Avishar Barua's Agni Nears Grand Opening; Slammies Makes Campus Debut

Openings & Announcements

Agni, the second restaurant from Columbus chef Avishar Barua, is now accepting reservations—sort of. The fledgling restaurant began making reservations available on Sunday, before running into technical issues related to its online reservation system. Open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, Agni fills the space left empty by Ambrose and Eve at 716 S. High St. in the Brewery District. A peek at the soft opening menu shows offerings like the Indian street food pani puri, Bengali shrimp tacos, dry-aged Rohan duck and caramelized chia pudding. Barua’s first restaurant, Joya’s Café in Old Worthington (657 High St.), was recently named one of Columbus Monthly's Best New Restaurants.

A new LGBTQ+ bar and restaurant, Slammies on High, made its debut Friday at 1607 N. High St. in the Gateway University District. The new spot near Ohio State, replaces Aracri Pizzeria and serves subs, pizzas and more. Slammies is a spinoff concept from the owners of Slammer’s in Downtown Columbus, one of the country’s longest running lesbian bars.

Fox in the Snow Café locations are now offering sandwiches every day, according to an announcement on Facebook. You can find the sandwiches in the pastry case starting at 11 a.m. daily. The owners of Fox on the Snow recently shut down their retail operations at Icarus Sandwich Shop and have instead expanded Fox in the Snow’s lunchtime options.

Double Happy has reopened for the season at 1280 Brown Road on the Hilltop. Though the retro ice cream shop is up for sale, it will remain open in the interim, according to Double Happy’s website. Double Happy has been serving milkshakes, soft serve and burgers since 2017.

Events

There’s still time to buy tickets to tonight’s Let’s Talk Womxn Columbus event, “Let's Talk & Celebrate: Gold. Glamour. Gourmet.” Let’s Talk Womxn is a networking organization founded during the pandemic to support women restaurateurs and others in the food and beverage industries. Monday's event takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Royce (8791 Lyra Drive, Polaris) and features cocktails, more than 10 tasting stations, a DJ and dancing. Participating, women-owned businesses include Brekkie Shack, Creole 2 Geaux, Dos Hermanos Tacos, Mmelo Boutique Confections and others. Get your tickets here.