Development| Published on February 28, 2007 9:49 am

Clarmont could become place to live, eat, shop

By: Walker


Clarmont could become place to live, eat, shop

60-year-old restaurant site may be redeveloped

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Mike Pramik and Barnet D . Wolf

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The owner of the Clarmont Restaurant, 684 S. High St., would like to tear down the 60-year-old icon and build in its place an eight-story restaurant, condominium and retail development.

Many of the particulars are to be determined, such as how the project would be funded and how long the restaurant would have to be closed. But owner Thom Coffman thinks that it’s time to take the Clarmont, a longtime favorite of politicians, lawyers and business people, to another level.

“Customers love the grand, old Clarmont, but it’s in a 60-year-old building,” Coffman said. “To keep it there another 15, 20 years, it needs a little change. I guess a big change.”

He said the idea “came up because of what Grange (Insurance) is doing across the street. It got me thinking.”

The building also would have 54 condominiums, a rooftop patio and underground parking. The Clarmont space would be on the second floor, with seating for 150 and the addition of banquet rooms.

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Author: Walker Walker is the founder of ColumbusUnderground.com and co-founder of TheMetropreneur.com along with his wife and business partner Anne Evans. Walker has turned local media from a hobby into a full time career over the past decade and serves on multiple boards and committees throughout the community.

27 Comments

  • Brewmaster March 7, 2007 12:33 pm

    I’ve spoken with some city employees and neighborhood leaders who haven’t recieved anything to review for this project yet. They all emphasized that we are still a long way away from seeing Vegas on High get built. This publicity appears to be a request for proposals to see if any developers want to front the cash.

    I really hope that something gets done…the design definitely needs some tweaks though. A dense mixed-use development (i.e. Jackson on High or Urban Oasis) would be welcome on the south side from my perspective.

  • Brewmaster May 8, 2007 8:03 am

    http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/business/stories/2007/05/08/REST08.ART_ART_05-08-07_C10_RM6K92U.html

    Clarmont update

    Thom Coffman is considering several plans to keep his classic Clarmont restaurant going during the time it takes to turn the site into a new Clarmont, condo and retail development.

    One of the ideas is to relocate temporarily to a nearby, undisclosed location, which he says has plenty of parking and space for banquet rooms.

    The Clarmont would be on the first floor of the eight-story building with a new Thom’s Clarmont Club, similar to big, open rooms at the former Maramor or Tommy Henrich’s.

    Victory’s?

  • milodesc May 8, 2007 8:17 am

    Brewmaster wrote Victory’s?

    interesting… there are a few other brewery district spots available:

    -next to tommy keagan’s (vacant for over a year now)

    -next to brewmaster’s gate (alongside CD101, i think)

    -that vacated french restaurant (might be good with the liberty apts opening soon)

    -i think there is a restaurant space next to claughdagh irish pub (on the Kroger side)

  • honavery May 8, 2007 9:26 am

    Yeah, there are plenty of spots. Is this a go for sure? I thought he didn’t even have funding yet.

  • WorkingMusician May 8, 2007 3:24 pm

    I support Thom in anything he chooses to do. Love the Clarmont.

    Haven’t been to the Grandview place of his yet.

    I assume it is good, but wondered if the menu was hard core old school supper club or eclectic?

    I’m not for meat and potatoes, necessarily, like to try different things, but……..

    I know I had some weird food at that Grandview location a few owners back. Forgot the name of the place, but the dish was ouzo chicken.

    Sounds better than it actually was.

    (Keeping in with that, I thought maybe they would serve Hollandaise over oreos for dessert….weird place and a very weird mix of foods.)

  • WorkingMusician May 8, 2007 3:27 pm

    Forgive this question…

    Does Tommy Henrich’s have anything to do with an old Yankees baseball player, Lou Gehrig, era?

    Just asking.

  • DawonHawkins May 9, 2007 11:03 am

    This is very cool. Its nice to see some development on the southern end of High Street. Koodos to Grange and other developers for reaching out this this community!

    Is there a website where we can track the progress?

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