Friday Food Bites: Chef-O-Nette gets new owners, El Segundo closing, Flavortown Fest canceled

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

• This week the Columbus Dispatch broke the news that the Chef-O-Nette, the Upper Arlington diner that’s been open since 1955, closed for a few months while new owners revamped it. The current owner, Harlan Howard, is retiring after having worked there since he was a kid (he bought the diner from his father in 1993). The new owners are the folks behind Old Bag of Nails.
• Yesterday the organizers of Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Fest announced that it has been canceled. It was set for June 1-2 this year on the grounds of Chemical Abstracts Services. No specific reason for the cancellation has been given, other than “unforeseen consequences.”
• Cameron Mitchell Restaurants announced this week that El Segundo Mexican Kitchen in the Short North will close after this Sunday, March 3.
• The Crimson coffee shop, which started at Easton in 2020, announced a new location coming to West Lane Avenue near campus.
• And Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co. is bringing another location to 8911 S. Old State Rd. in Lewis Center. An exact opening date hasn’t been announced yet. Check out Qamaria’s coffee shop in Hilliard!
• Also in Columbus coffee news, Royal Flamingo Coffee brought home a silver medal in filter coffee at the Golden Bean World Series in Melbourne, Australia this week!
• Pastimes Pub & Grill opens its newest location – its fourth overall – at 775 Yard St. in Grandview Yard this Monday, March 4.
• Budd Dairy Food Hall will debut its new permanent vendor, Marlow’s Cheesesteaks, on Tuesday, March 5. Marlow’s had previously popped up in the Hatch incubator space; the Philadelphia-style sandwich shop has a location in Gahanna already.
• Bubbly Hall in New Albany is also adding two new vendors. El Burrito Bowl opened earlier this week, and Hibachi Run debuts on Sunday, March 3.
• Peace, Love, and Little Donuts closed their Upper Arlington location at 2110 W. Henderson Rd. The Old Worthington store remains open.
• Red Rabbit Ramen, the cart parked at Echo Spirits, is looking for new owners. The Ramsey family is moving to Seattle and the cart is up for sale. Its last week in business will be next week.
• Le Macaron French Pastries opened recently at 997 N. High St. in the Short North, serving macarons, gelato, pastries, and coffee.
• According to online reports, Rio Fresh Cafe has reopened its Short North location at 747 N. High St.

This week I’m also writing:

• 5 Restaurants To Try This Month: March 2024
• Brews with a View at Edison Brewing in Gahanna
• Marlow’s Cheesesteaks to Join Budd Dairy; Lion Cub’s Announces Worthington Opening Date (Columbus Monthly)
• A Full English Breakfast at The Last Queen in Enon, Ohio
• A Tasty Amish Country Tradition at Boyd & Wurthmann in Berlin
• Chef-O-Nette Gets New Owners; Cameron Mitchell Closes El Segundo Mexican Kitchen (Columbus Monthly)

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