This Saturday, South Fourth Street will welcome its newest business to the growing area with the grand opening of Red Velvet Café. The business is opening in the small space between Little Palace and Dirty Frank’s, formerly occupied by Columbus Furniture Revival. Owner Krizzia Yanga is launching the business as an expansion of her parent’s shop in Pickerington, which opened in 2012 under the same name.
“I’ve always kind of known that I wanted to own my own business,” said Yanga. “I went to OSU and graduated with a business degree, moved to Chicago for a job, but decided that it wasn’t for me. I missed Columbus, so I moved back here to start working with my parents on opening a second location.”
Yanga says that she explored many neighborhoods throughout Columbus and could not find the right fit for a cafe space. But one night while hanging out at the 16-Bit Bar+Arcade nearby, she stumbled upon the newly available space at 246 South Fourth Street and realized that it was where she wanted to be.
“When we first saw the place, we fell in love with the exposed bricks as well as the neighborhood,” she said. “This area is really growing quickly, and it’s a great place for local businesses.”
While the original Red Velvet Café might be best known for its made-from-scratch cupcakes, the Downtown location hopes to serve a wider range of products. Coffees are roasted by Impero, flavored Bubble Teas are on the menu, as well as a selection of Filipino-style paninis, which Yanga says have already proven popular at the Pickerington store.
“My mom started experimenting with putting traditional filipino dishes into paninis, and people are really enjoying it,” she said. “I think that Filipino food is the original Asian-fusion because of the Spanish and Chinese influences, so it works really well with the American palate.”
Red Velvet Café is hosting a soft opening as of today. The grand opening on Saturday will officially launch the business.
For more information, visit www.redvelvetcafecolumbus.com.
All photos by Walker Evans.