Restaurants inside restaurants have become quite common across central Ohio, and for good reason.
For the host, if it's a bar such as Rafter's or Donerick's Pub in Clintonville, tenants such as Fat Arnie's
Sandwich Shop or Bobby Jo's Pizza, respectively, take running a kitchen off the worry list and give customers another reason to drop in.
And for the guest chefs, opening up inside someone else's establishment reduces the cost of doing business significantly and frees them up to do what they love most: making good food.
As bars have looked outside for food service, restaurants also have welcomed coffee creators to extend their hours with outsourced morning service. Pop-ups such as Kape Coffee, currently inside Mizu No Kaori in German Village, and Callin' Your Bluff, inside Land-Grant Brewing Co. in Franklinton, have built big followings.
Three more such arrangements began in September across central Ohio. At Eupouria in the University District, a new pizzeria from three Columbus brothers began serving New York-style slices and pies. At Sweet Harmony Canal in Canal Winchester, a restaurant veteran returned with his Cajun classics. And at Metsi's in Italian Village, a coffee shop that lost its last host in July got back in business.
They're among 18 new spots that began welcoming customers for food and drinks in September. We also recap six restaurants and bars that shut their doors during the month.
The Bexley Yard
In its annual Best Bars issue in July, Columbus Monthly magazine named Bexley's The Lion among the top places in town for an elevated evening of cocktails. With a new outdoor space that debuted in September, The Lion is a new way for customers to enjoy those cocktails – and the coffee it serves in the mornings.
The Bexley Yard, which opened Sept. 19, is west of The Lion at Main Street and Cassingham Road. It's reserved exclusively for The Lion's customers, as well as their kids and pets. A Thursday-through-Sunday schedule during its opening weeks has included morning Lattes on the Lawn, afternoon happy hours and evening live music and food trucks.
Black Pony Pizza
A new pizza option in the Short North follows Detroit's style for its chewy crust with crispy edges, but it's definitely going its own way on toppings. Among Black Pony Pizza's debut toppings: Thai chicken and ginger peanut drizzle, char siu pork and strawberry sumac jam, balsamic mushrooms and herbed ricotta, and bacon and potatoes with pesto.
Black Pony Pizza opened Sept. 17 at 1001 N. High St. with Thursday-through-Sunday hours.
Braseros Bar & Grill
Everything diners look for in a Tex-Mex restaurant – and we mean everything – is on the menu at Braseros Bar & Grill, which opened Sept. 16 at 5924 Old Hamilton Road on the Northeast Side.
Braseros boasts of 50-plus items on its 10-page menu, but we counted 156 (without including an extensive tequila selection and margarita lineup). Entrées include grilled steaks, chicken and seafood, as well as a shareable molcajete of all three, along with pork carnitas, chorizo and grilled vegetables.
Bristol Republic
Eighteen months after announcing its move from the Short North and about a year after its original opening projection, country bar and brunch destination Bristol Republic made its debut in Dublin on Sept. 10.
The new Bristol Republic at 4495 Bridge Park Ave. is once again hosting live music and DJs every weekend, pouring more than 40 selections of bourbon, serving its Southern brunch Saturdays and Sundays and firing up the smoker daily for brisket and other barbecue.
Cedar Mediterranean Grill
Cedar Mediterranean Grill, 5326 N. Hamilton Road, opened Sept. 8, just about a week after the closing of another Middle Eastern restaurant in the same location.
Like Mezze before it, Cedar goes the bowl and wrap route: rice or pita, proteins such as chicken or gyros, meatless options such as falafel and plenty of vegetables and sauces to go with them.
Hallihan’s Irish Pub
Guinness? Check. Fish and chips? Check. Bangers and mash? Check. Craic? With those requisites of a good Irish pub, how could it not? Hallihan's Irish Pub, 12 W. William St. in Delaware, hosted its grand opening Sept. 14. One more thing: Early customer reviews indicate the folks behind the bar know how to pour a proper pint.
Although its plan is to open daily, Hallihan's had to take a day off in its second week to restock. "We couldn't have asked for a better welcome," the bar posted on social media.
Honey Boy Pizzeria
Brothers Remy, Jordan and Jarod Adkins used to joke with their dad about opening a pizza place together. They made it a reality – and a tribute to their father, who died in 2025 – when they opened Honey Boy Pizzeria on Sept. 16.
Honey Boy, located inside Eupouria at 1568 N. High St. in the University District, serves New York pizza by the slice or by the 18-inch pie. The menu also includes garlic knots, fries and zeppole, a type of fried Italian doughnut that's served with a sweet ricotta dip.
Hunan Bistro
Although American Chinese standards such as General Tso's chicken and beef lo mein are plentiful, a new Chinese restaurant on Bethel Road sets itself apart with a selection of grilled skewers of beef, shrimp, squid, pork belly and more.
Hunan Bistro low-key opened in May, but owners Sarah Cai and David Mei renovated and reopened Sept. 4. The restaurant at 6230 Bethel Center Mall on the Northwest Side is also unique with late-night hours, serving until 1 a.m. six nights a week.
JamJam
Those who remember Da Levee, the Cajun restaurant that operated in the Short North from 2010 to 2018, will be happy to know owner Justin Boehme has opened JamJam, a new spot serving jambalaya, gumbo, Gumb'alaya and his signature Magic Bread.
JamJam has been operating as a food truck and caterer since 2025. Now, it's also inside the Sweet Harmony Canal bar and music venue at 30 Liberty St. in Canal Winchester. The new location opened Sept. 23 and will serve customers Tuesdays through Fridays.
Koffee Paradise
Two months after expanding from Reynoldsburg to the Northwest Side, Koffee Paradise opened its third shop in the University District. The newest location, at 1333 N. High St., began serving customers Sept. 5.
The Koffee Paradise menu features coffee, matcha, tea and energy drinks, as well as Filipino pastries. Customers can try a few of its beverages in one visit with a coffee flight.
Mr. Domo
Domo, the Short North sushi restaurant voted by Columbus Monthly readers as a local favorite in 2025, opened Mr. Domo on Sept. 26 at 3 N. High St. in Dublin. It's in the former location of Mr. Sushi, a Korean-Japanese restaurant that closed earlier this year.
In addition to sushi, sashimi and nigiri, Mr. Domo serves Japanese dishes such as teriyaki and tonkatsu, bento meals, yakitori skewers and fusion dishes such as udon carbonara.
Ochoa Mexican Grill
The former home of Pecan Penny's at 113 E. Main St., Downtown, reopened Sept. 25 as Ochoa Mexican Grill. Like its predecessor, the new restaurant and bar is owned by Brad Hobbs, Krista Sparks and Kevin Burns, whose other businesses include The Walrus, Osteria Pizzeria and Olde Towne Tavern.
Ochoa's menu features fajitas, burritos, enchiladas and quesadillas. Its tacos include a street taco, fish taco, birria and "gringo taco" with ground beef, lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo and sour cream in a crispy shell. In addition to margaritas, the cocktail menu features Latin takes on classics such as a tequila espresso martini and anejo old fashioned.
Park Service Coffee
Park Service Coffee, without a home since Woodhouse Vegan Cafe closed in July, reopened Sept. 25 inside another restaurant a few blocks away. It's now at Metsi's, 36 E. Lincoln St. in Italian Village.
At Metsi's, Park Service is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. It will operate as a daytime cafe, with grab-and-go items from Metsi's that include sandwiches, wraps, salads and baked goods. Among its drinks is a maple hazelnut cappuccino inspired by the budino that chef BJ Lieberman created at the former Chapman's Eat Market and now serves at Metsi's.
Sage
Bibimbap with Australian wagyu, udon noodles with uni butter and gold flakes, and spicy broth with scallops, squid and sweet shrimp are among the contemporary Asian dishes on the menu at Sage, which opened Sept. 25 at 114 N. 3rd St. Downtown.
Sage is in the former home of Rishi Sushi, which closed in January after 12 years. Owners David Kim and Sudhir Dubey, who partnered on Rishi Sushi as well, say their new restaurant will include programming such as cooking classes, tasting menus, omakase dinners and arts events.
Slurping Wok
Slurping Wok opened Sept. 17 at 895 Parsons Ave. in Schumacher Place. The new restaurant serves a range of Asian dishes: Japanese hibachi, Thai curry and pad Thai, and Chinese lo mein and pepper steak.
Valencia Latin Bakery
Although it offers more than two dozen breads, pastries, sandwiches and snacks, Valencia Latin Bakery recommends four in particular: its arepas, empanadas, patacones and a filled Venezuelan bread called tequeños.
The bakery at 8675 Sancus Blvd. near Polaris specializes in pastries and other foods of Venezuela and Colombia. It hosted it grand opening Sept. 12.
The Whispering Page
One of the most welcome recent trends – the return of independent bookstores – continued in September with the opening of The Whispering Page at 661 N. High St. in Worthington. It's more than books, too; The Whispering Page serves baked goods from The Little Dot and Mrs. Goodman's Baking Co., coffee from Florin Coffee, beer from local brewers Zaftig and Wolf’s Ridge, wine from Aardvark bottle shop, and THC beverages from Appalachian Girls of Nelsonville.
The store opened Sept. 3.
Chain openings
Waffle House: 624 Hebron Road, Heath
Closings
Gresso's Restaurant & Bar, 961 S. High St., where Yuengling beer and pierogies have been on the menu since 2007 and Ohio Valley Night has been a recurring event, closed in early September. An owner told The Dispatch he hopes it's only temporary but declined to discuss its status further.
After 26 years Downtown at 427 E. Main St., Indian Oven closed Sept. 1 and announced plans to relocate to Delaware. The Columbus location will become home to Sitara Fine Indian Cuisine, which hasn't specified an opening date.
Tennessee-based O’Charley’s, which served Southern and other classic American food for 55 years, closed its remaining 44 restaurants across the country Sept. 9. The shutdowns included two locations in central Ohio: 2272 Baltimore Reynoldsburg Road in Reynoldsburg and 6224 Gender Road in Canal Winchester.
As part of a plan to close about 250 of its coffee shops and stands nationwide, Starbucks confirmed to The Dispatch that Columbus locations at 4015 Easton Station inside Easton Town Center and at 1014 N. High St. in the Short North would shut down. The Starbucks app listed them as closed starting Sept. 27.
Follow Dispatch dining reporter Bob Vitale on Instagram at @dispatchdining. You can reach him directly at rvitale@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus welcomed 18 new restaurants, bars in September 2026
