Friday Food Bites: Char Bar reopens, Echo Spirits expanding, Apollo’s closing, Bristol Republic moving

Image courtesy @charbarcolumbus on Instagram

Whew! I take one week off from reporting Columbus restaurant news, and SO MUCH happens! Here’s the latest:

• Fans of Char Bar, rejoice! After being closed since a car hit it last September, the beloved dive bar on High Street near the Convention Center reopened yesterday.
• A campus institution has closed! After nearly 50 years in business, Apollo’s Greek Kitchen closed up shop this week. The space will soon be replaced by Burger Royale, a local food truck.
• Echo Spirits Distilling Co. announced that it is expanding to Powell in partnership with R&S Vineyards. The new cocktail bar, dubbed Echo Spirits on the Vine, will be connected to the newly purchased R&S. The distillery will operate the tasting room and bar at 3510 Clark-Shaw Rd.
• Bristol Republic announced last week that it will be leaving its Short North location and moving to a new two-level location in Dublin’s Bridge Park later this year. The new space, found at 4495 Bridge Park Ave., will allow for more live music, as well as expanded food and drink offerings.
• Rise Brands announced last week that the original 16-Bit Bar + Arcade location at 254 S. Fourth St. downtown closed. There are six more 16-Bit locations still, but only one in central Ohio, in Dublin.
• Last week, the Hilton Downtown announced that head chef Sebastian la Rocca has left as the executive chef of its two restaurants, FYR and Stories on High. An exact reason wasn’t given for the departure, aside from the chef saying he needed “personal time to focus on my passions” on social media.
• The Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chāo opened this week at 1425 Polaris Pkwy.
• Dublin-based gelato and panini spot Ciao Café opened its second location recently, this one at 214 Thurman Ave. in German Village.
• Borgata Pizza Cafe announced that it will be leaving Budd Dairy Food Hall after Sunday, April 6. Borgata was one of the original vendors at the food hall; their Linworth restaurant remains open.
• Espresso Air in Westerville announced a new matcha and chocolate shop called WestHouse, coming to 21 E. State St. in Uptown Westerville later this year.
• This week Mikey’s Late Night Slice launched its own canned cocktail line, called Mikey’s Hooch. The offerings include a trio of drinks: Lemon Drop, Pineapple Mojito, and Bourbon Mule. They’ll initially be available at Mikey’s High & Vine, 4th Street, OSU, OTR, and Oddfellows/Short North locations.
• Tomatillos Authentic Mexican Restaurant moved from its Linworth home to a new storefront at 7838 Olentangy River Rd. in the same plaza at Hills Market.
• Bake Me Happy opens a new concept called Core Café at Bob Crane Community Center in Upper Arlington on Monday, April 7. The cafe features coffee, pastries, and grab and go meals from a variety of local vendors. The center is located at 3200 Tremont Rd.
• Taco chain Del Taco has opened its third Ohio location at 8787 Owenfield Dr. in Powell. This joins locations in Whitehall and Marion. (Hopefully they have freesh avah-cadoo!)

Some upcoming events:

Want to keep up with more? Follow me on Instagram at @breakfastwithnick, check out the news archives, read my guide to Columbus, search for travel inspiration, or…