Right Now Downtown

Market Days in the fall are coming!  That always means a change in produce, a change in the smells surrounding the Market.  You can almost smell the cooler air coming.  More farmers are bringing apples, which I love and so do the kids.  I’ve been waiting for it to get cooler so I can make some warm cider with local apples.  The miles that these apples travel are less than one hundred from tree to your table.  The miles that apples from a typical super market travel can number closer to thousands and thousands.  By coming down to the Market and buying our apples, you are saving the world from all that extra pollution.  You are also single-handedly helping our local economy by keeping your money here.  It’s just another reason why the Pearl Market is such an outstanding place.

Another thing that comes with fall, customers are starting to look for Christmas presents!  I saw on Facebook recently that there are quite a few vendors at the Market that will take custom orders for their work.  If you are looking at a vendor’s work and want something that you help control the design, ask them!  We have been asked for quite a few pieces of custom work over the summer and we have obliged every order.  It’s a wonderful option to mix your own creativity with someone else’s know-how, and it’s such a lovely idea for a gift.

Now that the days are gorgeous and cool, come help save the world and buy local with us!

We’re so excited about what the future of Pearl Market might be.  Check out this video where Cleve Ricksecker dreams big and our vendors share what they love about selling their wares a the Market.

TAKE A TOUR AND ENJOY A COCKTAIL

It’s hot and humid, and while Columbus may not offer up salty ocean breezes to lower the mercury on the thermometer, downtown antes up plenty of ways to cool off with frosty mugs and chilled cocktails all over town, all times of day.  Besides, it’s gotta be 5 p.m. somewhere in the world, right?  So, take a tour via one of these local hang outs.  But it’s not all-inclusive so let us know your favorite get-away.

Bartenders at Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails get the party started within minutes of arrival, and if you have any doubts, try one of their signature drinks like Commit to be Lit.  After a little bit of this concoction made with orange, vanilla and raspberry vodkas mixed with cranberry juice and a splash of 7-Up, you may never need to sit seaside again.

Sans the Manolo Blahnik’s and the four sassy chicks of Sex in the City, the Caucus Cosmo at the Double Tree Caucus Room provides a perfect way to relax after a long day at the office.

Travel on down to Barrio and pitchers of house-made white and red sangria, half off during happy hour from 4 – 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Grab a few tapas to share and you have created a vacation celebration without leaving the city.

Take the Elevator to kick the party into full swing with their $2.50 handcrafted pints from 3 – 7 p.m. every Monday through Friday, but don’t watch your clock in this historical building – their menu of beer and cocktails will make you forget the time, which is the point of resting seaside.

If you are still in need of a history lesson while you toss back a cold one, visit the Jury Room.  This neighborhood tavern has been serving up food and spirits since 1831.  You don’t even need to crack open a book to take advantage of the free appetizer buffet on Wednesdays and Fridays during happy hour, but you might want to grab a napkin.

Get Uncorked with half-price bottles and champagne at Due Amici on Monday nights and be-bop to live jazz beginning at 6 p.m.

Michael O’Toole’s continues the family tradition of the first O’Toole immigrant who settled in Southeastern Ohio serving up frothy cold ones to the miners who labored long days in the foothills of the Appalachians.  But you just need to head down to Nationwide Boulevard to take advantage of this Irish-style pub, or walk on ever to The Flatiron for a Chocolate Martini.  Heck, the night is young so check ‘em all out.

Wrap up your summer cocktail tour with the high-spirited Drunken Chunky Blonde from Sugardaddy’s, but don’t worry – you can even drive home after munching on this one.  The dense, chewy blonde is like a chocolate chip cookie on steroids with its premium chocolate chunks and toasted pecans.  A splash of bourbon essence mixed into the batter will have you jonesing for more.

Let us know your favorite place to kick back, take a break and cool off.  Cheers!

The Columbus High Five looked pretty good last weekend.  I took my 11-year-old daughter, Lilly, to a sold-out WICKED at the Ohio Theatre on Friday night.  Before the show, we ate at Tip Top.  Gay Street was full of sidewalk diners at Latitude 41, Plantain Cafe, Tip Top and Due Amici.

Speaking of Gay Street, the cast and crew of WICKED are staying at the Residence Inn.  Chandra Lee Schwartz, who plays Glinda in WICKED, says that she is enjoying her stay in Columbus and has flattering things to say about the “town.”

The Gay Softball World Series clearly added energy, with 2,500 athletes staying in downtown hotels.  As Lilly and I walked to the Ohio Theatre from Gay Street, we passed a rooftop party at the Renaissance Hotel and a surprising number of other pedestrians.

After the show, we encountered gridlock on High Street as we approached the Short North.  We turned on Vine Street to head west toward Neil Avenue and encountered more traffic as we passed Park Street at 11:30 p.m.  Vine and Park streets had hundreds of people walking from club to club.

As I sat in traffic, all I could do was smile.

It was a fantastic day at the Market!  Somewhere around the beginning of August, when it gets so unbearably hot and humid, the Market starts to drag a bit for the vendors.  It gets stuffy and the new fall vendors haven’t started coming in yet.  Tuesday had finally cooled down and it was a lovely day to stroll around looking for fresh produce and fancy little gifts.  And (this is where I would insert a drum roll) we were blessed with a new food vendor!

The other food vendors at the Market are still delicious, but it is nice to have new options.  And boy, what a new option!  Leslie’s Creperie rolled their cart down the alley and everyone got excited.  And I, being nosy, ran down immediately to see what they are all about.  I ordered a spinach, egg and feta crepe.  It was huge and amazing!  They have all sorts of crepes, from savory to sweet.  If you want to come and check them out, I suggest you come early because they had a line of people for three solid hours.  They will be at the Market every Tuesday and Friday until the end of the season.  Come on down and find out what all the fuss about!

There are so many delicious spots to pick up your lunch at Pearl Market.  You really could eat your way right on through.  Get the deets on what’s so good right from the vendor’s mouth.  Then decide between the samosas, po’boys, corn, granola and bread.  Or have one of each!

Urban neighborhoods are difficult to develop.  They often have dense, distressed property, disproportionate levels of poverty, environmental contamination and other issues.  Suburban “green field” sites are relatively easy to assemble and develop and receive lavish taxpayer support for new infrastructure.

Many years ago, legislators developed tax abatements as an incentive to develop distressed urban centers.  Their logic was to “level the playing field” between urban neighborhoods and “green fields” areas.

In a perverted twist of logic, tax abatements are now primarily used to encourage sprawl.  Marc Conte, Research Director for Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, took a look at tax abated property in Franklin County several years ago and retrieved his study last week at the request of a developer.  In 2005, the County had a total of 734 tax-abated parcels with a combined abated value of almost $1.8 billion.  Downtown accounted for 9 percent of the total abated value for the county.  Parcels in the City of Columbus but not downtown accounted for 20 percent of total abated value and the rest of the county accounted for 71 percent.  Columbus accounted for 68 percent of the County’s population, but only 29 percent of its tax abatements.

Downtown and urban neighborhoods might be better served if tax abatements were completely eliminated.

Tuesday at the Market was a bit wet last week, but very pleasantly so.  Everything cooled down for a bit and it was nice to walk around outside for the first day in awhile without all of that heat.

One (of many) of my favorite places at the Market is the Columbus Dispatch booth.  My friend Marty is there most days and he passes out issues of The Dispatch along with great stories.  I have a subscription for the weekends, but I like getting the paper from him on Tuesdays and stopping to chat for a bit.  He also has some great gifts if you buy a subscription at the Market:  namely the fantastic umbrellas that sure would have come in handy on Tuesday.  If you come down, stop and say hi to Marty!

I have discovered a new gem for lunch at the Market.  If you haven’t been to lunch at the Ringside Cafe, you are missing out!  They have French fries that taste fresh and delicious, the sandwiches are amazing and they come with homemade chips.  I love them!

This week my family thought we would have a taste test with tomatoes from different farms.  I bought cherry tomatoes from one, heirloom from another and beefsteak from a third.  We ended up all having different favorites, mainly because we like different types of tomatoes, but they were all great examples of fresh produce from Henson Farms, Honey Run Farms and Meadow Rise Farms.  They were the perfect ripeness, the perfect color and cheaper than from a store.

Hope to see you there next time!

The 2010 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan was adopted by Columbus City Council on July 19, after many months of public input, planning, discussion, dreaming and synthesizing.  This Plan is not a to-do list; rather it is meant to guide investment and development in downtown for the next 10 years.  It takes off where the 2002 Strategic Business Plan for Downtown Columbus ended, building on the long-term framework and looking to identify catalysts for growth.

The planning process, which included public meetings, an online survey and discussion with downtown stakeholders, identified a list of 10 Principles to define the community’s goals and vision, 12 Ideas emerging from those Principles, and 8 Strategies to implement the Ideas.  To view the complete Plan, including the Principles, Ideas and Strategies, click here.

What does this mean for Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District (CCSID)?  First off, Cleve Ricksecker, Executive Director of CCSID, was involved in the planning meetings and participated in a downtown stakeholder interview.  All efforts to improve the downtown are important to the SID, and Ricksecker approached the planning process with that point of view in mind.

“The SID had already worked with MSI to develop our Public Realm Enhancement Plan - a wish list for the SID, if you will.  I was able to offer input from a SID-perspective through the strategic planning process,” explained Ricksecker.

Andrew Overbeck of MSI added, “We know Cleve real well and he was part of these meetings.  The SID’s plan was done beforehand, so that informed our planning sessions with regard to what enhancements they were looking for downtown.  It will be great to integrate these plans.”

As the City seeks to implement the Strategic Plan over the long term, public/private partnerships will play a vital role.  And over the years, CCSID has acted as a catalyst for such parternships, from the revitalization of Gay Street in 2007 to the wayfinding sign system that was installed in 2008.

Overbeck identified Ideas four through nine of the Plan, which deal with the High Street Core, as falling specifically within the SID boundaries and as places where the City, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC) and others will look to partner with CCSID.  These ideas include:

• Redefining Broad Street as the civic spine of the City;
• Restoring High Street as downtown’s commercial corridor;
• Developing a Downtown Transit Center to replace the High Street Transit Mall;
• Building a 3-c Multi-Modal Station;
• Developing a Downtown Field House.

“We have looked at each part of the Plan and identified where partnerships currently exist and where they can be developed.  Right now these are just ideas, but it’s important to get everyone at the table to let some of these ideas take hold,” added Overbeck.

Ricksecker agrees.  “We look forward to partnering with the City, CDDC and others to bring these ideas to fruition.  Through the SID’s efforts, some advance work has already been done, particularly with regard to bike facilities and restoring the High Street retail corridor.”

Overbeck noted that if one looked at photos of Columbus from 1995, one would see an abandoned prison, an abandoned school and an undeveloped gash through the city where 670 cut through.   Fifteen years later, those same areas are vibrant sectors – the Arena District, COSI and the High Street cap over 670.  The vision of our city leaders in the 1990s has taken root in our city’s fabric.

“It’s an inspiring thing.  We can do an awful lot in Columbus.  None of these things is out of reach,” concluded Overbeck.

The next fifteen years should be something to behold.

IT’S A WICKED GOOD TIME

Summer often brings temperatures hot as Hades, but CAPA and Broadway Across America have a WICKED good way to cool off.

The last time WICKED came to C-bus in 2007, the smash-hit musical broke box office records and sold out in record time.  This year the show is here through August 29 and seats are still available, but flying fast.

“We are thrilled to have WICKED returning to Columbus,” stated CAPA CEO Bill Conner.  “The positive economic impact it has on Columbus and the extraordinary quality of the production make it a win-win for this community.”

If you wanna chance letting a little of your very own Wicked Witch cackle her way out, you can throw your name in the cauldron for the day-of-performance lottery.  Winners will land $25 orchestra seats, which will make your friends green with envy.  But if you don’t want to take the risk, ante up the cash and reserve your seats now while you still have time.

Dorothy and her little dog Toto may have stolen the show in OZ, but WICKED tells the story of two girls in the Land of Oz well before those ruby reds entered the picture.  Find out how these two unlikely friends grew up to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

And, if Glinda the Good is on your side, you might just win the set of free tickets that CAPA is giving away to a Right Now Downtown subscriber.  Aren’t a subscriber?  Sign up now to be entered to win.