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2 weeks ago | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
A new Clintonville hookah bar aims to make patrons feel like royalty as it creates a community space for college students and others. Kings Lounge, 3070 N. High St., opened in November 2024 in the former home of the Four Seas store which featured Asian-American items. Kings offers various flavors of hookah, flavored tobacco smoked through a pipe, as well as coffee, smoothies and custom lemonade. “We have a variety of hookah flavors,” owner Abiel Kiflu said.
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1 month ago | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
Clintonville native Tucker Gilkerson said he hopes to cultivate more than a successful business with his Goodlife Studios, 4560 Indianola Ave. Since 2020, Gilkerson has owned and operated the photography and videography studio. But the Whetstone High School graduate aims to build a community around nascent creatives in Central Ohio by offering affordable prices and a personal touch.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
Bishop Watterson High School held its first mass in the newly renovated chapel on the 99 E Cooke Road campus Dec. 11. Bishop Earl Fernandes of the Catholic Diocese of Columbus blessed the building, students shared readings and alumni priests spoke. The service was a bookend for the renovation project that stretched from March to November. Principal Deacon Chris Campbell had wanted to renovate the important structure for some time. “This is something that’s been needed for a long time.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
As Clintonville approaches the holiday to celebrate costumed characters, it seems appropriate that the Laughing Ogre comic book store turns 30 on Oct. 30. For three decades the store at 4258 N. High St. has offered an evolving selection of comics, graphic novels, books, toys and more. The Laughing Ogre’s current general manager, Gib Bickel co-founded his dream business in 1994 with two friends. “I had a friend that had some money to invest and wanted to start a business.
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Sep 29, 2024 | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
The Winemaker’s Shop opened for business in 1974. Scott Francis and his brother Kenny started the shop five decades ago to provide the community with tools and skills to brew their own alcohol. The store, 3517 N. High St., continues to follow that mission by selling wine- and beer-making kits, hops, yeast, bottles, wine-grape concentrates and other necessities for home brewing.
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Aug 30, 2024 | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
A local non-profit, Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, is giving away 1,500 trees to the community in an effort to spread awareness about the environment and improve the Central Ohio tree canopy. Anyone can receive free saplings by filling out a form found on the web site www.olentangywatershed.org/, and attending a pickup day. Pickup days are on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at FLOW’s Worthington tree nursery, 6099 Godown Road, and Saturday, Oct.
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Jun 27, 2024 | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
Whetstone Park will be the place to be to celebrate the Fourth of July this year. Holiday festivities were brought back for the first time last year after a long hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Clintonville community received the return warmly, despite the pause in bringing back fireworks which likely will last another year or two. A major renovation project the city is undertaking at Whetstone Park will make fireworks impractical until the upgrades are complete.
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May 15, 2024 | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
It is not unusual to picture a typical bakery, with pastel walls, cute decorations and a bright and cheery atmosphere. But a new bakery defies these clichés, thanks to its owner, Annie Dickson; her moniker The Alternative Baker is born from her penchant for heavy metal, the color black and, of course, her love of baking. Dickson’s brainchild, Bite This, is coming to Clintonville this summer with its first brick and mortar store at 3009 N.
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Apr 17, 2024 | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
Columbus’ legion of record stores gained a new addition in November when two Clintonville locals opened Lovelight Records and Art. The art gallery, record store hybrid at 4540 Indianola Ave. is the passion project of Luke Haines and Mike Davis, both dads who bonded through their shared fandom of the prolific jam band the Grateful Dead. “Mike and I, our aesthetics work really well together. You know, we like very similar music, similar art,” co-owner Haines said.
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Mar 21, 2024 | 
clintonvillespotlight.com | Cliff Wiltshire |Preston Harmon
Sage & Soul was founded in June 2023 by co-owners Courtney Price and Erin Rush to offer an alternative workplace for salon professionals. Salon professionals typically have two options: renting studio space and working alone or working for a salon with little control over their work, Price said. “We’ve put together a really well-curated space to keep our artists inspired and give them the community without the restrictions of working for somebody,” Rush said.
