Right Now Downtown

The Market is getting a wee bit smaller as the weather turns cold, but there is still plenty to do and see.  Many vendors are adjusting their businesses accordingly.  One of the food carts is serving piping hot pea soup.  Delicious!  One of our favorite musicians, Bob Piascik, strolled the alley a bit as he played, encouraging a dance party among vendors and visitors alike.  Cupcake Susie made perfect fall cupcakes this week, spiced apple cider and pumpkin honey almond!  Café Brioso always brings plenty of hot coffee that smells so enticing you can’t pass it up.

If you have been down to enjoy the Market this season, then you have probably noticed our fantastic Market staff.  They are always on hand to help and have done a marvelous job with everything from directing traffic when a car has to pass to tents flying away in the wind to capturing it all in pictures.  They are also the reason the Market is continuing.  The Winter Pearl Market has found a location (33 N. Third Street) and is set to begin after the summer Market is over, but we need everyone to come and support it!  Hope to see you soon!

I love that my three-year-old son now wakes up on Tuesdays and screams, “Market!  We do to market today!”  At the beginning of the summer, it was a bit harder to entice him to want to go.  But now he has learned the beauty of samples, fresh tomatoes, live music we can dance to, and friendly Market staff who are always up for playtime.  Andy played his guitar and sang for us at the Market last week and it was lovely!  He had all sorts of people singing along with him and dancing down the street, which got me just a bit closer to my dream of living in a musical.

As we near the end of the summer Market, I’ve noticed some vendors having clearance sales.  One of them is Salon D’Art.  Her prices are already extremely reasonable and her jewelry is gorgeous!  Her things are more like pieces of art than jewelry.  This is definitely the place to find one-of-a-kind pieces.

My favorite vendor from last summer was definitely Sugardaddy’s, probably owing to my serious brownie addiction.  They have since moved into a store right around the corner from the Market.  Last week, in another sign of the changing seasons, Tom stood out in the Market with pumpkin brownie samples for Sugardaddy’s.  They were cooked perfectly and utterly delicious!

See you at the Market!

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.

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.

Tuesday at the Market was supposed to be ridiculously hot, but Pearl Street had such a lovely breeze that it felt like spring.  Usually I pick a couple of booths to check out and head straight for them, but this time I meandered slowly down the road to see everything.

Crimson Design Group has a store front on Pearl and they set out a Market booth as well, so you can see the amazing things that they have in their store.  I haven’t bought anything from them yet, but I always see the decor they sell and think, “Ooohhh, pretty!  Those are the people I want to make my living room pretty!”

Another booth I always like to see is The Sweater Lady.  Everything is so colorful and it always draws my kids over.  There are little hand-knit finger puppets that are so incredibly detailed that I just don’t understand how somebody can do that.  I also love the adorable kids’ sweaters that have scenes on knit into them, with suns and animals.

This week I also bought a good deal of produce from an array of farmers.  Some tomatoes from one guy, some zucchini from another, and English peas from a third.  I feel like I eat so much better in the summer when I get to spend so much time at the farmers’ market.

Hope to see you at Pearl Market soon!

JUST IN TIME

Every passing day seems to fly faster than the previous one.  What happened to those long summer days as kids hanging around on the front porch with friends complaining that there was nothing to do?  Exasperated moms shooed us off to ride bikes with warnings that life would never be this carefree again.  What did these old crotchety women know anyway?

Turns out they knew quite a bit.  Those days disappeared not long after and the weekends soon followed.  Time seems to vanish whether embraced or frittered away.

We steal snippets of time when we run a quick errand during lunch or after work.  That’s one of the best things about working downtown – everything is in walking distance.  We can get our eyes checked at Rinkov Eye Center on Gay Street, grab a cell phone at Verizon at 262 S. Third Street or pick up a snazzy shirt and a pair of slacks for our favorite guy at Justin Harvey at 10 W. Broad Street, Suite 150.

Seeing stores like this downtown shows us the possibilities and what just may be on the horizon. 

“Downtown Columbus is the largest untapped retail market in Central Ohio,” says Chris Boring, President of Boulevard Strategies, who conducted an extensive study of downtown’s consumer markets and potential retail spending.

Retail recruiter Kacey Campbell is a matchmaker of sorts as she helps facilitate efforts to attract new business downtown.  Downtown may not be the place for big national chains, but with a captive audience of 100,000 downtown worker bees and more than 65,000 neighboring residents, it provides a marketable proposition for start-ups and businesses looking to expand.

Comment here to share your thoughts on what retail spots you want to see downtown.

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.

PUT SOME SOUTH IN YOUR MOUTH

Lots of us can do an Aussie accent; or perhaps whip out a leetle somezing zat’s French sounding.

But can you do Cajun?  That one’s tough.

Today is Fat Tuesday.  In this country, that celebration is headquartered deep in the heart of Cajun Country, New Orleans (oopf, N’awlins).  It’s high time to put a little south in your mouth, and downtown’s Pearl Market is just lucky enough to have its very own in-house expert.  Patrons can find real New Orleans Pralines made by a real New Orleans Native: Chandra Noble.

Actually, Noble was born in Ohio – but she spent the first thirty years of her life down in The Big Easy.  While her voice is usually velvety smooth, she can whip out that distinctive dialect from her roots in a heartbeat.

There is a RIGHT was to talk about her New Orleans Pralines.  While we say pray-lines, back south they say prah-lines… or worse.  Noble says, “Sometimes it’s like the L and the R are switched.”  Then she pronounces it in a silky southern style that sounds like a cross between prah-reeeeen and plah-reeeeen.

“Or,” she continues, “We just call it pecan candy.”  Only she does it with an accent again.  Suddenly pecan has three syllables: peh-cah-wnnn.

Regardless of your accent, you can celebrate in Fat Tuesday-style every Friday with New Orleans Pralines in the Pearl Market.  No worries about pronouncing the sweet confections: we all sound the same with a mouth-full.

On January 25, T. Bears Florist and Chocolatier had some unexpected visitors.  Given that it’s their busiest time of the year, we wanted to help them tell their unusual story and let people know, indeed, they have not closed or had any interruption in service.  Listen here to John explain what happened!

Inside 43215: Driving Traffic for Valentine’s Day from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

February is Crafter’s Month at the Winter Pearl Market (20 E. Broad Street)!  We are looking to close out our inaugural winter market with a bang.  Because the MARKETPLACE (where local handmade arts, clothing, crafts and other gifts have been sold on consignment) has been so popular, we are expanding on that idea and making the whole month of February “Crafter’s Month.”

But we need crafters to participate, so if you are interested, please email Heather Brown at heather@downtowncolumbus.com for more information.