Friday Food Bites: Speck Italian Eatery opens downtown, Ho-Toy and Dragon Donuts Grandview close

There’s always a lot going on in the Columbus restaurant world! Here’s the latest:

• Completing its move from Delaware, Speck Italian Eatery opened this week at its new location at 89 N. High St. in the city center. The Italian restaurant only accepts reservations for dinner, but also offers lunch. Speck is owned by Josh Dalton, who is behind Veritas across Gay Street and Cove, A Seafood Joint (which takes Speck’s place in Delaware).
• Speaking of downtown, it’s the end of an era. The office News broke this week that Ho-Toy Chinese Restaurant, a staple for more than 60 years, has closed. First opened in 1959, it moved to its location at 11 W. State St. (a former Burger King) in 1980.
• Dragon Donuts announced on social media that it has closed its Grandview location. The original Grove City store also quietly closed over the past year, but its Easton location remains open.
• Esco Restaurant & Tapas opened this week at 31 W. Gay St., in the former Mahone Pub space. Based in Atlanta and serving a mix of Southern cuisine and other American classics, the chain is co-owned by rapper 2 Chainz.
• Pastry chef Aaron Clouse shared this week that he’s running a new pastry program at Parable Coffee downtown.
• Icarus Sandwich Shop in the Short North has closed for now. Its owners focus on serving the sandwiches found at Fox in the Snow locations.
• Delaney’s Diner is opening its new Groveport location at 704 Main St. on Monday, February 6.
• Cameron Mitchell Restaurants announced last week that they are adding two new restaurants: a steakhouse in the new PNC Plaza downtown on East Broad Street and an upscale Mediterranean spot in the former Bon Vie space in Easton.
• The owners of Zoup have closed two of their locations: 41 S. High St. downtown and Tuttle Mall. Its stores in the Arena District, Lennox, Easton and Polaris remain open.
• Lohcally Artisan Chocolates is celebrating its grand opening Feb. 3-4 at 77 W. Liberty St. by Powell.
• A new Shake Shack location, the fourth overall in Central Ohio, will open at 3734 W. Dublin Granville Rd. on Monday, February 6.
• This Saturday, February 4, is the day of Eat ice cream for breakfast! All Jeni’s locations nationwide will be open from 9 a.m. to noon to serve ice cream, including their maple-soaked pancakes.
• And last but not least: the annual Hot Chicken Takeover / Mikey’s Late Night Slice collaboration kicks off this Saturday, February 6th with a party at Mikey’s in Olde Towne East ( tickets available here ). The Hot Mikey’s Takeover specialty pizza will be available in various guises through February 26, including a Ma’s Mac version (February 20-26) and a vegan offering at the OTE location (February 17-19).

This week I also write:

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