Right Now Downtown

BIKING GAINS MOMENTUM

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Statehouse on Monday, May 17, 2010, to celebrate Bike To Work Day sponsored by Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.

Bikers converged at OSU Gateway along with Mayor “Bikin’ Mike” Coleman, ODOT Director Jolene Molitoris, members of Columbus City Council, the Columbus Foundation and Consider Biking for the Third Annual Bike To Work Launch and Cycling CEO Challenge.  Dozens of area CEOs assembled teams to ride to the Statehouse to champion alternative transportation.

Riders from the Columbus Chamber even donned Pearl Market veggie costumes to show their support of bicycle commuting.

Lisa Courtice from The Columbus Foundation presented Consider Biking with a check for $295,000 to pursue the “2 by 2010″ initiative, which is a program that encourages every central Ohioan to use a bike or other form of alternative transportation to get to work or school at least two days per month by the City’s bicentennial in 2012.

Doug Morgan, attorney at Hahn Loeser and Parks, presented a check for $15,000 on behalf of the firm and challenged the corporate community to pull together to match The Columbus Foundation gift.

To see more photos of the event, click below.

Bike To Work 2010

ON YOUR MARK, GET READY…

Grab your walkin’ shoes and shoppin’ bag and GO!

Pearl Market opens in just one short week and shoppers will find record numbers of vendors this year offering a cornucopia of treasures.  One-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry and artwork, baked goods, meats and cheeses, and don’t forget the freshest seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers abound on Tuesdays and Fridays beginning May 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Get to know the farmer who grows the food you purchase and find out what inspired the artist who creates that can’t-live-without necklace.  While you’re there, grab a bite of lunch and enjoy the live entertainment.

Shopping is even easier this year since Pearl Market now accepts major credit cards and the Ohio Directions Card.

Want a little preview?  Check out the video below.  Farmers Jarrod and Carie Starr from Cherokee Valley Bison Farm and Steve and Gretel Adams from Sunny Meadows Flower Farm tell you all about the benefits of Pearl Market.

Pearl Market Opens Soon from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

I like working downtown for many reasons.  One is inadvertently seeing celebrities.  Last week, I noticed barricades and security at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel at Third and Gay.  I asked one of the security agents what was happening and he replied, “attorney general.”

I assumed the visitor was U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder because I regularly see Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray walk through downtown, and he does not travel with a security detail.

I walked back to my office for a meeting and forgot about the fuss.  Later that afternoon, I attended a meeting in our conference room, which faces Lynn Alley at ground level.  An hour into the meeting, a motorcade passed our window.  Police motorcycles passed first, followed by several SUVs with tinted windows.  I could see only the profiles of people sitting in each of the SUVs.  As the last SUV passed the window, I saw it, the nose.

How many people in central Ohio can see Eric Holder’s nose pass by their window?  I love this place!

WHO’S YOUR DADDY?

Sugardaddy’s is open and ready to tempt you.  Wow, where to begin?  Who would ever guess that brownies and blondies could offer so many possibilities?

Co-founders/creators Tom Finney, self-taught baking genius, and Mark Ballard, marketer extraordinaire, created a business like no other that began as a labor of love.

The venture launched online at sugardaddys.com and the two experienced profound success after appearing on Food Network.  Did you know InStyle and Ellen DeGeneres rave about Sugaraddy’s?

Mark and Tom discovered along the way that customers want to touch, feel and, don’t forget, taste their products, so they opened their first retail store in the Polaris-area last year.  They had a hunch that downtown was the place to be and Pearl Market offered the perfect opportunity to test their hypothesis.  Now you can find them on the corner of Gay and High streets serving up their Sumptuous Sweeties in a beautiful store you won’t want to leave.

These two Sugardaddy’s hook you with the first bite – Brownie Biscotti, Brownie Cheesecakes, Brownie Truffles, Brownie Pocket Change, Brownie Ice Cream and Brownie Bark envelope you as soon as you hear the baby grand piano playing in the background.

Plan on regular visits – each taste will find you with a new favorite, and you must try the newest creation, Sugardaddy’s Drunken Chunky Blondie, or if you only have eyes for chocolate, get the Sugardaddy’s Fiery Brunette or Auburn Original.

Sugardaddy’s is open at 11 E. Gay Street from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and you won’t want to miss the month-long grand opening specials.

Sugardaddy’s from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties
11 E. Gay Street
614.888.4491

Spring Services: Flower Power (Washing)

As the seasons change, the services provided by Capital Crossroads SID make a season-specific shift.  Though some services, such as graffiti removal, safety escorts and special event support are ongoing, when the warm weather returns, other duties move to the front burner.

First on the list is power washing to clean the winter grime off downtown.  Power washing began on March 22, which is a bit earlier than in other years.  The early spring weather combined with an effort to improve overall power washing program bumped up this year’s start date.  This allowed the two power washing crews to get a jump start on the city’s hot spots, including High Street, Pearl Alley, the COTA bus shelters, and the areas surrounding Columbus Commons, RiverSouth and Scioto Mile projects.  In addition, the SID received a permit to power wash in areas where nighttime power washing can be disruptive.  Finally, a study is underway to find new power washing products that will offer greater mobility and expediency with special assignments.  Several machines will be given a test run in the coming weeks with the goal of finding a machine that the SID can use at any time of day for areas that need immediate attention.

The warm weather also means spring flowers.  Once again, the SID will be planting flowers in the beautiful new Gay Street Medians and in hanging baskets along High Street.  The planting is set for May 24, after the danger of frost has passed.  Advance work includes coordinating with the City to get the water to the sprinkler systems turned on.  In addition, the SID is working with a new nursery called Ambius this year to purchase flowers.  Once all of the flowers have been planted, the Ambassadors will help keep the planters watered and fertilized through the summer months.

At the beginning of May, the SID will begin a special project to stain all of the benches along High Street.  This is part of a general effort to spruce things up along that corridor.  Using a power sprayer, the crews will spiff up the benches in quick time, as the sprayer allows for multiple coats with uniform distribution.  This is a far more efficient process than painting by hand.

Graffiti removal remains a key duty of the Ambassadors year round; therefore, a team of Ambassadors has been chosen to receive hands-on training from a prominent graffiti-removal specialist in Columbus.  This will help the Ambassadors better combat graffiti problems in both the Capital Crossroads and Discovery SIDs.

The Clean and Safe Teams continue to receive special requests for service through the online service request form found on the DowntownColumbus.com Website.  Ben Barker, the new Operations Manager for both SIDs, has developed a new work order system to more effectively assign, track and manage the various requests and special projects that emerge.  This improves efficiency and helps ensure that requests are completed in a timely fashion.

“We are not trying to reinvent the wheel,” explained Barker.  “We are striving to make the wheel more efficient and in doing so improve the duties that the Capital Crossroads and Discovery SIDs have come to expect.”

Current Hours of Operation:

Monday – Friday, 6:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Sunday, 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

PARK IT HERE

The Parking Meter Advisory Team made final recommendations to the City of Columbus last week, so changes are coming soon as you pull up to park.  More meters.  Simplified rates.  Extended hours.

More importantly, you’ve arrived and it’s where you want to be.  Forget your worries and park it here for a while to see what Columbus has to offer…

(And never fear, if you need more information on where to park it downtown, just click here.)

Park It Here from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

THE REAL DIVINE MS. M

Meet Melissa Fast.  She’s officially on board at Capital Crossroads SID as Marketing Director.

Officially, she started last Monday.  Unofficially, she’s been supporting the downtown community for years.

As a local patron of the businesses, restaurants and arts scene, the new director has long celebrated the city’s core as its crowning glory.  She says, “I want to help promote the fact that it is a destination – whether it’s for a cup of coffee in the afternoon or a night of entertainment.”

She continues, “I really want to do my part to make sure that people embrace the fact that downtown is a cool place to be.  I think it’s important for the experience to be easy for people so they want to keep coming back.”  It’s everyone’s neighborhood.

Her favorite downtown finds have stories behind them – like the treasures from Pearl Market.  In fact, the Pearl Market itself is a great place to find a story.  The shops were just highlighted in The Columbus Dispatch… and the market caught the national spotlight when the Associated Press picked up the story for distribution.

Downtown Columbus is indeed a place with a great story.

If you are bored of Columbus, don’t move to Portland, Oregon.  Move to the Columbus High Five.  This stretch of the High Street corridor includes German Village, downtown, the Arena District, Short North and University District.

The sheer volume of great, urban experiences in this part of Columbus compares favorably to any other place in the U.S.  It has everything Boston has except urban rail, department stores and outrageously high housing costs.

Good public transit and city sidewalks will take you to 20 movie screens, a public market, Barnes & Noble and more than 200 high quality, independent retail stores.  It is home to an NHL arena, a AAA baseball park, historic theatres and one of the county’s most prestigious universities.

There are scores of nightclubs, beautiful city parks, charming neighborhoods, several world-class museums, great live music and 40 art galleries.  You can stay in one of 4,000 hotel rooms, quickly hail a taxicab and dine at 150 full-service restaurants.

The Columbus High Five is a magnet for highly educated people from throughout the world.  It is young, creative and entrepreneurial.  Best of all, it is in our backyard.

They vied for your votes via video.  The competition was fierce.  And the final margins were razor thin.

Congratulations to the 2010 Show Your Love Contest Winner (drum roll please…)

Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace!!!

Thanks to all of you who voted for your flav-o-favs!  With hundreds of votes cast, J. Gumbo’s fell short of the winner’s spot by a mere three votes, with Jack’s Diner, last year’s Show Your Love winner, and Burgers Dogs and Fries in hot pursuit.

Now the love showing worked both ways.  By voting for their favorite lunch spot, food fans were entered to win free lunches from our featured downtown restaurants: Barrio, Burgers Dogs and Fries, Caffe Daniela, Dirty Frank’s, J. Gumbo’s, and Plantain Cafe.  Congratulations to our winners who now know that there is such thing as a free lunch:

Erika Haske
Trish Mester
Alyson Miles
Angela Butler
Kristine Kring
Jen Town
Christina Ringley
Mary Groves
Jeremy
Chris Powers
Joshua Young
Rhonda Ries
Sandy Auckerman
Chris Carpenter
Mark Siple
Kris Davis
Charlie Letson

ARE YOU FUNCTIONALLY FIT?

Yeah-yeah, you can do level seven on the arm machine, and your toes are seriously mighty on the calf thingy.

But are you functionally fit?  Can you move your body with power and intention through a healthy range?  Downtown Columbus is now home to Fit Club (15 W. Cherry Street), a facility and a community of people that are dedicated to real fitness.

The studio offers group interval training, yoga and mixed martial arts (and private appointments too).  Owner Mitch Potterf describes the set up.  “We’ve got barbells, kettle-bells, sand bags, heavy bags… things similar to what you might actually have to pick up in the real world.”  That’s what functional fitness is all about – developing the strength and skills for a healthy, effective body.

Potterf holds several professional certifications, including one as a CrossFit Trainer… and if he sounds serious, it’s because he IS serious.  He admits that the classes require hard work from the participants.

Any yet, Fit Club works with people from all starting points.  “Our classes are scalable for everyone.  We meet you at your level.”

How functional is functional fitness?  Members of Fit Club got to test out their skills in one of the biggest downtown snowball fights this season; you can read all about it, as well as the schedule for Fit Club classes at ohiofitclub.blogspot.com.