Design Within Reach will have their doors open for the final time on Sunday, September 12th at Easton Town Center. The store, which opened five years ago, will have their merchandise marked down to 40% or more off during their final week. Any merchandise left over afterward will return to their warehouse. According to a store employee contacted over the phone today, the poor economy was cited as the main reason for the closing of this location.

More information can be found at www.dwr.com.

From TheMetropreneur.com:

HOMAGE Thriving, Opening Short North Store
By Melanie McIntyre on August 18, 2010

Chances are, if you have eyes and have been in Columbus during college football season, you’ve seen Ryan Vesler’s work firsthand. That “Script Ohio” T-shirt? He designed it. In fact, HOMAGE, the company Vesler founded in 2007, sells about a dozen vintage-looking Ohio State University T-shirts and many more that pay tribute, or “homage,” to various culturally significant moments, personalities, and places.

We recently sat down with Vesler −a 27-year-old Columbus native and Ohio University graduate− to discuss the store he’s opening in just a couple weeks, the struggles he faced as a new business owner, and the perk that comes with being boss (though it can be a drawback, too).

[Read More]

Life can be very stressful at times. Many people hold stress in their neck, shoulders and back. Are you one of those people? Take Ten Body Therapy can help relieve some of that stress for you and help you be on your way to a healthier life. Ten minutes at a time. Owner Kimberly Jones has been working in therapeutic massage therapy and sports massage in the downtown market for nearly ten years. In the beginning, she spent some time on the second floor of the 5 E. Long building with Body Mechanix, a mobile massage business. Then she took Take Ten Body Therapy out to the Pearl Market for five years. She has been in her new space at 116 North High Street since September 2008. The space is in a good location and Kimberly is excited to be a part of the growth of downtown. [Read More]

After living in five states over seven years, Josh Goodson has returned to Central Ohio −where he was born and raised− and launched a food delivery service specializing in local and organic produce, breads, dairy products, meats, and specialty items.

Local Yokel Foods, which opened for business June 24, works directly with 18 producers and farmers to bring area households foods picked fresh on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; Deliveries are made, free of charge, to customers’ doorsteps on Thursdays.

We recently caught up with Goodson to find out more about Local Yokel’s offerings and the farming methods used by its partners. [Read More]

The North Face are opening their first Columbus location this Friday at Easton Town Center. The new store will feature a selection of outdoor apparel and equipment geared for hiking, running, biking, skiing and more. The grand opening takes place at 10am.

More information can be found at EastonTownCenter.com or TheNorthFace.com.

CMH Gourmand has a great summertime post up on his blog featuring Thurn’s Specialty Meats: “If you are going to grill meat at some point this summer and you care about the person(s) you grill for then you need to make a trip the Thurn’s Specialty Meats – commonly know as Thurn’s. Most of us have not had exposure to a true butcher shop – this place is the real deal – they cut, chop, cure, smoke and do all things meat processing in their no frills shop.”

Read the full article at CMHGourmand.com.

According to an article in Business First (”Apple opening Polaris store“), Columbus will be getting its second Apple retail store at the Polaris Fashion Place Mall. You won’t have to wait long to get your fix of new iPhone and Macbooks either, as the new store is scheduled to open on Saturday.

Anyone planning on heading there on opening day? Or will you stick to the Easton location, MicroCenter, or buying your Apple-branded electronics online?

For years, the North Market has served up quality meats and seafood through merchants including Bluescreek Farm, North Market Poultry and Game and The Fish Guys, but customers haven’t had a good place to buy seasonings, spices and rubs for those meats… until now. “North Market Spices” will be opening their their doors on August 1st and will offer over eighty varieties of spices, herbs, blends and rubs from all over the world.

“North Market Spices will fill an important niche for our shoppers,” said North Market Executive Director David Wible. [Read More]

Brett Ruland is a lifelong record collector, and on July 17th he’ll be opening up that collection to share with the public. Spoonful Records is the name of his new vintage vinyl shop opening at 116 E. Long Street, next door to B1 Bicycles.

The music selection at Spoonful will include rock, jazz and soul as well as a selection of modern releases and local music. “Anything goes now a days in regard what people want to listen to,” said Brett. “I’m trying to have a good mix of inexpensively priced records mixed with some higher end stuff for the serious collectors.” [Read More]

Via Vecchia Winery was founded in a Powell basement in 2005 by three guys with a passion for wine making. Five years later, the business is moving into a much larger facility located at 485 South Front Street in the heart of the Brewery District.

The new building will serve as a production facility, a weekend wine bar, a retail shop and a rentable special event location. “We’re keeping the speakers and lighting systems for entertainment, bands, poetry readings, weddings, corporate events and whatever else we want to do,” said co-founder Michael Elmer. [Read More]