There’s a new Daily on the drinking scene. From Daily Growler Owner John Blakely comes The Daily Bar, opening up shop this fall in Italian Village.
It’s an excursion that has been years in the making. Blakely initially signed the lease at 883 N. Fourth St. in Italian Village in 2018 – what now feels like a lifetime ago for the world and the neighborhood.
“The whole neighborhood has just developed so rapidly and so densely over the last four years,” Blakely says.
Tied to the construction of the entire site (it’s flanked by two newer apartment developments), the bar was just about ready to make its debut when the pandemic put everything on hold.
Coming out on the other side of a long and difficult 18 plus months for the industry, Blakely is now excited to share The Daily Bar with the world, aiming to create a space where folks can feel safe and comfortable socializing again.
As for the departure from the Growler name, Blakely wants patrons to know exactly what they are in for.
“The Daily Growler has done a pretty amazing job of establishing itself as one of the premier beer bars in Columbus,” he says.
Even though plenty of on-site imbibing occurs with flights, pints and cocktails also available, every week people still come in thinking it’s strictly a growler-to-go operation.
As the name implies, The Daily Bar will be a bar first and foremost – a place to sit down and have a drink and hang out. The new location will focus more on cocktails and wine, and will aim to have the best port list in Columbus – a personal favorite of Blakely’s.
As for eats, a few bar snacks will be available, but the location will rely largely on the surrounding dining establishments for food. Food trucks, delivery and eats from neighboring restaurants like GoreMade Pizza or Woodhouse Vegan are all welcome since the space doesn’t have a kitchen.
The bar itself is around 2,000 square feet and will host a large patio. While The Daily Growlers are a family-run business with his parents, The Daily Bar will sport more of Blakely’s personal style with some quirky vintage flair, like a denim wall, repurposed church pews for seating and 70s-style chairs.
The Daily Growler currently operates three locations – Upper Arlington, Powell and the Brewery District – but setting up shop in Italian Village is a bit of a homecoming for Blakely. He lived in the neighborhood when he moved back from Texas in 2011, before Jeffrey Park and before the slew of development activity that has encompassed North Fourth Street. To see how the neighborhood has developed over the last decade – he’s excited to now be a part of it.
The Daily Bar is lining up its finishing touches for an opening later this month or in early November. The bar is still finalizing hours but will be pouring from roughly 3 – 11 p.m. during the week and later on the weekends.
For more information, follow @the.daily.bar on Instagram.
All photos provided by The Daily Bar
