Right Now Downtown

SATURDAY ALL WEEK LONG

The last time the peeps in C-Bus saw this much rain Grover Cleveland had just been inaugurated as President – for the second time; Frank Lloyd Wright had opened an architectural firm; and Thomas Edison was fine tuning his new-fangled phonograph.  Needless to say, the Gore-Tex rain slicker was a few years away.

It could be worse; we could live along the Ohio River where they are getting even more rain.  All the green stuff on the other side of the window pane loves it; so as you watch the grass grow, we’ve thought of a few more things you can do to make life less soggy.

10.  Clean out a desk drawer and spiff things up a bit.  Graham’s Office Supply has just what you need.  Besides, new Post-Its will help distract you while you’re waiting for that gargantuan file that your boss just emailed you to download.

9.  Pick up a few growlers of beer from The Elevator and invite a few friends over to start construction of a mini-ark.  Mmm, Dopplebock.

8.  Head on over to the Ohio Theatre to see Mary Poppins.  The umbrella that Mary uses on stage is big enough to keep your entire office dry.

7.  Dream about warm sunny days when you Kick It Up at Columbus Commons for Downtown Kickball.  Have you sent your registration yet?

6.  Hire a trainer at your favorite gym.  It may not lift your attitude, but you’ll be too exhausted to really care.

5.  Hit every downtown restaurant for happy hour specials.  Cocktails abound downtown; start creating your list here.

4.  Stroll down Gay Street and take a whiff of all the spring flowers.  Heck, Gay Street is also a good place to begin your Happy Hour Hop.

3.  Stop at our very own award-winning Columbus Metropolitan Library for a great read.

2.  Take your inner child to the Center for Creativity at the Columbus Museum of Art and recharge your artistic self.

And the number one thing that will help get you through this rainy season…  Lunch on us and here’s your chance.  Post a comment about how you like to spend your time downtown and you’ll be entered to win lunch from a variety of downtown restaurants, worth more than 30 bucks.  Yum.

Pearl Market fans might have been saddened when the summer Pearl Market came to a close on October 29, wrapping up another successful summer.  But the following week the Winter Pearl Market opened in a new location at 33 N. Third Street.  Now in the second year of a two-year grant from the USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program, the Winter Pearl Market will continue to offer fresh seasonal produce, meats, cheeses, bread, baked goods and unique handcrafted items.  The Winter Market will operate Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. through February 25.

Once again this year, the Capital Crossroads Market staff has put together a Marketplace where customers can shop a variety of goods from vendors such as Sweet Thing Gourmet, IKC Designs, The Olive Orchard and more.  The Marketplace  offers visitors a unique shopping experience for the holidays.  Shoppers can also continue to use their credit cards or Ohio Directions Card to make purchases, a service which was test run at last winter’s Market and utilized so successfully at the summer Market this year.

“We are excited about running a Winter Pearl Market again this year,” explained Adam Schroeder, Market Manager.  “We have a great mix of new and returning vendors and have brought in some live entertainment to add to the experience.”

Kacey Brankamp, Retail Recruiter for Capital Crossroads, is excited about the Market too.  It is her job to recruit retailers to the downtown area and the Pearl Market, both the summer and winter versions, is an outstanding tool.  The Pearl Markets serve as retail incubators for entrepreneurs interested in testing the waters downtown.  Someone with a great idea or an established business in another part of town can do a trial run downtown in a low-risk environment. 

The booth fees are minimal and include the “storefront,” so the vendor can focus solely on his/her product, customer interaction and visual display.  Being part of the Market also means their business is part of an established commercial area with its own marketing and existing customer base.

“The Pearl Market is a wonderful retail incubator for downtown,” said Brankamp.  “Incubator is the perfect word to describe the environment because vendors are clustered together which offers them support, feedback and a customer base that is naturally inclined to support new and unique products.”

In her efforts to bring new retailers downtown, Brankamp has been able to point to the success of previous Pearl Market vendors who have gone on to open permanent retail locations in the area.  These vendors who used the Markets to test and grow their businesses include Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties, Si Senor Sandwiches and More and Take Ten Body Therapy. 

“To test the idea of expanding our retail presence with a Sugardaddy’s downtown store, we leveraged Pearl Market and Capital Crossroads to understand better the downtown customer and the potential fit of Sugardaddy’s in the downtown market, while actually selling our products to new customers,” explained Mark Ballard, co-founder and co-CEO of Sugardaddy’s.  “Moreover, once we made the decision to open a store downtown, we then were able to use the Market to advertise when and where we were opening.  Pearl Market proved to be a tremendous low-cost, low-risk solution to conduct market research, increase sales and advertise our business’ products.”

The Market also offered a landing ground for New Orleans Pralines when their location was closed with the demolition of City Center.  Chandra Noble has maintained her business and customer base through offerings in the Market.

While the closure of City Center altered the face of retail downtown, with the help of ventures like Pearl Market and the commitment of Capital Crossroads SID full-time retail recruitment program, downtown’s future will see more small and locally owned businesses, the very type that Pearl Market can help foster and support.

The Winter Pearl Market is in full swing at its indoor location at 33 N. Third Street.  Stop by on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and check out all there is to offer (but we won’t be there on Friday, November 26).  Here’s a quick video to show you what you’ve been missing.  With all the produce, food items and handmade offerings, you can find great holiday gifts and wonderful local produce to prepare for your holiday guests.

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

After you’ve stuffed yourself full of turkey on Thursday, many of you stuff your trunks with holiday gifts on Friday.  It’s Black Friday!!!  Get up at 3 a.m.!!!  Shop, shop, shop!!!  Then on Monday, it’s Cyber Monday!  Buy, buy, buy (online, of course)!!!

But tucked between Black and Cyber is a new idea called Small Business Saturday.  This initiative is designed to encourage Americans to do part of their holiday shopping at their favorite local businesses.  You can find unique, creative gifts without fighting traffic at the malls, all while helping the local economy.

We encourage you to shop locally on Saturday, and here are some great spots to hit downtown. 

B1 Bicycles
124 E. Long Street
B1 Bicycles offers new bicycles, frames, components, accessories and all the goodies any cyclist you know could want.  You can also have your bike repaired or tuned up.  B1 has expanded their hours this holiday season, now open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except Thanksgiving). b1bicycles.com

Luxboheme
On Hickory near Lazelle
This beautiful and unusual shop is usually open only on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; but this holiday season, you can drop by on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. (through December 11).  Now you may need to work a little to find it (behind a sliding black barn door) but the search will be well worth the effort.  Luxboheme offers unique jewelry and accessories, organic, artistic, vintage or handmade at a wide range of price points.  And their goodies are available 24-7 online.  luxboheme.com

Science2Go Store
COSI
Everyone loves COSI.  So much cool stuff to see and do.  And if you’d like to take a piece of COSI home for yourself or others, stop by the Science2Go store to find unique gifts for your favorite scientist-in-training.  cosi.org

Spoonful Records
116 E. Long Street
Did you know you could still shop at a record store?  A real one, with vinyl records?  If you have a music lover on your list, hit Spoonful and check out their collection of new and used vinyl.  While you’re there, you can relax with a quick game of pinball or a chat with proprietor, Brett Ruland.  Spoonful is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.  facebook.com/spoonfulrecords

Statehouse Museum Shop
Ohio Statehouse
If there is ever a week to celebrate being a Buckeye, this is it (Go Bucks, Beat Michigan).  This is the place to find Buckeye gifts related to the state rather than the gridiron.  The shop stocks items made in Ohio, about Ohio, about politics and more.  The store is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. statehouseshop.com

Sugardaddy’s
11 E. Gay Street
Sugardaddy’s recently added Saturday hours, and this Saturday is no different.  Stop in for delicious and beautifully wrapped brownies, blondies and other sweet, sumptuous delights.  They make wonderful gifts and can be shipped as well.   Stop in on Saturdays between noon and 4 p.m. or during the week, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and give the brownie that “Through Down” Bobby Flay.  sugardaddys.com

T. Bears Florist & Chocolatier
237 S. Third Street
Who wouldn’t want to receive the gift of yum?  T. Bears offers a wide selection of baskets and packages of delicious caramel crunch bark, dipping pretzels, peanut clusters, sourdough nuggets, wine and cheese biscuits, as well as floral gifts and arrangements.  T. Bears is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  tbearsfloristandgift.com

Winston Wilson Jewelers
310 S. High Street
Winston Wilson is another great spot to find gifts for anyone on your list.  They offer jewelry, baby gifts, OSU-theme gifts, bar items and more.  They also offer jewelry repair, watch battery replacement, engraving and an on-site goldsmith, not to mention gift wrap and shipping services.  Now Winston Wilson Jewelers will not be open this Saturday, but we want to give them a plug.  They are open Tuesday throgh Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Zettler Hardware
101 E. Main Street
Zettler Hardware has been the place to go for hardware needs for many years.  You can find all kinds of wonderful gifts – tools, flashlights, cast iron skillets and grill plans; you name it, they’ve got it.  Zettler is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  zettlerhardware.com

Did we miss any?  Let us know your favorite downtown small businesses by commenting on our post here.  You’ll be entered to win tickets to BalletMet’s Nutcracker or the Columbus Symphony’s Holiday Pops.  Winners will be notified on Wednesday, November 24.

Spoonful: Lovin’ Vinyl

Brett Ruland is making lemonade outta lemons.  After being laid off from his graphic design job, Ruland decided to follow his passion.  As a lifelong record collector, he was struck by the reemergence of “vinyl” on the music scene and decided that now was the time to open a retail vintage record store.  Spoonful Records opened at 116 E. Long Street on July 17.

But Spoonful is more than just a record store; Ruland envisions a lifestyle store that touches on a number of his interests.  Think vintage pinball, live bands, t-shirts, plus, of course, records.  Though he originally planned to carry only vintage records, he also stocks new music that is being released on vinyl.

“I am just trying to make the store about what I like.  I figure if I like it, then maybe other people will like it too.  I want the store to be a place to hang out, a place to have a conversation.  In a time so focused on technology, this will be a place to hang out, where you don’t know who you’ll bump into.”

Ruland believes that fans of vinyl feel like the music has a warmer sound and that you are “closer to the band.”  He knows others collect records for the covers, many of which are true works of art.  He has already seen a lot of interest in his store, with fans on Facebook and others popping into his storefront asking questions.

Though he looked at locations around the city, he decided that downtown was where he wanted to be.  He noticed the reemergence of retail on Gay Street and hopes that along with B1 Bicycles, Spoonful will ramp things up on Long Street.

“I like all the activity, excitement and buzz.  There’s just something about downtown, and I want to seek that out.  Plus, there’s a good mix of students and business people who want to collect records.”

He has been in touch with Kacey Campbell Brankamp, Retail Recruiter for Capital Crossroads SID who has helped with available resources and promotion of the store opening. After learning about the City’s matching funds for storefront improvements, Ruland is looking into applying for funds, once he is sure what type of signage he would like.

Capital Crossroads welcomes Spoonful and these other businesses that have opened recently:  Si Senor Sandwiches & More, the Downtown Alternative High School Restaurant, Justin Harvey Clothing Store, Verizon Wireless and Pickles Deli.