formerly occupied by Gordon Biersch Brewery.
Pizza Rustica, a quick, go-to lunch spot for Downtown workers, closed in March after nine years at 17 S. High St. If you're craving a slice for lunch, you still have Downtown options: Aracri Pizzeria at 51 E. Gay St., Mikey's Late Night Slice at 268 S. 4th St. and OH Pizza & Brew at 88 E. Broad St. Slammers, a recent nominee in The Dispatch's Best Pizza in Columbus reader vote, opens at 4 p.m. daily. It's at 202 E. Long St.
Quarry Co. Bar & Grill, 3582 Trabue Road, closed March 17 after five years in business. Its owners said on Facebook that the landowners of their location on the west side “have decided to replace our building entirely.”
Grove City residents started lining up – and waiting up to four hours for their orders – as word spread that Zamarelli’s Pizza Palace owners Tina and Jack Middendorf planned to close up shop and retire. Their last day in business was March 30.
Tina's father, Andy Zamarelli, opened the eponymous pizzeria in 1963 using his mother's recipes from Italy. Tina and Jack met at Zamarelli's in 1979 and have been running it since 1991. rvitale@dispatch.com Instagram: @dispatchdining