Right Now Downtown

Learn a bit about Pearl Market’s Brittle Makers- Jimmie and Linda:

In the early 70’s a friend of ours gave us some brittle. We decided that this would be a good treat for our family at Christmas. Well, we did and it was a mess, but the family liked it so much they were asking for our brittle the next year.

Our family and many friends had been encouraging us to sell our brittle. So in 1999 answering the call, we started going to craft shows in the Columbus area and Jimmie’s Old Fashioned Brittle was born.
During one of our early shows we had competition and became a bit panicked as her display was great and we were new. As the people walked from her booth, and past our booth after trying one of her samples they were picking the brittle out of their teeth. Upon seeing these fine people in distress we stated that Jimmie’s Brittle did not stick to the teeth. And after trying ours, they realized we were right! Having a good product first, then working on your display/marketing was a lesson we learned that day.
And thus our slogan was born:
“Good Brittle won’t STHICK to your teeth”.

We are entering our 11th year and we have made a lot of friends along the way. These friends have made our brittle well known. This business has been a lot of work but we have had a very fun time.

We are presently offering eleven types of brittle including a sugar free brittle. My mother Opal bagged 4,500 bags of brittle last year (over a ton) and she is only 93 years young!

Who would you like to meet at the market this year?

Well we would like to meet all those “Brittle Lovers” out there. We know they have been searching for us and now we have been found at the Pearl. I would like to meet every lady working in the downtown offices so I could reveal to them the secret of eating our brittle and taking a bag home to share with their loving husbands. Linda just came over to confirm my spelling and said, I would like to meet some of those wonderful good looking men in those office buildings too.

I am so excited to meet these folks! Brittle is a guilty pleasure! Please go visit Jimmie and Linda and tell them the Market maven sent you!

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.

Downtown Columbus will look like a real city this weekend as 17,000 athletes descend on Columbus for the international Arnold Sports Festival.  Do not attempt to use your telephone to call for a taxi because cabs will be too busy cruising for fares.  Some streets in downtown may have as many buses as cars.  Restaurants and stores within a two-mile radius of Broad and High will be full of people from around the world, and visitors will be speaking many languages as they navigate this exotic city.

Be prepared to answer questions from pedestrians such as, “Excuse me, but where is the closest subway stop?”  (Answer: Philadelphia).  “Where do I catch the train to Chicago?  (Answer: Cleveland).  Or, “Is there a downtown Macy’s?”  (Answer: Yes, in Cincinnati).

You can honestly report that there is a good bus system in Columbus with frequent service on many routes.  Greyhound and Megabus offer ground transportation to Chicago.  And one can buy almost any article of clothing in the Short North, including Dirty F**ker underpants at Torso.  Torso has saved this city’s reputation on many occasions.