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    Bites & Sips: 4 New Chicken Restaurants, Ice Cream, Boba, Closures & More

    Hope you like chicken, Columbus, because the bird has four new spots. Hot, Korean, coned or winged – take your pick! There’s ice cream (times two), new spots to try at East Market, local expansions and more in this edition of Bites & Sips!

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    Hai Poké Closes Short North Location

    Hai Poké has called it quits in the Short North. After getting its start as a pop-up and food truck, the Short North restaurant, which opened in 2017 at 647 N. High St., was the brand’s first brick-and-mortar.

    “Thank you for 5 great years here in the Short North,” a sign posted on the window stated. “This location is now closed, but you can find us up in Dublin at the Bridge Park North Market.”

    Hai Poké joined the lineup at the Market, 6750 Longshore St., in early 2023.

    “The new location gives us the opportunity to expand our menu and try new things,” an accompanying Instagram post about the closure read. “It was not an easy decision and we will miss being in the neighborhood, but this is what is best for our business.”

    For more information, visit haipoke.com.

    Hai Poké has closed its original brick-and-mortar location – Photo by Susan Post

    Creole 2 Geaux Opens in Arena District

    There’s a new dining option in the Arena District as Creole 2 Geaux doubles down with its second location. The New Orleans-inspired eatery opened in late February in the former home of Veranico at 401 N. Front St.

    The new restaurant has a slightly different menu than its East Market location. Diners will find a variety of po’ boys and bowls, along with an express lunch menu that caters to the surrounding office crowd. Lunch offerings include bourbon chicken, jambalaya mac & cheese, red beans & rice and more.

    Creole 2 Geaux’s hours are 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

    For more information, visit creole2geaux.com.

    bb.q Chicken Now Open Near Campus

    There’s a new Korean fried chicken option on the dining scene as bb.q Chicken makes its statewide debut at 17 E. Lane Ave. in the University District.

    bb.q Chicken’s menu includes the bird in a variety of formats – whole, wings or boneless – jazzed up with over a dozen sauces. Flavors include honey garlic, soy garlic and golden original, to hot spicy, galbi (sweet, savory and smoky) and Gangnam style. Outside of chicken, there’s ddeok-bokki, a traditional Korean street food, and sides like french or sweet potato fries, onion rings, steamed rice and more.

    Standing for “Best of the Best Quality,” the chain started in Seoul, South Korea in 1995, and has since grown to 3,500 plus locations across 57 countries.

    It’s one of a dozen new dining options heading for the campus area.

    bb.q chicken is open from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily.

    For more information, visit bbqchicken.com.

    OX-B’s Expands in Central Ohio

    OX-B’s has added another. This time at 2521 W. Schrock Rd. in Westerville, the former home of Chef Rich’s Kitchen. It’s the fifth area location for the chicken joint, which also has restaurants in Reynoldsburg, Lancaster, Newark and the Short North.

    OX-B’s is all about the wings, serving up the dish in four forms: classic, smoked, boneless and tofu, customizable with 17 different sauces and rubs. Salads, wraps and sides like fries, mac & cheese and cornbread round things out.

    The new location officially opened its doors on March 16. Hours are 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday to Thursday, and 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

    For more information, visit oxbs.com.

    Bone-In Too Hot To Handle Wings from OX-B’s – Photo by Susan Post

    Hot Chicken Takeover Goes for 7

    Speaking of being at it again…Hot Chicken Takeover continues its expansion across Central Ohio. Gahanna is next on the docket to get a location of the Columbus-based brand.

    It’ll set up shop at 109 N. Hamilton Rd. with no opening timeline announced outside of “coming soon.”

    Hot Chicken Takeover was acquired by New York-based Untamed Brands in late 2021 and has been on the path to rapid expansion ever since. It opened its fifth area restaurant in the Powell / Lewis Center area in November 2022 followed by its sixth in Grandview / Fifth by Northwest in December 2022. The new locations join existing area restaurants at North Market, Easton, Clintonville and Westerville.

    For more information, visit hotchickentakeover.com.

    Chick’nCone Arrives in Columbus

    Well, chicken is having a moment in Cbus (not that it isn’t always), as ANOTHER new chicken-centric eatery arrives in Central Ohio. This time with the added pizzazz of cones.

    Chick’nCone has opened its first Columbus-area location at 422 Polaris Pkwy in Westerville. (Yes, that is right across the street from Hot Chicken’s Westerville location.)

    The namesake dish includes crispy chicken tossed in sauce (there are six to choose from) and served in a hand-rolled waffle cone. A chick’n sandwich or tenders, and sides like caj’n fries, caj’n corn and mac’n cheese round out the experience.

    The brand has restaurants scattered across the U.S., with two additional Ohio locations in the Cincinnati area.

    Chick’nCone is currently open from 3 – 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 12 – 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

    For more information, follow Chick’nCone on Facebook.

    Treaty Bear’s Serving up ALL the Ice Cream

    Craving Dippin’ Dots? Rolled ice cream? Scooped ice cream? A milkshake? Treaty Bear’s got it all at 983 N. High St. in the Short North.

    The ice cream emporium opened in the neighborhood last month. While Short North appears to be Treaty Bear’s sole location, the ice cream shop previously had locations at the Mall at Tuttle Crossing and Polaris Fashion Place, operating as Roll N Go.

    Treaty Bear is open from 12 – 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 2 p.m. – 1 a.m. Friday, 1 p.m. – 12 a.m. Saturday and 2 – 8 p.m. Sunday.

    For more information, visit treatybear.com.

    Treaty Bear’s got all the ice cream options in Short North – Photo by Susan Post

    CRMD Expands to Lewis Center

    Ice cream shop CRMD has added a new location at 5915 Evans Farm Dr. in Lewis Center.

    Waffles make their second appearance in the round up as well, but this time they’re filled with ice cream instead of chicken. CRMD’s menu includes its signature serving vessel, the Puffle – an egg-based waffle.

    Ice cream flavors span traditional-ish – buckeye, blue cookie dough and mint choco chip – to more slightly more adventurous, like cereal & milk, matcha and black vanilla (vanilla ice cream with coconut activated charcoal). There’s also vegan options and a number of sorbets.

    CRMD opened its first location in Short North, 1190 N. High St., in July 2019 and added a Chicago shop this past summer.

    CRMD is open from 4 – 11 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. – 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 – 10 p.m. Sunday.

    For more information, visit getcrmd.com.

    Little Cat, Fork in Nigeria Now Serving at East Market

    As East Market anticipates a number of new vendors, two of those spots are now up and running.

    Fork in Nigeria began its run in East Market’s pop-up space as of March 1. The food truck is testing out some brick-and-mortar roots for its menu of authentic Nigeria fare, from egusi soup, to fried oxtails and goat shank, and a handful of vegan options.

    Koso spinoff Little Cat Boba is officially up and running. There is indeed boba in a variety of flavors, as well as milk teas, espresso, pour overs and matcha.

    Find both at 212 Kelton Ave. in the Trolley District.

    For more information, visit forkinnigeria.com and littlecatboba.com.

    East Market is welcoming several new vendors - Photo by Susan Post
    East Market is welcoming several new vendors – Photo by Susan Post

    Easton Gets a New Steakhouse Later this Year

    Restaurant giant Landry’s is making a change at one of its holdings at Easton Town Center.

    McCormick & Schmick’s, 3965 New Bond St., will wind down operations some time this year to make way for Mastro’s.

    “We are pleased to share that the first Mastro’s in the state of Ohio will be coming to Easton Town Center,” says Beau Arnason, EVP of asset performance at Steiner + Associates, Easton’s developer. “Mastro’s, a sophisticated steakhouse renowned for its culinary experience and elegant atmosphere, is owned by Landry’s, a leading national restaurant developer with a variety of notable brands that set the standard for dining.”

    Mastro’s is anticipated to open in late 2023. The menu includes classic steakhouse fare, from a shrimp cocktail appetizer, to tomahawk chops, filets and porterhouses, and a side-smattering of potatoes and vegetables.

    There have been some steakhouse shake-ups at Easton. In January, Smith & Wollensky closed its doors, while Cut 132 opened its doors in the Aloft hotel.

    Other Landry’s brands with a presence in Columbus include J. Gilbert’s, Columbus Fish Market and Mitchell’s Steakhouse.

    For more information, visit landrysinc.com.

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    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
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