After putting out a slew of unique restaurants and bars, including Club 185, The Rossi, Little Palace and El Camino Inn, local restauranteurs Tina and Randy Corbin are ready for their first duplicate restaurant. Philco, which first opened in the Short North in 2013, will open a second location this fall in the former Happy Dragon building in German Village.
“German Village can really use a restaurant like this, with a great location, something that does breakfast, that’s low key, reasonably priced. A family type restaurant,” says Tina Corbin.
Keeping in line with the original Philco, this second location will offer a diverse, diner-inspired menu of breakfast items, salads, sandwiches, entrees and specialties. Breakfast is served all day and features biscuits, grits, steak and eggs, and huevos rancheros, among other dishes. Other fare includes johnnycake sliders, a fried mortadella sandwich, bacon-wrapped sweet chili meatloaf, fish stick tacos, and nutella grilled cheese, to name a few.
Corbin said the German Village menu will certainly keep many of the same dishes, but fans should look out for some tweaks and changes. She and her husband are currently working with a chef to conceptualize the new menu, but nothing is set in stone.
Taking over the old Happy Dragon space at 281 E. Livingston Ave. means the new Philco will be about a third larger than the Short North location. Still just 1,500 square feet, it’ll be an intimate restaurant, but with enough room for group seating and an expanded bar program of local spirits, brews and wine. It also hosts a small outdoor dining area.
Corbin said Philco was a concept destined to be duplicated. Owning four entirely individual restaurants is a challenge, “so when we did Philco, we had in mind, ‘Let’s see if we can develop something we could do multiples of if we wanted to.’”
“Out of all of them, it’s fresh, and it appeals to a lot of people,” Corbin continues.
With that in mind, Corbin confirmed that Philco may pop up elsewhere in the future, even outside of Columbus. For now, the focus is on the German Village restaurant, which is set to open in October or November.
For more information, visit philcodiner.com.