Opening this March, the Short North Food Hall will offer foods from a variety of cuisines, including Mexican, Asian and barbecue. Credit: Courtesy of Mic Wesson
Short North frequenters will soon have a new location to add to their weekend repertoire. Corso Ventures — the development group that owns Short North Pint House, Standard Hall and Forno — has announced plans to open the Short North Food Hall in early March.
At 1112 N. High Street, Short North Food Hall is just north of Standard Hall, but the similarities mostly stop there.
“It’s a pretty old building so we kept a lot of the original elements [like exposed brick], but it’s a very bright and fresh space,” said Corso Ventures President Reed Woogerd. “Our venues are super authentic, rustic, but with this one we decided just to clean it up a little bit.”
Although the abundance of white tile might give off a modern French bistro aesthetic, Woogerd said those who come hungry will not be boxed in to one type of cuisine.
Woogerd said they have built several fully equipped kitchens in the food hall to fit the needs of the outside separate operators they plan to bring in, including food truck owners, local chefs and other restaurateurs.
“[They are] all different cuisines with totally different foods, so hypothetically you could order Asian, Mexican and barbeque just sitting at one table,” Woogerd said.
Patrons looking for “Instagram-worthy” drinks similar to those at Corso Venture’s other locations will be in luck at the Short North Food Hall, where there will be an emphasis on large format, shareable beverages.
“The craft cocktails are really going to be very fresh and flavorful,” said Mic Wesson, director of marketing. “We’ve got some great cocktail guys on it. We have a fun take with it.”
Thanks to an in-house app, all of the food and drink options can be ordered without waiting for a server.
“Essentially you could come to the Short North Food Hall, open up the app and order cocktails or food from any of the different kitchens just sitting there on your phone, which is pretty game-changing,” Woogerd said.
Like the group’s other locations, Short North Food Hall also will have happy-hour specials and offer brunch on weekends. However, certain features — particularly a rooftop patio — will allow for more novel Short North experiences, a concept that has been central to the restaurant’s creation.
“This is an opportunity for us to bring a lot more variety to the neighborhood,” Woogerd said. “We understand that this pocket is one of the last little pockets of the Short North that hasn’t been developed yet, so we’re going to do everything we can to give the neighborhood what it needs.”
Woogerd and Wesson both agreed that Columbus’ lack of food halls –– which they had seen pop up elsewhere around the country –– is exactly why they believe this restaurant is such an important project.
“The food hall concept is really hot right now and we want to be the first to bring it here,” Wesson said. “We have this beautiful space that’s clean and modern, and at the same time, we’re giving these opportunities to local [kitchens]. To be able to marry those two in our location feels great.”
