Bobcat Sports Bar Coming to Grandview; Heart State Taproom Relocates

Openings & Announcements 

A family-friendly establishment called Bobcat Sports Bar is set to take over the former Cleaver space at 1099 W. First Ave., an employee confirmed Thursday. The new restaurant and sports bar, named after the Grandview Heights High School and Ohio University Bobcats, is owned by Steve Papineau, Jeff Wagenbrenner and Dimitri Hatzifotinos, whose wife owns Basic Biscuits, Kindness & Coffee in Grandview. According to general manager Roni Stiffler, Bobcat will feature 19 TVs, arcade games and a bar fare menu of nachos, fried pickles, fish and chips, BLTs, smash burgers and more. The 1099 W. First Ave. address, which is located in the same shopping center as the Butcher & Grocer, has seen a rotating cast of restaurant occupants in recent years. Past businesses that have come and gone include Old Bag of Nails, Harvest Pizzeria, the Old Spot and, finally, Cleaver which closed last August. Bobcat is expected to open next month in time for March Madness. 

Gahanna’s Heart State Brewing will celebrate the grand reopening of its taproom at 750 Cross Pointe Road this Sunday, Feb. 19. The move is a return to Heart State’s original location, which has continued to serve as the brewery’s production facility even after the taproom relocated last March to 505 Morrison Road, formerly Crafted Culture Brewing. Heart State CEO Max Unverferth said the taproom at the 12,000-square-foot Cross Pointe location (most of which is production space) has undergone aesthetic updates, along with the addition of a game room. “We are starting with 10 taps, and we will be expanding to 20 soon,” Unverferth said in an email. 

Kyushu Ramen Bar will soon bring its flavorful ramen soups, karaage, chashu buns and more to 6418 Pullman Drive in Lewis Center. An opening date has not yet been announced. This is the second shop for Kyushu, which only recently made its debut at 1280 W. Fifth Ave. in Fifth by Northwest.   

Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce (3959 Brighton Rose Square), which houses a burlesque club, has totally overhauled its menu, switching from a high-end burger and milkshakes concept to a New York-style pizza joint. The pizzeria’s triangular-cut, 14-inch pies range from $20-$29, while its 18-inch pizzas range from $25-$38. Sides include garlic knots, meatballs, Buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks. 

The Cheesecake Girl is now a permanent fixture at Budd Dairy Food Hall (1086 N. Fourth St.). The locally owned sweets shop, which has been popping up inside Budd Dairy since last spring, announced on social media that it will be sticking around for much longer and expanding its menu. The Cheesecake Girl, which has locations in Dublin and Hilliard’s Center Street Market, specializes in regular-sized and mini cheesecakes with flavors ranging from original and buckeye to cinnamon roll and coconut cream pie. Budd Dairy’s latest pop-up vendor is Junkyard Dogs, a hot dog eatery from the owner Borgata Pizza Café. Junkyard also has a standalone location in Linworth at 2245 W. Dublin-Granville Road, Ste. 108. 

The franchise chain Crumbl Cookies will unveil its newest Central Ohio location at 8 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 17. The new store, Crumbl’s ninth in Central Ohio, is located at 963C Hebron Road in Heath. The Utah-based chain has seen hyper-growth since its founding in 2017 and now boasts more than 600 stores across the U.S.  

Events

The folks behind the forthcoming restaurant and bar Cobra are holding a limited series of previews, featuring noodle dishes and cold drinks, starting this Sunday, Feb. 19. Dubbed “Sunday Slurp,” the pop-up takes place from 3 to 10 p.m. Sundays at Woodhouse Vegan Short North (19 W. Russell St.). Proceeds will help to fund Cobra’s Brewery District brick-and-mortar, which you can read more about here.