Columbus’ food and music scenes are welcoming a new addition this summer. Natalie’s Coal-Fired Pizza & Live Music, now in Worthington, is adding a second location near Grandview Heights. It’ll take over the building recently vacated by King Avenue 5, at 945 King Ave.
For father-daughter team Charlie and Natalie Jackson, their new venue is in old territory. When Natalie’s was still just an idea, back in 2011, they’d looked at locations near Grandview Heights, but eventually opened in Worthington in 2012.
“It’s a great neighborhood and good timing,” says Charlie Jackson. “We decided it was worth moving forward with this and was impressed with not only the layout and the size that this King Avenue 5 was, but it seemed to be a nice family running it, had a good reputation, and that’s important, too, when you’re moving into a different place.”
With the new space — 9,000 square feet of space, to be exact — the Jacksons are working with three times the capacity of their original location. With it, they’ll create a venue that allows for a separation of music and food consumption. As it is in Worthington, the stage, the dining room, and the bar share space, and if a diner isn’t there to hear music, they often have to eat elsewhere.
“For the last two or three years, we had been looking at various options, knowing that we have too small a kitchen and feeling like we’d like to have a little bit larger capacity for the music hall,” says Charlie Jackson, “and our original intent before we opened Natalie’s was to have a little bit of a separation between the restaurant and the music hall.”
The building’s layout includes a restaurant and bar, a music hall, a larger kitchen, plus room for storage.
The team is still testing and debating the dishes they’ll add to their expanded menu, but Jackson says to look out for some New Orleans-inspired items alongside their usual coal-fired pizza offerings.
They’ll also continue hosting live music performances from regional, national and international acts six nights per week, recommitting to the goal they started with seven years ago to offer local food and entertainment in one spot. Jackson says the music scene has rapidly taken off alongside the restaurant scene since just 10 years ago, thanks in part to the creation of Natalie’s, and he sees it as a valuable attraction for Columbus.
“This city has great things like the Columbus Zoo and COSI and Buckeyes, and great things to be proud of, but I think more and more we’re being recognized as a place that has great restaurants and also has great live music,” Jackson says. “We’re just as serious about our restaurant as we are our music, and we’ll continue the freshly made items. I take great pride in the high quality in what we offer.”
The Jacksons have yet to settle on a name for their second location. They’ll announce it at a later date. Barring any complications, their plan is open in mid- to late-summer.
For more information, visit nataliescoalfiredpizza.com.