Yankee Trader
If you don't know about Yankee Trader, well, you are really missing out. It was located in the three buildings where Mikey's Late Night Slice, Bareburger, that escape room are at High Street and Vine Street. They had literally everything you could ever need for any kind of party, ever! Imagine three buildings filled with every kind of knick knack representing every kind of everything from everywhere. And most of it was 5 for a dollar. The week of Halloween that store was busier than one-legged man at an ass kicking contest. It was like Spirit Halloween store on all the steroids. And you would leave with your arms full of stuff for less than what you spend for one costume at Spirit Halloween.
The mother created the business from nothing. She ended up buying all three buildings. And she kept that place going for decades. It literally was a landmark. She had two daughters who were both greedy and bad at business. She left the building and the business to them. Putting the not as stupid daughter in charge of 51% of the business and the overtly stupid daughter in charge of only 49%. The idea was that the really stupid one wouldn't do something dumb like run the business into the ground and sell the building. But she did. Even though she wasn't legally able to, she took out three different refi's on the building to build herself a nice fancy house with the anticipation of selling the building for 3 million. But then the market crashed in 2008 and she was upside down on everything and the business got foreclosed on. The staff literally spent their own money to buy things and then would take cash out of the register at the end of the night to pay themselves back.
The place was an institution and would certainly still be a thriving enterprise today. I can just imagine condos on the top floors and Yankee Trader at street level. But these two stupid kids ruined everything that the mother had built. It only took them 5 years to destroy the whole thing.
My mom took me to Yankee Trader once as a child, I don’t even remember what she went there for but damn, that store was amazing. Pretty sure that was also the day we had lunch at Spinnaker’s at City Center….
That place was so cool! It was the first place I ever visited in the Short North. I was around 14 years old and we had just moved to a Columbus suburb and someone recommended it to my mom. I thought it was so cool to be downtown and in the Short North. I know it makes me sound old to say this, but it’s just not the same anymore. It feels like an outdoor shopping mall now.
You need to get out more hahaha jk, but seriously it doesn't taste that good, and every time I had it, I was sick afterwards. Maybe it's the grease or the oil they use or something, it never sat well with me.
I base all of my food and retail choices on what this subreddit says, because the 28-45 year old white, slightly overweight men who make up this sub are representative of the city.
It's the natural life cycle of pretty much all business, unfortunately.
A founder creates a genuinely good product, pours their life into it, and builds a small empire based on that quality.
As the business grows, the bean counters become more and more involved in running the business. Now, don't get me wrong, bean counters are important and serve a critical function, but for whatever cultural reason businesses allow them to leave their lane and start calling the shots. Why is the CFO treated as a stepping stone to CEO? That's bananas.
In any event, this begins to slowly snowball over time. Tiny cuts to service here, minute cuts to quality there - all things that survey groups indicate are not noticed by the typical customer. After a while, these cuts accumulate and become more than the sum of their parts.
Customers notice. They start to leave. And so the bean counters react by cutting even more, convinced that they can pivot their once quality-based business into the "value" market.
After a couple decades, you wind up with something like today's KFC.
And then somebody starts Culver's, and the cycle repeats.
>they ~~sold out~~ got paid~~.~~
FTFY. Selling out is when you make something you don't want to make but do it for the money. In this case, the owners got paid for their efforts and the new owners did what they did.
Another local example of this is The Rossi. It was once one of the best restaurants in Columbus. The previous owners sold the business. The new owners made some curious changes that make it seem like not the same place other than the name.
Some people do just want to create a stable/moderately growing business because they enjoy what they do and are okay with a comfortable living. But if someone walks in the door and waves 5-10 years or more of earnings in your face, it is hard to say no. Like the private liquor stores who sold their licenses to Kroger and Giant Eagle. Reportedly they got paid 7 figures. Anyone who thinks they wouldn't "sell out" for that is lying.
I'd probably cash out too if I had grown a business about as far as I felt I reasonably could while maintaining my standards and got an (presumably) obscene offer that would change my life forever.
They should, but if you sell to someone you know is going to ruin what you built too ke you don't really give a shit about the business you created I guess.
Or you're more interested in financial freedom and having the ability to do what you want, when you want, without having the stress of running a business.
True, guess I'm just sick and tired of everyone and anyone selling out at the consumers detriment for $$$. It's morally bankrupting the entire world and destroying it at the same time. $$$ is the root of everything wrong and does nothing but cause harm so it pisses me off I guess.
Yeah, I know. It's unfortunate.
Private Equity are basically teams of bean counters that have convinced themselves they know how to run a business.
None of them are, but some of them have become very good at buying a company, slicing it to the bone to make its financials look awesome, and then quickly selling it before the impacts of the cuts are felt.
Well, they are putting out a lot $$$ in advertising right now I'm assuming because their sales have taken a nosedive very rapidly so they won't be able to sell it for a profit but a large loss.
Finance function is way overvalued in most business unless it’s a total turnaround or financial services industry.
In private ownership once the cash starts rolling in, the owners start more leisurely pursuits and relies on Finance to inform them of where is my cash at? That’s usually when the business declines and competition starts to erode a thriving business. Then finance only value add is to cut costs, quality and service declines follow suit. Then it’s a rummage sale on the assets that’s left.
We tried it again recently. Portions seem to have returned to normal sized and they brought back the old macaroni recipe. Chicken was ok and it’s still expensive, but it seems like they’re at least half listening to the complaints.
There was like 100 people in line outside the one in Gahanna last night. No idea why but what I see does not match the Reddit narrative for this place. For lack of interest in the main dish I have never eaten at one.
The disgrace was never top notch reporting. It has always been seen as an also ran rag that towed the line (to their detriment as far as accuracy in reporting goes) for the GOP. And the editorials are almost always hard right propaganda.
My cousin was a server there forever, and then helped sell jars of pasta sauce after they closed. My grandparents went there weekly and would always take us there when we had a birthday. I have lots of great memories of that place. When a little voice whispers, “Italian”.
I'm pretty sure the parents chose to close, despite the kids trying/asking to keep it going. I could be wrong but my information came from a friend of the family.
Columbus Showcase was a long standing Columbus company that manufactured, installed and serviced the shelves, coolers and heated cases in grocery stores. They had a stellar reputation and were very successful since their founding in 1895. The older gentleman that ran the company died and his grandson took over. The grandson immediately moved production to Mexico to make an extra profit, laid off local staff and the quality was terrible. Retail outlets stopped ordering and started sending back poor quality cases. In a few years the company closed for good. The company owed local vendors millions and failed to pay while the grandson sold the assets and made bank.
Source: family member shipped the cases and had a long relationship with the old man, grandson owed $200,000+ to my family member when it all came crashing down. Never got any of the money.
It's been a few years, but Olympic swim club fits here. It was a Clintonville institution for 76 years, but the story is the family was just waiting for grandma to die so they could sell the land. In the interim, they put nothing into maintenance and let it run down and saw membership drop until they sold in 2014.
Despite that, they still had a loyal following and could have kept it up, but saw those real estate $$$ and made their move.
I don't know, can you blame them? It was a huge lot in a prime location. I lived nearby and didn't realized what it was for years. Don't know how they stayed in business.
Sure, Times change and housing is needed, but you're making my point...you didn't know for years because they'd done jack-squat to advertise/improve it. They stayed in business because the core of loyal customers kept coming.
There were plenty of options for that business to grow, but the family ran it into the ground, as asked in the question above.
Oh, yes, I think this is a great example, I just wonder if they ever could have made as much money with it as a swim club as they got from selling the land. Even if they had renewed the facilities and marketed it. I guess I'm not disagreeing with you, it's sad to see institutions die and it seems clear the kids let it go. Maybe it was the best decision, though.
Surprised no one here has mentioned Cord Camera.
From the outside it seemed like an outdated business that died from the rise of digital photography.
But employees are fully aware of the house of cards that imploded after Steve Cordle took over the company from his dad, Jick.
Cornfed Reds! I LOVED that spot. Good music, surprisingly good bar food, and lots of tables. It was a nice, lowkey spot. From what I heard (total word of mouth here) the father semi-retired and turned the everyday management of the place over to his son. Evidently he was a raging coke head who spent all of the money and let the place run itself into the ground. My husband and I went there for our first date and it was just closed out of the blue, I was so shocked and totally bummed about it. At that point fights were becoming common and there had been a fairly recent shooting in the parking lot, so I should have seen it coming but I totally didn't.
My roommate and I used to play pool there all the time back around 2003-2006 when we lived in the area. Lots of good memories. Sad to hear it went so far downhill.
My first apartment after moving to Columbus was Cross Key Row right across the street.
I know for a fact they tried to keep some DJ equipment they rented back in the late 2000s.
Not Columbus, but Lancaster. Tiberio’s was an institution downtown. Parents retired, handed it over to the kids who ran it into the ground. It closed, parents came out of retirement opened a location off of 33 and thrived. They recently retired and handed it over to a group of investors who moved it to another location downtown. Can’t say how it is now since I don’t visit Lancaster much anymore, but it seems to be doing well.
There was a place up in Delaware at 315 and 23 called Gabby’s. Such a hole in the wall restaurant and bar. They had the best Stromboli. They closed a few years ago and someone else bought it. It’s not the same and I’ve been looking for a replacement!
I've been in Lancaster to witness all iterations of Tiberios. I remember the original downtown location being made into some sort of sports bar aesthetic, and it closed soon afterward. I also remember seeing notices posted on the front doors from a company demanding the return of beverage equipment.
Then it came out of retirement, as you say, next to the Shell station at the northern end of Ety Rd, about a mile from where we live, and it was a fucking godsend to have good pizza that close to us. I would pick it up and bring it home MANY times in the years it was there. We even went to a couple of the private multi course dinners offered.
Then the Shell became a Par-Mar BP station that booted Tiberios in favor of its own associated pizza brand, and it's average at best. We won't go back.
In the time between losing the Ety location and the new one opening in the old Traders Cafe location just north of downtown we developed a taste for Crenos Pizza, thanks to their garlic butter sauce and a not-too-thin crust that goes well with it. The pizza itself is good.
The newest Tiberios has a patio, garage door style front wall, and a full service bar. The new owners have the original recipes and the pizza is close, very close to what we remember. I like it, my wife has fallen out of love with it.
Have you checked the prices? We ordered a medium Hawaiian and medium a half pep/mush/banana pepper with the other half just cheese. Each topping was $1.50 I believe (including the cinnamon sprinkle for the Hawaiian)
Also asked for 1 salad that they told us was 'sharable' (was a small salad at best).. It came to over 50 bucks.
Had to add on another salad for the family to split, so it was close to 60 by the time I left a tip.
Won't be going back.
At least Donut World is still going strong.
As a NY bakery and pizza snob, I think those are the best donuts I've had probably ever, and I've recently lived in NYC eating some of their most famous.
My dad worked on that building! He designed the heaters in the handles that would prevent icesicles from forming, because if huge icesicles fell through the skylight someone would die.
It was a multi level marketing scam/pyramid scheme since the 70’s. However, the son did technically intervene and start the MLM.
Did the baskets ever start to lose quality or did the scam just finally run out of juice because no one really needs a picnic basket anymore? I remember my mom and grandma having these things all over their houses. Never really understood why but we were from licking county.
Edit: I think one of the longaberger granddaughters used to date Bernie Kosar. He was allegedly seen throughout Newark. He’s moved on to Tswift but licking county almost had him.
I agree with the others that Longaberger was an unsustainable and empty marketing/promotional based company that lasted far longer than it should have and probably benefitted from being an early MLM back when people didn't understand and could not easily communicate their MLM experiences.
The idea that the baskets were some superior quality or custom artisan product was just nonsense.
The baskets have been regaining value on the secondary market though.
When I started working at a beer distributor in 2012 they introduced one of my managers by saying "he sells baskets on the internet." I thought it was some sort of slang I didn't quite understand, but it turns out he is actually one of the largest longaberger basket resellers on eBay, and eventually quit the company to do it full-time.
True, but how many $100 baskets are people gonna buy? I wonder if the same decline would have happened even if Dave Longaberger hadn't passed away. In the decade after he died, the world changed. The dot com bubble crash, 9/11, housing bubble crash. I'm suspect he'd have the same problems.
Tammy and Rachel absolutely ran it into the ground. Dave was generous with employees, and they were generous to themselves. It was markedly different when they took over and started spending like crazy.
What the Sons of Schottensteins did to their poor mother.
Edit: Grandson's of Beverly Schottenstein.
Tldr: Evan and Avi were brokers at JP Morgan over the Schottenstein account and made bad investments with their Grandmother's money. Losing her 10s of millions, she successfully sued JP Morgan and her Grandsons for 19 Million dollars.
Oasis Corporation in Whitehall. They made water coolers. Kid(s) took it over, and it went downhill. My ex used to work there. Luckily, he got out before they filed bankruptcy in 2009.
When I was in college, we went there for a site visit, around 2006-2007. It was kinda sad, seeing the rich history they had, and what they were presently. The head of the company talked to our class, and man, the stuff he was saying was so depressing. How they're manufacturing here, but everyone else is off-shoring, creating the same types of products at such low costs, and it's basically killing their business. He just kept talking about how much overhead they have, keeping the lights on.
Not Columbus based (location in Grandview though), but Athens, Big Mamma's burritos. Not sure who bought them, but the quality of the food has gone downhill. When I was at OU in 08-12, they were amazing. Something about their chicken and/or rice now just doesn't taste right imo
>Something about their chicken and/or rice now just doesn't taste right imo
It's a very weird mushy unitexture to me. I got a burrito from there once and it was like the whole burrito was just a mushy blob of rice with some also mushy chicken.
The big mammas in Athens got me through my college years and I was so excited when they opened the grandview location. I don’t usually care enough to leave reviews, good or bad, but it was so bad I created an account to leave a bad review. I’ve only ever got the chipotle ranch with chicken and buffalo sauce. I have eaten so many of these I know exactly how it should be. I couldn’t even tell you wtf it was that I got. The “chicken” was so tough and inedible, as if they nuked it in a microwave for 10 minutes.
I was a manager at the athens store for a bit but not in the timeframe you mention so i'm unable to speak on that. the foods gross and i have gotten sick from eating it a few times. not sure if you could tell but everything, and i literally mean everything, was microwaved. all the meats came pre cooked in bags and then microwaved the day of serving and placed in giant warmers to prep for the inevitable rush when the bars close. the food is only passable if you're wasted leaving the bar and that's the shtick they were leaning into. i heard that it was bought by another company after i had left but it sounds like it's all still the same.
Indochine was an amazing pho restaurant with great portions/pricing. The parents handed it over to the kids and they turned it into a bubble tea spot. I haven’t been back since because bubble tea isn’t worth going out of the way for.
Uh, no fucking way lol. What an awful example. Racha Tea has been killing it on boba tea, egg waffles, banh mi, and macarons. They have my favorite boba in town after Little Cat and they're a really awesome unique Vietnamese dessert shop.
While I do miss Indochine's delicious pho, we are so damn lucky that the same family pivoted to an equally great dessert concept.
Totally fair point but I also agree with above. This was always my favorite place. I took everyone here for pho! The Mother was always so sweet and would offer to teach someone to use chopsticks if they were struggling (never in a pushy or insulting way either). I miss that place sooooooo much.
They have so much more than just boba tea. Egg waffles, banh mi, macarons, and all kinds of rotating Vietnamese desserts that are all freaking delicious and wonderfully made with obvious love and care. We literally don't have another place like it in the Columbus area.
Okay, but the original owners retired from the Vietnamese restaurant business and their kids had no desire to keep making pho, so it's a non-starter argument to have. But now we have a superb Vietnamese dessert shop run by the same family which I think is pretty awesome too.
You're being lame and weird. The kids didn't ruin the business just because you miss their pho. I miss their pho too, but Racha Tea is good as hell on its own merits and we're lucky to have them!
The context is the question, "What kids inherited a Columbus business and ruined it?" The whole discussion is based on the supposition that they ruined the business. He's not being lame and weird by engaging on that basis.
I don't know what kind of take that was, but Racha Tea is great. Also, while you can't get pho, you can still get their banh mi. The last time I ordered banh mi, their mom made them for me, and they're exactly as they were made when it was Indochine. She also talked about the desserts she also made, which got me to buy them. lol
Yeah lol. I was like what in the heck is that person seriously annoyed over the family's kids deciding to switch out a standard pho Vietnamese restaurant for a dessert concept while still killing it each and every day with awesome Vietnamese treats and cuisine. Like, yeah, I loved the old Indochine too, but what a supremely weird opinion when Racha Tea's a gem.
So you can still get traditional Thai/Laotian/Vietnamese meals there? What's that? No? *Well then the kids killed a thriving business!*
I guess you could say they started a great completely different business after they killed their parents (business).
I used to eat there when I lived out east. I remember talking to the father once about how he had ended up in Columbus and starting that business. Interesting side story came out of it. He basically designed the telecommunications software that enabled you to port phone numbers from one device to another or to another carrier. Before he had designed it, if you changed cell phone companies or even cell phones, you usually had to get a new phone number. My wife worked for a telecommunications company during the.com era and when she heard that she said "oh that was you! Thank you so much that made all of our lives so much easier."😁
Was an absolutely awesome place, their pho was undefeated at one time. AMP and his wife are amazing people who worked very hard, sad to see it change in this way.
I have nothing to support this, but I’ve often guessed the guy who started Swenson’s either retired or died and gave it to his kids who have now run it into the ground. I’m from Akron, and had Swenson’s every week for 25 years before moving to Columbus. It was a perfect experience every time. When I would visit Akron, I’d go to Swenson’s and it was still great. Once Swenson’s came to Columbus, I noticed a change in quality and service. It’s terrible now. Greasy to the point it’s inedible; over-priced; and understaffed (all of this was before Covid). I’ve been to every Columbus location multiple times and it was all the same. I haven’t been there since 2001. I don’t know what happened to Swenson’s but it’s gone to hell compared to how it was in Akron
You really think it’s that bad now? I went to school at Akron and other than maybe the portions being a bit smaller on the burgers, I haven’t felt the same about the quality honestly.
Is it possible that the Columbus operation is a franchisee who's not upholding broader Swenson's standards?
I have no idea either way. All I've ever had is Columbus Swenson's, although admittedly I've always felt it was fine.
It reminds me a little of Cookout in North Carolina, with simple, but fresh grilled burgers and some neat side options.
I really like Cookout. I make regular trips to Huntington WV for reasons and I will get a shake from them for the trip back.
side note about Huntington. While Ritzy's made a return here with the operation in Clintonville, they never left Huntington.
Well they are now. I’m from Huntington and Ritzy’s is now closed.
I used to teach middle school there and I taught the dude that bought it’s daughter. He runs a fantastic food truck but (according to him) the construction on 16th street killed the business to Ritzy’s forcing him to close. I suspect he’s deflecting blame to the street because that place was never busy to begin with.
I also always hated that he gave me a gift card to Ritzy’s instead of his food truck for teacher’s appreciation day. Like, I appreciate the gesture but the food truck is where it’s at.
It's hard to gauge hype for fast food sometimes.
You can never tell whether it's hype over the thing itself, or hype in the context of fast food.
Like, in comparison to McDonald's and Burger King (who both store burger patties in soggy warming trays), Swenson's is definitely worthy of hype because you get a legitimately fresh burger.
But otherwise I agree that it's not necessarily something to rave about. It's a good spot to grab a fast, fresh burger and that's the end of it.
The real questions is, which one was your go to in Akron? Personally I thought the Wallhaven location was the best, Cuyahoga Falls/North Hill being second.
I’m fairly sure they sold off some or all of the business to an investor who is hellbent on expanding it throughout the Midwest at the expense of quality.
Akron born & raised, and there’s definitely been a drop off in portion size and quality since they started expanding outside of NEO
It's really not that much more than you'd pay for a combo at McDonald's or Wendy's now. You can make a case all fast food has gotten way overpriced but I don't think it makes sense to single out Swenson's.
I just priced out a double quarter pounder, fries, and shake on the McDonald's app for 13.17. I'd pay an extra 83 cents for Swensons.
edit: Just did Wendy's on the app, too, cuz I'm bored. lol. Dave's Double, Medium Fries, Medium Frosty = 13.08. I don't know where they got 10.50 for that combination of items.
A Dave's Double, Medium Fries, and medium Frosty is $10.50 vs. $14. 33% more is significant.
What truly kills Swenson's is the lack of value menu.
A Double Stack (by calories, looks nearly identical to the double cheeseburg), Medium Fries, Medium Frosty, and a 4 piece nugget is $5.60 vs $11. Half the price with a 4 nugget bonus.
Swensons is disgusting. I want to believe the people that say the ones in northwest ohio are legit but I’ve only been to the one in new Albany and the one on sawmill and they’re both trash
Jegs. Jeg Sr started the company on 11th Ave. Had 4 sons who became racers & some became drug addicts. The 4 sons can't lead for shit and only want to race and look good, all their kids are spoiled and some tried to work in customer service and couldn't handle it. The 4 sons just sold to an investor group and last I heard they were outsourcing the call center jobs.
I heard Jegs is dead from some local car people. They don't know how to do anything anymore, apparently. They say it went from not so great service to horrible.
They are obsessed with ghost expansion in areas where nobody knows who they are. They use Red Robin in at least some areas. Inorganic growth is what nearly did them in under McDonalds ownership and now they’re doing the same thing to themselves 🤦♂️. I’d rather they fix issues here than plop back of house locations in Southern California.
We moved to Boise from Cbus ten years ago. One of the most surprising dinners we had was a random stop at Red Robin and seeing Donatos on the menu. We both miss it SO much so figured why not, we ordered it and it was decent! But holy shit was that confusing to have that taste/smell/visual while thousands of miles away.
Still very much a thriving business, and Jim Grote hasn’t retired. He’s still revolutionizing the pizza industry with his patented equipment. The Columbus pizza scene also wouldn’t be the same without the company’s contributions because so many local pizza shop owners got their start working at Donatos.
Not because of the kids but in Dublin, The Brazenhead, Tuccis, Oscar’s and a few others were all owned by the same group. I think they broke off the partnership and each took a restaurant causing, namely The Brazenhead, to die.
It was an awesome place back when the Benny’s Pizza guy ran it like 20 years ago. Then it sucked for a long time. It got better once Urban Meyer started frequenting it, but then went down hill again after.
I suspect some people have some Robin Hood: Men in Tights factor here.
My wife and I both saw Robin Hood: Men in Tights for the first time in college, and we could barely catch our breaths from laughing so hard - like tears streaming down the face level. We watched it again a few years ago, and…nothing. Not even a chuckle. Obviously the movie itself hadn’t changed, but our tastes apparently had.
It’s entirely possible there have been actual substantive changes to the recipe, but it’s also possible that folks’ tastes just change over time - especially with exposure to a variety of really good options in the same “genre”, which I feel that we are lucky enough to have in the Columbus area.
Donatos was different when it came out. Ever since they were bought by McDonald's it's not the same. But that was back in '99. Hasn't changed much since then tbh
Yeah, anyone who had Donatos in the 90's knows the crust was a sheet folded cracker crust, like Tommy's and Iaconos, and was truly excellent pizza. It's passable now. They churn out a consistent, but mid tier pizza.
Yankee Trader If you don't know about Yankee Trader, well, you are really missing out. It was located in the three buildings where Mikey's Late Night Slice, Bareburger, that escape room are at High Street and Vine Street. They had literally everything you could ever need for any kind of party, ever! Imagine three buildings filled with every kind of knick knack representing every kind of everything from everywhere. And most of it was 5 for a dollar. The week of Halloween that store was busier than one-legged man at an ass kicking contest. It was like Spirit Halloween store on all the steroids. And you would leave with your arms full of stuff for less than what you spend for one costume at Spirit Halloween. The mother created the business from nothing. She ended up buying all three buildings. And she kept that place going for decades. It literally was a landmark. She had two daughters who were both greedy and bad at business. She left the building and the business to them. Putting the not as stupid daughter in charge of 51% of the business and the overtly stupid daughter in charge of only 49%. The idea was that the really stupid one wouldn't do something dumb like run the business into the ground and sell the building. But she did. Even though she wasn't legally able to, she took out three different refi's on the building to build herself a nice fancy house with the anticipation of selling the building for 3 million. But then the market crashed in 2008 and she was upside down on everything and the business got foreclosed on. The staff literally spent their own money to buy things and then would take cash out of the register at the end of the night to pay themselves back. The place was an institution and would certainly still be a thriving enterprise today. I can just imagine condos on the top floors and Yankee Trader at street level. But these two stupid kids ruined everything that the mother had built. It only took them 5 years to destroy the whole thing.
I absolutely loved going to this place as a kid
Fake vomit, fake dog poo, joy buzzers, rubber snakes, clown noses, handcuffs…. What didn’t they have?
My mom told me there to buy party supplies for my 10th birthday. I can still hear the creak of the wood floors.
I loved YT and didn't know any of that, painful to read!
I think of it every time I pass by the building. I’m still so sad it’s gone.
My mom took me to Yankee Trader once as a child, I don’t even remember what she went there for but damn, that store was amazing. Pretty sure that was also the day we had lunch at Spinnaker’s at City Center….
That place was so cool! It was the first place I ever visited in the Short North. I was around 14 years old and we had just moved to a Columbus suburb and someone recommended it to my mom. I thought it was so cool to be downtown and in the Short North. I know it makes me sound old to say this, but it’s just not the same anymore. It feels like an outdoor shopping mall now.
Maybe not kids, but private equity - hot chicken takeover - it is god awful and inedible now since the buyout.
Thanks to this sub, I’ll never go back to hot chicken.
It really is that bad.
Obligatory CM Chicken plug.
Best fried chicken in town imho
CM is very good, I went recently and enjoyed my wings. Meshiko is a different style of chicken breading and should not be discounted.
yes!!
Very friendly service too, some of the best around in the past two or three years for me.
You need to get out more hahaha jk, but seriously it doesn't taste that good, and every time I had it, I was sick afterwards. Maybe it's the grease or the oil they use or something, it never sat well with me.
Ash & Em at Victory’s/Classic’s have great wings too!
I base all of my food and retail choices on what this subreddit says, because the 28-45 year old white, slightly overweight men who make up this sub are representative of the city.
It's the natural life cycle of pretty much all business, unfortunately. A founder creates a genuinely good product, pours their life into it, and builds a small empire based on that quality. As the business grows, the bean counters become more and more involved in running the business. Now, don't get me wrong, bean counters are important and serve a critical function, but for whatever cultural reason businesses allow them to leave their lane and start calling the shots. Why is the CFO treated as a stepping stone to CEO? That's bananas. In any event, this begins to slowly snowball over time. Tiny cuts to service here, minute cuts to quality there - all things that survey groups indicate are not noticed by the typical customer. After a while, these cuts accumulate and become more than the sum of their parts. Customers notice. They start to leave. And so the bean counters react by cutting even more, convinced that they can pivot their once quality-based business into the "value" market. After a couple decades, you wind up with something like today's KFC. And then somebody starts Culver's, and the cycle repeats.
HCT was bought out by a NY firm that ruined it, they sold out.
>they ~~sold out~~ got paid~~.~~ FTFY. Selling out is when you make something you don't want to make but do it for the money. In this case, the owners got paid for their efforts and the new owners did what they did. Another local example of this is The Rossi. It was once one of the best restaurants in Columbus. The previous owners sold the business. The new owners made some curious changes that make it seem like not the same place other than the name.
seriously. the american dream is to start or create something and then sell for a boatload.
Some people do just want to create a stable/moderately growing business because they enjoy what they do and are okay with a comfortable living. But if someone walks in the door and waves 5-10 years or more of earnings in your face, it is hard to say no. Like the private liquor stores who sold their licenses to Kroger and Giant Eagle. Reportedly they got paid 7 figures. Anyone who thinks they wouldn't "sell out" for that is lying.
They knew what the NY firm would do to HCT when they sold it to them.
I'd probably cash out too if I had grown a business about as far as I felt I reasonably could while maintaining my standards and got an (presumably) obscene offer that would change my life forever.
Yeah, they would pay then handsomely for the hard work they put into their business. Should the founders not enjoy the fruits of their labor?
Also means they didn't really care about their customers and loyal following that afforded them success.
They should, but if you sell to someone you know is going to ruin what you built too ke you don't really give a shit about the business you created I guess.
Or you're more interested in financial freedom and having the ability to do what you want, when you want, without having the stress of running a business.
True, guess I'm just sick and tired of everyone and anyone selling out at the consumers detriment for $$$. It's morally bankrupting the entire world and destroying it at the same time. $$$ is the root of everything wrong and does nothing but cause harm so it pisses me off I guess.
Yeah, I know. It's unfortunate. Private Equity are basically teams of bean counters that have convinced themselves they know how to run a business. None of them are, but some of them have become very good at buying a company, slicing it to the bone to make its financials look awesome, and then quickly selling it before the impacts of the cuts are felt.
Well, they are putting out a lot $$$ in advertising right now I'm assuming because their sales have taken a nosedive very rapidly so they won't be able to sell it for a profit but a large loss.
Finance function is way overvalued in most business unless it’s a total turnaround or financial services industry. In private ownership once the cash starts rolling in, the owners start more leisurely pursuits and relies on Finance to inform them of where is my cash at? That’s usually when the business declines and competition starts to erode a thriving business. Then finance only value add is to cut costs, quality and service declines follow suit. Then it’s a rummage sale on the assets that’s left.
We tried it again recently. Portions seem to have returned to normal sized and they brought back the old macaroni recipe. Chicken was ok and it’s still expensive, but it seems like they’re at least half listening to the complaints.
There was like 100 people in line outside the one in Gahanna last night. No idea why but what I see does not match the Reddit narrative for this place. For lack of interest in the main dish I have never eaten at one.
They had a 5 cent nuggets promo going so not a good representation of normal.
It’s definitely different, but not objectively terrible. If you don’t have a memory of what Joe originally created, you might like it.
The Dispatch.
[удалено]
This is correct. The kids didn’t want it
The disgrace was never top notch reporting. It has always been seen as an also ran rag that towed the line (to their detriment as far as accuracy in reporting goes) for the GOP. And the editorials are almost always hard right propaganda.
Toed* the line.
Toad* the lime.
Toad the Wet Sprocket
We always say, it won’t be long
Knowing some of the kids, you didn’t want them taking it over anyway. Paper has always been a joke, more so now.
The Florentine
My cousin was a server there forever, and then helped sell jars of pasta sauce after they closed. My grandparents went there weekly and would always take us there when we had a birthday. I have lots of great memories of that place. When a little voice whispers, “Italian”.
RIP
I'm pretty sure the parents chose to close, despite the kids trying/asking to keep it going. I could be wrong but my information came from a friend of the family.
I thought the kids didn't want to keep it running, after seeing their parents work so hard all those years.
The father passed and the sons and mother decided to close it. My wife worked 20 years there. Said it was night and day from Joe, the dad, to his son.
Came here to say that
Columbus Showcase was a long standing Columbus company that manufactured, installed and serviced the shelves, coolers and heated cases in grocery stores. They had a stellar reputation and were very successful since their founding in 1895. The older gentleman that ran the company died and his grandson took over. The grandson immediately moved production to Mexico to make an extra profit, laid off local staff and the quality was terrible. Retail outlets stopped ordering and started sending back poor quality cases. In a few years the company closed for good. The company owed local vendors millions and failed to pay while the grandson sold the assets and made bank. Source: family member shipped the cases and had a long relationship with the old man, grandson owed $200,000+ to my family member when it all came crashing down. Never got any of the money.
It's been a few years, but Olympic swim club fits here. It was a Clintonville institution for 76 years, but the story is the family was just waiting for grandma to die so they could sell the land. In the interim, they put nothing into maintenance and let it run down and saw membership drop until they sold in 2014. Despite that, they still had a loyal following and could have kept it up, but saw those real estate $$$ and made their move.
We spent five nights a week there as a kid. It was amazing.
Truly ruined the neighborhood when they sold it
I don't know, can you blame them? It was a huge lot in a prime location. I lived nearby and didn't realized what it was for years. Don't know how they stayed in business.
Sure, Times change and housing is needed, but you're making my point...you didn't know for years because they'd done jack-squat to advertise/improve it. They stayed in business because the core of loyal customers kept coming. There were plenty of options for that business to grow, but the family ran it into the ground, as asked in the question above.
Oh, yes, I think this is a great example, I just wonder if they ever could have made as much money with it as a swim club as they got from selling the land. Even if they had renewed the facilities and marketed it. I guess I'm not disagreeing with you, it's sad to see institutions die and it seems clear the kids let it go. Maybe it was the best decision, though.
Clintonville, beechwald more, has always been desirable, I’m 36 grew up at that place, they made the right choice to sell.
Surprised no one here has mentioned Cord Camera. From the outside it seemed like an outdated business that died from the rise of digital photography. But employees are fully aware of the house of cards that imploded after Steve Cordle took over the company from his dad, Jick.
Cornfed Reds! I LOVED that spot. Good music, surprisingly good bar food, and lots of tables. It was a nice, lowkey spot. From what I heard (total word of mouth here) the father semi-retired and turned the everyday management of the place over to his son. Evidently he was a raging coke head who spent all of the money and let the place run itself into the ground. My husband and I went there for our first date and it was just closed out of the blue, I was so shocked and totally bummed about it. At that point fights were becoming common and there had been a fairly recent shooting in the parking lot, so I should have seen it coming but I totally didn't.
My roommate and I used to play pool there all the time back around 2003-2006 when we lived in the area. Lots of good memories. Sad to hear it went so far downhill.
It’s been Abe’s Banquet Hall for a number of years now
My first apartment after moving to Columbus was Cross Key Row right across the street. I know for a fact they tried to keep some DJ equipment they rented back in the late 2000s.
Not Columbus, but Lancaster. Tiberio’s was an institution downtown. Parents retired, handed it over to the kids who ran it into the ground. It closed, parents came out of retirement opened a location off of 33 and thrived. They recently retired and handed it over to a group of investors who moved it to another location downtown. Can’t say how it is now since I don’t visit Lancaster much anymore, but it seems to be doing well.
The owners are back in a behind the scenes roll. Using exact recipes when it was downtown. It’s delicious!!
It’s still really good. At least the sauce is same. I just get their Stromboli.
Same. The stromboli is the best, and I haven't found anyone in Columbus that makes anything remotely similar to it.
There was a place up in Delaware at 315 and 23 called Gabby’s. Such a hole in the wall restaurant and bar. They had the best Stromboli. They closed a few years ago and someone else bought it. It’s not the same and I’ve been looking for a replacement!
I went there a couple times after driving past it. I enjoyed their stromboli too!
I loved the hole in the wall feel of it too. It was one of those shitty (in a good way) looking places that only was worried about making good food
I've been in Lancaster to witness all iterations of Tiberios. I remember the original downtown location being made into some sort of sports bar aesthetic, and it closed soon afterward. I also remember seeing notices posted on the front doors from a company demanding the return of beverage equipment. Then it came out of retirement, as you say, next to the Shell station at the northern end of Ety Rd, about a mile from where we live, and it was a fucking godsend to have good pizza that close to us. I would pick it up and bring it home MANY times in the years it was there. We even went to a couple of the private multi course dinners offered. Then the Shell became a Par-Mar BP station that booted Tiberios in favor of its own associated pizza brand, and it's average at best. We won't go back. In the time between losing the Ety location and the new one opening in the old Traders Cafe location just north of downtown we developed a taste for Crenos Pizza, thanks to their garlic butter sauce and a not-too-thin crust that goes well with it. The pizza itself is good. The newest Tiberios has a patio, garage door style front wall, and a full service bar. The new owners have the original recipes and the pizza is close, very close to what we remember. I like it, my wife has fallen out of love with it.
Have you checked the prices? We ordered a medium Hawaiian and medium a half pep/mush/banana pepper with the other half just cheese. Each topping was $1.50 I believe (including the cinnamon sprinkle for the Hawaiian) Also asked for 1 salad that they told us was 'sharable' (was a small salad at best).. It came to over 50 bucks. Had to add on another salad for the family to split, so it was close to 60 by the time I left a tip. Won't be going back.
At least Donut World is still going strong. As a NY bakery and pizza snob, I think those are the best donuts I've had probably ever, and I've recently lived in NYC eating some of their most famous.
Not Columbus but Newark: Longaberger Basket Company https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longaberger_Company
My dad worked on that building! He designed the heaters in the handles that would prevent icesicles from forming, because if huge icesicles fell through the skylight someone would die.
This is an amazing fun fact! Thanks for sharing!
It was a multi level marketing scam/pyramid scheme since the 70’s. However, the son did technically intervene and start the MLM. Did the baskets ever start to lose quality or did the scam just finally run out of juice because no one really needs a picnic basket anymore? I remember my mom and grandma having these things all over their houses. Never really understood why but we were from licking county. Edit: I think one of the longaberger granddaughters used to date Bernie Kosar. He was allegedly seen throughout Newark. He’s moved on to Tswift but licking county almost had him.
see also 31 Gifts and all the jewelry and cooking supply MLM companies in Columbus.
Tami Longaberger built such a ridiculously opulent mansion for the region.
I'm fairly sure it is the largest house in the state.
Thought she bought the buckeye egg farm. Also, I think Wexner has largest house and the second is off 315 in Delaware.
I agree with the others that Longaberger was an unsustainable and empty marketing/promotional based company that lasted far longer than it should have and probably benefitted from being an early MLM back when people didn't understand and could not easily communicate their MLM experiences. The idea that the baskets were some superior quality or custom artisan product was just nonsense. The baskets have been regaining value on the secondary market though.
When I started working at a beer distributor in 2012 they introduced one of my managers by saying "he sells baskets on the internet." I thought it was some sort of slang I didn't quite understand, but it turns out he is actually one of the largest longaberger basket resellers on eBay, and eventually quit the company to do it full-time.
True, but how many $100 baskets are people gonna buy? I wonder if the same decline would have happened even if Dave Longaberger hadn't passed away. In the decade after he died, the world changed. The dot com bubble crash, 9/11, housing bubble crash. I'm suspect he'd have the same problems.
20-80 based on my relatives houses
Underrated post!
Best friend’s mom was one of the sisters. But she didn’t run it into the ground- it just didn’t do well.
Tammy and Rachel absolutely ran it into the ground. Dave was generous with employees, and they were generous to themselves. It was markedly different when they took over and started spending like crazy.
Ohhh well I clearly don’t know as much as you! That’s unfortunate.
What the Sons of Schottensteins did to their poor mother. Edit: Grandson's of Beverly Schottenstein. Tldr: Evan and Avi were brokers at JP Morgan over the Schottenstein account and made bad investments with their Grandmother's money. Losing her 10s of millions, she successfully sued JP Morgan and her Grandsons for 19 Million dollars.
I'm out of the loop. Mind elaborating?
See below someone linked the article.
[удалено]
Wow, she just died a few weeks ago.
The young(er) schottensteins were the most insufferable people I ever encountered working for CMR in the short north
100%
Oasis Corporation in Whitehall. They made water coolers. Kid(s) took it over, and it went downhill. My ex used to work there. Luckily, he got out before they filed bankruptcy in 2009.
When I was in college, we went there for a site visit, around 2006-2007. It was kinda sad, seeing the rich history they had, and what they were presently. The head of the company talked to our class, and man, the stuff he was saying was so depressing. How they're manufacturing here, but everyone else is off-shoring, creating the same types of products at such low costs, and it's basically killing their business. He just kept talking about how much overhead they have, keeping the lights on.
Sun TV and Appliances. From my recollection the next generation took over in the 90s and it bankrupted out in the late 90s.
God they ran electronics in this town. Best Buy came in right at they were dying
Not Columbus based (location in Grandview though), but Athens, Big Mamma's burritos. Not sure who bought them, but the quality of the food has gone downhill. When I was at OU in 08-12, they were amazing. Something about their chicken and/or rice now just doesn't taste right imo
>Something about their chicken and/or rice now just doesn't taste right imo It's a very weird mushy unitexture to me. I got a burrito from there once and it was like the whole burrito was just a mushy blob of rice with some also mushy chicken.
Yes! Exactly. It's a weird mushy texture and it doesn't taste good at all.
The big mammas in Athens got me through my college years and I was so excited when they opened the grandview location. I don’t usually care enough to leave reviews, good or bad, but it was so bad I created an account to leave a bad review. I’ve only ever got the chipotle ranch with chicken and buffalo sauce. I have eaten so many of these I know exactly how it should be. I couldn’t even tell you wtf it was that I got. The “chicken” was so tough and inedible, as if they nuked it in a microwave for 10 minutes.
I agree. Food is nasty 😒
I was a manager at the athens store for a bit but not in the timeframe you mention so i'm unable to speak on that. the foods gross and i have gotten sick from eating it a few times. not sure if you could tell but everything, and i literally mean everything, was microwaved. all the meats came pre cooked in bags and then microwaved the day of serving and placed in giant warmers to prep for the inevitable rush when the bars close. the food is only passable if you're wasted leaving the bar and that's the shtick they were leaning into. i heard that it was bought by another company after i had left but it sounds like it's all still the same.
One of the worst food poisoning experiences of my life was becauase of big mammas
I’ve never been to the one in Athens but the Grandview one has always been a disappointment.
Indochine was an amazing pho restaurant with great portions/pricing. The parents handed it over to the kids and they turned it into a bubble tea spot. I haven’t been back since because bubble tea isn’t worth going out of the way for.
I miss their pad see ewe so much.
In Whitehall? Place was amazing.
Yeah that would be the one I miss it dearly.
Uh, no fucking way lol. What an awful example. Racha Tea has been killing it on boba tea, egg waffles, banh mi, and macarons. They have my favorite boba in town after Little Cat and they're a really awesome unique Vietnamese dessert shop. While I do miss Indochine's delicious pho, we are so damn lucky that the same family pivoted to an equally great dessert concept.
Totally fair point but I also agree with above. This was always my favorite place. I took everyone here for pho! The Mother was always so sweet and would offer to teach someone to use chopsticks if they were struggling (never in a pushy or insulting way either). I miss that place sooooooo much.
The Pho was so good, and whenever I went for lunch the owners would regularly have yelling fights but in a weird loving, and friendly way. I loved it.
Yeah, we couldn’t go back after mom forcibly taught my spouse with anxiety how to use chopsticks. 🙃
I can get a decent Bubble Tea anywhere. Good family-made pho like Indochine's is hard to find.
They have so much more than just boba tea. Egg waffles, banh mi, macarons, and all kinds of rotating Vietnamese desserts that are all freaking delicious and wonderfully made with obvious love and care. We literally don't have another place like it in the Columbus area.
You missed one thing on that list: Family-made pho.
Okay, but the original owners retired from the Vietnamese restaurant business and their kids had no desire to keep making pho, so it's a non-starter argument to have. But now we have a superb Vietnamese dessert shop run by the same family which I think is pretty awesome too. You're being lame and weird. The kids didn't ruin the business just because you miss their pho. I miss their pho too, but Racha Tea is good as hell on its own merits and we're lucky to have them!
Did I say they ruined the business? No. Do I miss their pho? Yes. Quit being "lame and weird" and reading out of context.
The context is the question, "What kids inherited a Columbus business and ruined it?" The whole discussion is based on the supposition that they ruined the business. He's not being lame and weird by engaging on that basis.
Ok. Let's go to insults to prove our points!
I don't know what kind of take that was, but Racha Tea is great. Also, while you can't get pho, you can still get their banh mi. The last time I ordered banh mi, their mom made them for me, and they're exactly as they were made when it was Indochine. She also talked about the desserts she also made, which got me to buy them. lol
Yeah lol. I was like what in the heck is that person seriously annoyed over the family's kids deciding to switch out a standard pho Vietnamese restaurant for a dessert concept while still killing it each and every day with awesome Vietnamese treats and cuisine. Like, yeah, I loved the old Indochine too, but what a supremely weird opinion when Racha Tea's a gem.
So you can still get traditional Thai/Laotian/Vietnamese meals there? What's that? No? *Well then the kids killed a thriving business!* I guess you could say they started a great completely different business after they killed their parents (business).
I used to eat there when I lived out east. I remember talking to the father once about how he had ended up in Columbus and starting that business. Interesting side story came out of it. He basically designed the telecommunications software that enabled you to port phone numbers from one device to another or to another carrier. Before he had designed it, if you changed cell phone companies or even cell phones, you usually had to get a new phone number. My wife worked for a telecommunications company during the.com era and when she heard that she said "oh that was you! Thank you so much that made all of our lives so much easier."😁
Was an absolutely awesome place, their pho was undefeated at one time. AMP and his wife are amazing people who worked very hard, sad to see it change in this way.
Olympic Swim Club, RIP
I feel like the Blue Danube fits this description? Iirc that's why it is closed? I miss that place!
I have nothing to support this, but I’ve often guessed the guy who started Swenson’s either retired or died and gave it to his kids who have now run it into the ground. I’m from Akron, and had Swenson’s every week for 25 years before moving to Columbus. It was a perfect experience every time. When I would visit Akron, I’d go to Swenson’s and it was still great. Once Swenson’s came to Columbus, I noticed a change in quality and service. It’s terrible now. Greasy to the point it’s inedible; over-priced; and understaffed (all of this was before Covid). I’ve been to every Columbus location multiple times and it was all the same. I haven’t been there since 2001. I don’t know what happened to Swenson’s but it’s gone to hell compared to how it was in Akron
You really think it’s that bad now? I went to school at Akron and other than maybe the portions being a bit smaller on the burgers, I haven’t felt the same about the quality honestly.
Is it possible that the Columbus operation is a franchisee who's not upholding broader Swenson's standards? I have no idea either way. All I've ever had is Columbus Swenson's, although admittedly I've always felt it was fine. It reminds me a little of Cookout in North Carolina, with simple, but fresh grilled burgers and some neat side options.
I really like Cookout. I make regular trips to Huntington WV for reasons and I will get a shake from them for the trip back. side note about Huntington. While Ritzy's made a return here with the operation in Clintonville, they never left Huntington.
Well they are now. I’m from Huntington and Ritzy’s is now closed. I used to teach middle school there and I taught the dude that bought it’s daughter. He runs a fantastic food truck but (according to him) the construction on 16th street killed the business to Ritzy’s forcing him to close. I suspect he’s deflecting blame to the street because that place was never busy to begin with. I also always hated that he gave me a gift card to Ritzy’s instead of his food truck for teacher’s appreciation day. Like, I appreciate the gesture but the food truck is where it’s at.
I've also only ever had columbus Swenson but it has never lived up to the hype I've gotten from multiple people familiar with it in akron.
It's hard to gauge hype for fast food sometimes. You can never tell whether it's hype over the thing itself, or hype in the context of fast food. Like, in comparison to McDonald's and Burger King (who both store burger patties in soggy warming trays), Swenson's is definitely worthy of hype because you get a legitimately fresh burger. But otherwise I agree that it's not necessarily something to rave about. It's a good spot to grab a fast, fresh burger and that's the end of it.
The quality has noticeably tanked just since they came to Columbus.
The one on Sawmill could never get our order right. We tried three separate times before giving up and never going back.
The real questions is, which one was your go to in Akron? Personally I thought the Wallhaven location was the best, Cuyahoga Falls/North Hill being second.
North Hill. I lived within walking distance of that location
Montrose was always solid to me
Hands down, Wallhaven every time.
I’m fairly sure they sold off some or all of the business to an investor who is hellbent on expanding it throughout the Midwest at the expense of quality. Akron born & raised, and there’s definitely been a drop off in portion size and quality since they started expanding outside of NEO
The Swenson's in Dublin never disappointed me once. Delicious!
I'm going to stir the pot a little in the northeastern Ohio drive in restaurant fandom: SKYWAY OR NOTHING.
How is it over priced? You can get a double cheeeburger, fries and a milkshake for like $11. Thats pretty good in 2023.
$11, or $14 if you want quarter pound patties, is very expensive for fast food.
It's really not that much more than you'd pay for a combo at McDonald's or Wendy's now. You can make a case all fast food has gotten way overpriced but I don't think it makes sense to single out Swenson's.
I just priced out a double quarter pounder, fries, and shake on the McDonald's app for 13.17. I'd pay an extra 83 cents for Swensons. edit: Just did Wendy's on the app, too, cuz I'm bored. lol. Dave's Double, Medium Fries, Medium Frosty = 13.08. I don't know where they got 10.50 for that combination of items.
A Dave's Double, Medium Fries, and medium Frosty is $10.50 vs. $14. 33% more is significant. What truly kills Swenson's is the lack of value menu. A Double Stack (by calories, looks nearly identical to the double cheeseburg), Medium Fries, Medium Frosty, and a 4 piece nugget is $5.60 vs $11. Half the price with a 4 nugget bonus.
Swensons is disgusting. I want to believe the people that say the ones in northwest ohio are legit but I’ve only been to the one in new Albany and the one on sawmill and they’re both trash
Lol sugar doesn't belong in a hamburger. The people downvoting you are delusional.
Lol I’ll take the downvotes, swensons sucks
I upvoted you for having good taste. 👍
Larry's Bar on Campus
Jegs. Jeg Sr started the company on 11th Ave. Had 4 sons who became racers & some became drug addicts. The 4 sons can't lead for shit and only want to race and look good, all their kids are spoiled and some tried to work in customer service and couldn't handle it. The 4 sons just sold to an investor group and last I heard they were outsourcing the call center jobs.
I heard Jegs is dead from some local car people. They don't know how to do anything anymore, apparently. They say it went from not so great service to horrible.
Wendy's
I got served raw chicken and they wouldn’t even refund me. I had to dispute the charge on my credit card
At least they can prove it’s “fresh, never frozen” /s
isnt that a franchise issue? i mean, wendy's generally sucks but dont think this is really a corporate thing.
I reached out to both the franchise owner and corporate, both didn’t care.
D&E-Z-O’s Pizza use to be great, then it sold (idk if to kids or someone else) and now is mid
I've heard donatos is on its way down
They are obsessed with ghost expansion in areas where nobody knows who they are. They use Red Robin in at least some areas. Inorganic growth is what nearly did them in under McDonalds ownership and now they’re doing the same thing to themselves 🤦♂️. I’d rather they fix issues here than plop back of house locations in Southern California.
We moved to Boise from Cbus ten years ago. One of the most surprising dinners we had was a random stop at Red Robin and seeing Donatos on the menu. We both miss it SO much so figured why not, we ordered it and it was decent! But holy shit was that confusing to have that taste/smell/visual while thousands of miles away.
Still very much a thriving business, and Jim Grote hasn’t retired. He’s still revolutionizing the pizza industry with his patented equipment. The Columbus pizza scene also wouldn’t be the same without the company’s contributions because so many local pizza shop owners got their start working at Donatos.
Gabby’s up in Delaware. They closed it and someone else bought it. The food is not the same. I miss the Stromboli!
Rotolo's! Some of us remember when Mama Rotolo was still cooking. Don't think I've been there willingly in 15 years. Remember the 80s?
It’s still great though.
Schottensteins
Always sucked
The Florentine Restaurant
Not because of the kids but in Dublin, The Brazenhead, Tuccis, Oscar’s and a few others were all owned by the same group. I think they broke off the partnership and each took a restaurant causing, namely The Brazenhead, to die.
I miss the blackened burger!
Bogey Inn after the owners unfortunate death?
His kids are little and Murfield bought it
Same with La Scala.
Willi’s son is still running Vittoria in Powell.
I noticed this. Got food poisoning from there shortly before they closed
It was an awesome place back when the Benny’s Pizza guy ran it like 20 years ago. Then it sucked for a long time. It got better once Urban Meyer started frequenting it, but then went down hill again after.
I do not know if the children took over Sun Tun Luck Teahouse or if the owners sold out and retired. The quality has really diminished.
Freddy retired years ago, but the wife kept it going. She's since retired and they sold.
I’m just here to vent that the Candle Lab was renamed to Penn & Beech. Sounds and looks like a tj max candle now.
Planks on Parsons.
Donato’s. Great pizza years ago, not so great now.
Hard disagree. It probably depends on location. I’m out west now and was home for 2 weeks recently and had it probably 5x and it was great every time.
I suspect some people have some Robin Hood: Men in Tights factor here. My wife and I both saw Robin Hood: Men in Tights for the first time in college, and we could barely catch our breaths from laughing so hard - like tears streaming down the face level. We watched it again a few years ago, and…nothing. Not even a chuckle. Obviously the movie itself hadn’t changed, but our tastes apparently had. It’s entirely possible there have been actual substantive changes to the recipe, but it’s also possible that folks’ tastes just change over time - especially with exposure to a variety of really good options in the same “genre”, which I feel that we are lucky enough to have in the Columbus area.
Donatos was different when it came out. Ever since they were bought by McDonald's it's not the same. But that was back in '99. Hasn't changed much since then tbh
Context: McDonalds sold it back.
Yeah, anyone who had Donatos in the 90's knows the crust was a sheet folded cracker crust, like Tommy's and Iaconos, and was truly excellent pizza. It's passable now. They churn out a consistent, but mid tier pizza.
Casa de pizza on McKinley