Cbus Trail
Made in Cbus Trail participating retailers: Alchemy Juice, German Village Brothers Drake Meadery, Short North
Camelot Cellars, Old Towne East
The Candle Lab, Short North and Worthington Celebrate Local, Easton Glean, Short North Glenn Avenue Soap Co., Grandview Heights area
Helen Winnemore’s, German Village
Homage, Short North and Easton Igloo Letterpress, Worthington Middle West Spirits, Short North
Native Cold Pressed, Short North
Red Giraffe Designs, Short North Robert Mason Co., Short North The Smithery, Grandview Heights
State of Devotion, Grandview Heights
Stump, Italian Village and German Village
Watershed Distillery, Grandview Heights area Wholly Craft!, Clintonville Zeroz, Downtown outreach and growth.
“This is a great way to get visibility,” Metzler said of his 5th Avenue retail shop, which opened about a year ago. “The 5th by Northwest area where we’re at isn’t really that walkable, but it’s attracting a lot of new businesses and energy.”
Like some of the other trail participants, Glenn Avenue has been working with Experience Columbus to offer tours in the form of hands-on soapmaking workshops and even educational sessions about skin-care ingredients and how to read product labels.
Helen Winnemore’s in German Village is an example of an established business taking part in the trail.
Founded in the namesake’s Grandview Heights home in 1938, it calls itself the oldest American craft gallery in the United States.
Sarah Kellenberger Harpham, who bought the business 20 years ago after graduating from Ohio State University, said she was a believer in the idea from the outset, having seen the success of the other Columbus trails and German Village’s Village Lights Holiday event.
“We’re a small business, and small business means small advertising budget,” Harpham said with a laugh. “It’s all about connecting the dots, about local businesses helping to promote each other.”
Columbus and its visitor business as a whole stands to gain from people getting out and exploring: Retail represents the largest category of spending by visits to Columbus. Last year, retail accounted for 29 percent of visitor spending, at $1.9 billion; the nextlargest category was food and beverage, 24 percent of spending at $1.5 billion.
And buy visitors are happy visitors. In honoring Columbus for achieving top marks in visitor satisfaction in the Midwest recently, research organization J.D. Power said one area that could be improved is in getting more people to take part in activities during their stay. Those who visit local attractions report greater satisfaction with their visit, but only a minority of visitors have been doing so.
“When people go to a city, they want to be able to say, ‘I got a really great, unique local experience,’ “Robinson said. “They want to get a flavor of the city. Our hope is that these trails will continue to grow.
“Already, people are hearing about these trails and seeking them out when they come to Columbus.”