Originally published – Columbus Business First by Tristan Navera | November 8, 2018
A modern wine, coffee and chocolate concept is set to open at Grandview Yard this winter.
Winans Chocolates + Coffees + Wines has signed on for a 1,600-square-foot shop in the 1125 Yard St. building, with a targeting opening around February. It’ll be the latest addition to Grandview Yard’s growing ground-floor retail selection, and will add to the local presence of the Piqua-based Winans chain, which has locations downtown near Columbus Commons and in German Village.
“We’ve been looking for the right place and location to do it and when the property came up we decided it was the right time and location to move forward,” Matt Finkes, franchise co-owner and operator of the new Winans location, said in a statement. “The location is gorgeous and the demographic is really good for us.”
The new Winans will have an outdoor patio accessible from the sidewalk.
The brand emphasizes quality chocolates and coffees that are produced and sourced conscientiously, with its handmade chocolates made in a facility in Miami County.
The fourth-generation family business, established in the early 1900s, is trying something a bit new with this location, said CEO Joe Reiser. While it’s traditionally been primarily a coffee shop and high-end chocolatier, the chain is growing more toward a wine bar concept that draws people in during the evenings and brings in more wine events.
Winans has seen success in its downtown location with wine tastings and other events for connoisseurs, he said.
The new Winans location will emphasize wine, chocolates and coffee bringing a morning and early evening crowd.
“It’s a trifecta – chocolate, coffee and wine,” Reiser told me.
“Everything that pairs with wine” makes for a good crossover for events there, Finkes said, and the new location will hire around a dozen people. The bar will mirror the hours of the downtown location, expecting to draw an early evening crowd.
This will be the company’s 19th location overall and while it has significant awareness in its home market of Dayton, this new concept will help it grow in Central Ohio as well. It has steadily grown over the past few years thanks in part to franchising.
With the new lease, Grandview Yard continues to fill out its retail spaces with additional offerings for the evening and weekend crowd to complement residential and office uses there. Breakfast food concept Brekkie Shack and My Salon Suite recently announced leases in Grandview Yard to open in late 2018.
The building the new bar will be in, 1125 Yard St., includes OhioHealth and Columbus Obstetricians-Gynecologists Inc. in office space on the second floor.
Developed by Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd., Grandview Yard will have 1.2 million square feet of office, restaurants, retail, and hospitality as well as community parks and approximately 1,500 residential units.
