Right Now Downtown

KNOCK KNOCK

This is it.  This is opportunity knocking.  Right now.  Crafters, bakers, artists: ever wanted to take your basement business big-time?  If you’re like most of our readers, you like to do things “right.”  You’re not the sort to just go jumping blindly into the abyss.

Knock, Knock, Knock, KNOCK!

You know what you need, and local business expert Ryan Morgan knows what you need too.  He puts it succinctly, “A lot of times, it’s just a matter of talking to the right person – ideally someone who ‘gets it’ and cares about small businesses and what you’re trying to do.  It helps being tied into a network of small, business-friendly professionals.”

And the moment to get “tied into the network” arrives Thursday, April 9 at 11:30 am.  Pearl Market is sponsoring a Lunch & Learn Workshop at 245 Mt. Vernon Avenue.  Registrants will learn the things they will need to know to nurture and grow their existing business.

Ryan Morgan himself will be at the meeting to answer insurance questions, along with Eric Martineau, a small business attorney; Charles Wallace, a small business banker; and marketing maven, Ruth Milligan.

The cost is only $5 for Pearl Market vendors and $20 for non-vendors; lunch will be served.  For more information, contact Adam Schroeder at 614.645.5061.

Raising kids in the downtown area is a great experience.  When my kids were young, we had easy access to parks, playgrounds, COSI, BalletMet Academy, Columbus Museum of Art, the downtown library, festivals, and many other amenities.  For years, my kids considered COTA buses and skywalks to be as much fun as amusement parks.  They loved walking to bakeries and the North Market.

Downtown neighborhoods get better as city kids get older.  They develop a healthy sense of independence long before they get a driver’s license, because they can walk to each other’s homes and with their friends to movies, hockey games, coffee houses, Gallery Hops and clothing stores.  My teenage girl loves taking COTA to visit her friends, which I encourage because the bus is so much safer than driving.

Columbus City Schools keep getting better and better.  Although many City schools still struggle as they address high levels of poverty, many others maintain a balanced enrollment.  These schools often out-perform suburban schools.

To parents of young kids, I say.  “For the sake of your children, stay in the city!

Demolition began on April 16, and 11 days later, a significant amount of the Town Street Bridge is no more, paving the way for the new Rich Street Bridge.

WHAT’S YOUR SIGN

Tongues have been wagging over the brand new 3-D sign installations downtown.

Giant vodka-soaked lips?  Check.
Big rolling dice?  Roger that.

But it’s the old classics that we really love.  Artists Angie Harris (who photographs signs) casts her vote for a particular High Street institution.  “My favorite old downtown sign is probably Planters Peanut.  It reminds me of my grandpa who loved going there.”  She’s referring to the dapper Mr. Peanut that proudly marks the Peanut Shoppe.

Which is your favorite?  Perhaps the old Lazarus Parking sign – it’ll soon be back-on-the-street at the RiverSouth Parking Garage.  Maybe the new signage styles really do capture your fancy – ain’t nothing wrong with the big “8″ at 8 on the Square, or Nationwide’s spilled paint.

And if there’s not a single sign you like in these parts, maybe there’s one in Michigan.  One of the new-fangled billboards on Spring suggests a trip to the state up north.  Be sure to bring a swimsuit; Michigan is especially lovely in March.

I always liked Grove City.  When I first spent time there in the mid-1980s, it still looked like a small town and felt authentic, in contrast to most cookie-cutter communities on I-270.  I remember thinking that if I ever moved to a suburb, it would be Grove City.

Last week, I drove – actually sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic – on Stringtown Road on the east side of Grove City and pondered the town’s transformation.  A town that was so charming 20 years ago had been reduced to an amazing clutter of chain stores and restaurants.

Every community in Ohio seems to go down the same path, given the chance.  Why do Ohio communities place so few expectations on development?  Do people in Ohio really feel as if they have no choice in how they grow?

Every retail and restaurant chain in the country will design site specific stores if a community requires one to meet architectural or pedestrian expectations.  Even Wal-Mart will go so far as to locate in a downtown as an in-line store, if required to do so.

Grove City could have done much better for itself.

For our friends that have businesses producing crafts, food, clothing, toys, home decor, or accessories by hand or who have a farm-based business, Pearl Market has a workshop for you.

“Growing your business from your basement, garage or field into the marketplace.”

This “Lunch and Learn” workshop will help you identify the important issues in insurance, contracts, real estate, financing and social media for which you need to be aware to effectively grow your business.

When: Thursday, April 9, 2008 / 11:30am – 1:30pm

Where: 245 Mt. Vernon Avenue, first floor training room
Fees: $5 admission for 2009 Pearl Market registrants
$20 admission for non-Pearl Market registrants
(Parking $5 across the street, or meters available for on-street parking)
Includes a pizza lunch from Cafe Napolitana

Limited to 40 attendees. Registration information below.

These questions will be addressed:

- What liability insurance and property coverage do you need to consider?
- Do you know what to expect when you enter into a real estate negotiation
to sub-lease, lease or buy property for your business?
- Do you understand when you need a contract?
- What should you prepare before asking a bank for a loan?
- And do you need to be participating in “social media”, or more importantly, what is it?

Featured speakers include:

Ryan Morgan, an insurance agent that works exclusively with small and creative businesses
Eric Martineau, a small-business attorney, who has helped dozens of businesses safely expand and prosper
Charles Wallace, a small business banker with the Huntington
Ruth Milligan, a pr and marketing consultant with a speciality in social media strategy

TO REGISTER:

Please email your name, product/s you produce, your business name and phone number to Adam Schroeder : AESchroeder@sidservices.com.
Checks to be made payable to Capital Crossroads SID, mailed in to 20 E Broad St, 3rd Floor, Cols, OH 43215 or brought to the workshop.
Questions: Call Adam at 614-645-5061

Sponsored by
Downtowncolumbus.com/PearlMarket

IRISH SPRING

There’s the famous Irish greeting: Top of the morning to you!

And there’s a traditional response to that comment.  The response is not, for the record, And also to you.  That’s what people say at church.

We got schooled in St. Pat’s by none other than Jenny Hauenstein.  Doesn’t sound very Irish?  Hauenstein is her married name.  She’s a Byrne, one of seven kids from Columbus’s most celebrated Irish family.  Her dad’s been the Grand Marshall of the downtown parade – twice.  Her uncle has been Irishman of the year and her sister is artist, Julie Byrne.  For fifty years, the family has celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at one destination…

1.  St. Pat’s IS downtown.  Says Hauenstein, “It’s always on the actual day – that’s important.”

2.  St. Pat’s IS Big.  For the family, it’s like Christmas or Thanksgiving.  The kids are out of school.  She beams when she says that it’s a day when they’re especially proud to be Irish.

3.  It’s more than a parade.  The festivities usually start the prior Saturday, with interesting painting rituals that border on graffiti.  After the parade, Veterans Memorial hosts a HUGE all-day party.  There’s food and music; guests pack up their cars with even more edible fare for serious celebration.

And when someone says, Top of the morning to you!, the best response is: And the rest of the day to you!

Contest Note:  They’re not Irish; they’re English.  But if you’d like to enjoy the British fav Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, let us know.  Please post your favorite (clean) St. Patty’s Day downtown memory to this blog post.  If yours is our favorite, you’ll win two tickets to see Broadway Across America’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

My kids and I have a six-game ticket package to the Blue Jackets.  Last Thursday, we saw Columbus beat Pittsburgh before a record crowd of more than 19,000 people at Nationwide Arena.

Columbus won in a shoot-out.  Fans literally screamed at the top of their lungs through most of the game.  Best of all, the game was only part of the fun.

The fun began with a 15-minute walk from our Victorian Village house to the Arena through Goodale Park.  From the calm and darkness of the Park, Nationwide Arena and the downtown skyline looked spectacular.  Stepping on to Park Street south of Goodale Street, we encountered neon lights, growing crowds and taxicabs that swept us toward the Arena.

By the time we reached Vine Street and Ludlow Alley, the cacophony felt like the entrance to Fenway Park in Boston.  Buildings crowded both sides of the narrow pedestrian street, and ticket scalpers and street performers barked and performed to a river of people.

Having an NHL arena downtown is a great asset.  Having neighborhoods within walking distance of an NHL arena is as good as it gets anywhere.

BELLY UP TO THE BARRIO

Fans of the Biggie have hit hard times in Downtown Columbus.  Long gone are the days of double dipping at the dueling downtown Wendy’s.  No more Biggie Cokes, Biggie Fries or Triple Bacon Cheeseburgers.

On the bright side, a new joint named Barrio has debuted in the building-formerly-known-as-Wendy’s at Spring and High.  It offers up Spanish cuisine.  Sounds scary?  Actually, there’s lots of solace there for the burger crowd…

1.  Where’s the Beef?
There’s plenty of it on the menu, including Brocheta de Carne – a beef skewer made with tenderloin.

2.  Need a Frosty Fix?
The dessert menu offers a couple of superior consolations:  Jeni’s Ice Cream and Flourless Chocolate Cake.

3.  Miss the Premium Fish Sandwich this Lent?
At least Barrio doesn’t have raw fish.  Actually… the ceviche would be considered, by many standards, raw fish.  But Barrio has grilled salmon too.

Barrio serves lunch and dinner daily, and brunch on Sundays.

PS:  This is a great week to eat out everyday and save money; it’s Restaurant Week for local independent operators.  That means extra special bargains for downtown diners at Tip Top, Due Amici, Columbus Brewing Company and Elevator Brewery.  Hurry up!  The bargains end March 15.

My dentist is located on East Whittier Street near Jaeger.  Twice a year, like clockwork, I get my teeth cleaned and checked, and I walk through German Village on my way to the appointment.  Each time, I am stunned at how beautiful German Village is.

I live in the Short North, to be precise Victorian Village.  I don’t get off the farm much.  Most of my life happens on foot or COTA between Ohio State University and downtown.

To be sure, the Short North has some pretty places, for example, Neil Avenue and the Circles.  But it has quite a bit of grit as well.  Dennison Avenue has God-awful-looking high tension electric lines, and the whole neighborhood has quite a bit of property that is “rough around the edges,” including my own house.

German Village, on the other hand, seems flawless.  As a die-hard, 29-year resident of Victorian Village who thinks the world revolves around the Short North and downtown, I must admit that a walk through German Village is a humbling experience.