Friday Food Bites: 94th Aero Squadron Closes, New O’ Joe Cup, Delaney Joins Groveport

Image courtesy of The 94th Aero Columbus on Facebook

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

• The 94th Aero Squadron announced this week on Facebook that it will close on June 18 after more than 43 years in business. The restaurant stated that their lease is up and they have decided to move on. The restaurant had been closed for the past few weeks and reopened today, January 27.
• Lola’s Kitchen & Bar at 201 S. High St. downtown announced that it will close after Sunday, January 29 for a refit and reopen on February 28 as a new concept, called Downtown Tavern.
• Delaney’s Diner teased opening a third location in Groveport. This joins its stores in Westerville and Reynoldsburg.
• Chef BJ Lieberman of Chapman’s Eat Market and Ginger Rabbit Jazz Lounge is a semifinalist for the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes! It’s Columbus’ only settlement, though Ohio is represented in other categories like Best Restaurateur, Featured Restaurant (for Mita’s in Cincinnati), Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, and Best Chef, including Becky Clark of Little Fish Brewing in Athens Read the full list of semi-finalists here.
• Columbus Underground broke the news that Cup O’ Joe will open a new location at 366 E. Broad St. downtown on Monday, January 30, on the ground floor of The Vera building. This joins the Clintonville location, which is being renovated. CU also shared that Stauf’s has moved its roasting operations from the west side to Franklinton.
• After closing four years ago, Kona Grill in Easton has reopened at the same location, 4087 New Bond St.
• Chile Verde announced it will close its longtime store at 4852 Sawmill Rd. and will focus on expanding its location at 1522 Gemini Pl. near Polaris. The last day for Sawmill is Saturday 28th January. The Polaris location is currently closed for renovations, but will reopen on Monday, January 30th.
• Also on Monday, January 30, Getaway Brewing in Dublin is hosting A Night to Remember, a launch party for a trio of new non-alcoholic beverages.
• Cincinnati-based Keystone’s Mac Shack will open a Columbus location at 1574 N. High St. in the former Panera in the Gateway University District.
• Multiple outlets have reported that Westside Slice soft opened last week at 958 Demorest Rd., the former Bella’s Pizza in Hilltop.
• Sideswipe Brewing is celebrating its ninth birthday this Saturday, January 28th from 1-10pm with special 90s-themed beer releases, pinball, FoxFire tacos and more.

This week I also write:

Want to keep up with more? Follow me on Instagram at @breakfastwithnick, check out the news archives, find travel inspiration, explore the breakfast map or…