Cincinnati-based steakhouse restaurateur Jeff Ruby is officially making his way to Columbus. The restaurant owner announced today his plans to open one of his signature restaurants at 89 E. Nationwide Boulevard in the space currently home to 89 Fish & Grill.
The news comes as little surprise, as Ruby’s not-so-subtle tour bus was spotted in several prominent locales in Columbus last year, and his staff confirmed to Columbus Underground at that time that he was exploring opportunities in the city. In addition to his three steakhouses in Cincinnati, Ruby operates another restaurant in Louisville and is in the process of opening a location in Nashville later this month.
The Columbus location on Nationwide Boulevard is positioned directly across from the Convention Center, and within close proximity to thousands of hotel rooms. Two more hotels are proposed nearby — a 12-story Canopy by Hilton next door, and an eight-story AC Hotel just a few blocks away — which will likely offer a steady stream of customers for an upscale steakhouse concept.
The Convention Center area has been home to only one steakhouse — the Cleveland-based Hyde Park — since 2009 when Morton’s The Steakhouse closed at 280 North High Street in 2009. Hyde Park opened on The Cap in 2005.
Currently, there are no specific dates announced for when the Columbus Jeff Ruby’s will open, nor a date announced as to when the 89 Fish & Grill will close.
For more information, visit www.jeffruby.com.