Friday Food Bites: Katalina’s expanding to Bexley, Ampersand to Westerville; Brothers Drake opens in Grandview

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

• Katalina’s announced this week that it will be adding a third location in Bexley. This is a change from news last year that the Latin-inspired cafe would open its third store in Franklinton. An exact location and opening date for Katalina’s Tres, as it’s called, haven’t been revealed yet. This joins Katalina’s original location in Harrison West and Katalina’s, Too in Clintonville.
• Brothers Drake Meadery has opened for limited hours at its newly consolidated location in Grandview. The meadery recently merged its original Short North bar with its production facility at 1025 W. Third Ave. Current hours are noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with more hours coming in February.
• Ampersand Asian Supper Club teased this week that a second location will be coming to Uptown Westerville. Ampersand’s first location sits in the Short North, and features some of the best ramen in Columbus. Ampersand is sister to Asterisk Supper Club, already in Uptown Westerville.
• Buck City Sammies, once a pop-up at East Market, will soft open a permanent stall there this Saturday, Jan. 20.
• The Funky Duck, a burger-centric pop-up from some of the employees at the Lox Bagel Shop, will offer its next dinner on Monday, Jan. 22.
• While the owners of Los Potosinos food truck are working on their first brick and mortar on Long Street, the truck will start popping up at The Oracle in Olde Towne East this Saturday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m.
• After announcing three new vendors recently, Bubbly Hall in New Albany shared that a Korean fried chicken concept will replace the recently closed Just Chicken.
• A new dessert shop called Habibi Cafe & Sweets opened last week at 6520 Hayden Run Rd. in Hilliard.
• Cameron Mitchell Restaurants announced that Del Mar SoCal Kitchen in the Short North has been rebranded as SoCal Kitchen + Bar. The Del Mar name, which is being used by a CMR restaurant in Naples, Florida, will also be used at the restaurant group’s forthcoming restaurant at Easton, in the former Bon Vie space.
• Watershed Kitchen & Bar released a new cocktail menu this week. The new menu, which is always beautifully and cleverly designed, features a Choose Your Own Adventure theme.
• This Saturday, Jan. 20 is Columbus Winter Beerfest at the Convention Center.
• The winter edition of Restaurant Week runs Jan. 22-24.
• The local restaurant group Columbus Independents has launched its first quarter gift certificate sale.

This week I’m also writing:

• Ray Ray’s Opens Truck at Aardvark Wine & Beer
• The McConnell Arts Center Hosts April Sunami’s I Am Because You/We Are (Experience Worthington)

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