What to do in Columbus while attending the DLA Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exhibition

COLUMBUS, Ohio -

Editor's note: This is the final article in a six-part series as Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime prepares for the 2024 DLA Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exhibition. The first five articles can be found on the conference page under the 'in the news' tab.

Columbus is a vibrant city and is worth checking out if time allows for those attending the Defense Logistics Agency Supply Chain Alliance and Exhibition at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, April 23-24.

The 14th largest city in the United States, is home to celebrity chefs, top artists, a robust fashion design industry, one of the top zoos in the country, the only national museum dedicated to military veterans of all eras, the world's largest single tower S-shaped cable stay bridge, and several Fortune 500 companies. Forbes Magazine calls Columbus "a hidden gem in plain sight," and Essence Magazine, has named Columbus as a hotspot for culinary travel in 2024.

Where to dine

Columbus is home to several award-winning chefs and restauranteurs. BJ Lieberman, chef/owner of Hiraeth, Chapman's Eat Market and Ginger Rabbit, and Avishar Barua, chef/owner of Agni and Joya's, were named James Beard Award semifinalists in January of this year. Renowned Argentine chef Sebastian La Rocca opened the popular Short North spot, Fyr, in 2022 starting the live-fire craze in the city and Chef Josh Dalton brought unique modern small plates to Columbus' downtown with his first concept, Veritas. He has since opened an Italian eatery, Speck, also located downtown. Several Food Network stars have also settled in Columbus like Modern Southern Table owner and winner of Food Court Wars Sadaya 'Daisy' Lewis; Top Chef winner and Bar Cicchetti chef/owner Fabio Viviani; and Alexia Orsburn, head chef at Littleton's Market, who recently appeared on Chopped.

More dining options abound near and far from the conference. Here are several unique options to consider trying out. The historic North Market boasts more than 30 vendors, offering everything from Italian to Greek and everything in-between. The 148-year-old market is perfect for breakfast, lunch or an early dinner. Located across the street from the convention center, be aware only the Front Street entrance is currently open because of construction in front of the market. Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, offers a meat eaters paradise, with both patio and indoor dining available. It is located across from the convention center on The Cap, a freeway bridge along High Street over I-670, which was designed to mimic the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. The Pearl, offers an oyster bar and ocean fare. The downtown location is conveniently located about a block away from the convention center at 641 N High Street. Lincoln Social Rooftop boasts an elevated experience with a panoramic view of the Columbus skyline. The rooftop lounge sits atop the Lincoln building, is only open for dinner and has happy hour specials, shareable small plates, a retractable roof, fire pit and green walls. Located at 711 N High Street on the ninth floor, it's an easy walk from any of the hotels near the convention center.

Other offerings farther away include:

• The Keep, located in the historic LaVeque Tower, offers French-influenced cuisine drawing from French centers in Southeast Asia, North Africa and Louisiana. Located across from Columbus' City Hall, the ornate Art Deco style building is an iconic landmark in Columbus and well worth the visit. Rideshare: 50 West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215. COTA: Routes 2 and 10 maps.
• Milestone 229, which offers excellent views of the city through giant glass windows overlooking the Bicentennial Park fountains and the Scioto Mile has an expansive menu that appeals to everyone with ample vegetarian and gluten free options. Rideshare: 229 Civic Center Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43215. COTA: Routes 2 and 10 maps.
• Schmidt's Restaurant Und Sausage Haus, in the heart of German Village, is one of the oldest establishments in Columbus. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, five generations of the Schmidt family have prided themselves on bringing authentic German cuisine from their homeland to the city. Dining there is like eating inside a tavern in a small town in Bavaria, complete with live accordion music, servers dressed in lederhosen, beverages served in enormous mugs, unique sausage offerings like the Bahama Mama, and enormous German cream puffs for dessert. Rideshare: 240 East Kossuth Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215. COTA: Routes 1 and 4 maps.
• Katzinger's Delicatessen now in its 40th year of operation, serves traditional Jewish deli-style sandwiches, soups, salads, sides and pastries. There are unique names to each giant sandwich like #31 Big Bob's Belly Balancer Rueben and the #79 Todd is My Co-Pilot BLT. The spot could be an excellent place to get a quick carry-out or to take a break from the conference. Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Rideshare: 475 S. 3rd Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215. COTA: Routes 1 and 4 maps.
• Thurman Cafe, is known for its signature dish, the Thurmanator. It is a precarious stack of two large beef patties, bacon, ham, cheese, pickles, lettuce and carmelized onions sitting between a large bun slathered on both sides with mayonnaise. A large knife instead of the traditional toothpick keeps it all together. Foodies from near and far travel to the German Village eatery, to try to consume the towering sculpture of beef in one sitting. COTA: Routes 1 and 4 maps.
• Hofbrauhaus Columbus Brewery and Restaurant, located in the Grandview Yard is a biergarten style German restaurant harkening back to the grand bier halls in Germany. In fact, the Hofbrauhaus' original brewery, opened in 1589 in Munich, Germany is still in operation today. Hofbrauhaus Columbus brews its own bier locally, according to the German Purity Law of 1516 or Reinheitsgebot. Rideshare: 800 Goodale Blvd. Columbus, OH 43212. COTA: Route 22 map.
• Studio 35 Cinema and Drafthouse, located in nearby Clintonville, is a pizzeria-style eat-in movie theater where you can enjoy full meals and drinks while watching your favorite first run show. Originally opened as the Indianola Theater in 1938, the venue now has a full bar, serving 40 different kinds of brew and offers a full menu of specialty pizzas, subs and salads. The movie schedule is released about four weeks prior to a showing. Rideshare: 3055 Indianola Ave, Columbus, OH 43202. COTA: Route 4 map
• The Refectory, housed in a former church for more than four decades, is the place to find classic French cuisine in Columbus. Executive Chef Richard Blondin, a native of France and who studied under several famous French chefs, offers a fresh take on the gastronomy of his homeland. Rideshare: 1092 Bethel Rd, Columbus, Ohio 43220. COTA: Routes 1, 21 and 33 maps.

Experience Columbus has an extensive list of every restaurant in the Columbus area and beyond. To find more dining options beyond these suggestions, visit https://www.experiencecolumbus.com/restaurants/

Things to do in downtown Columbus

Several entertainment districts are just a short walk away and offer everything under the sun. The Short North Arts District starts at the convention center stretching north to The Ohio State University campus, and the Arena District sits just across the street from the convention center. Both offer unique experiences from art galleries and live bands to professional and amateur sporting events all year round. Bibliophiles can get their literary fix at the Book Loft in nearby German Village which has a maze of 32 rooms of tomes to get lost in figuratively and literally. The village is bursting with German culture and walking the brick streets can transport visitors to the middle of a quaint Bavarian town in a matter of minutes. For more interesting and unique shopping, visit https://germanvillage.com/

The National Veterans Memorial and Museum on Broad Street is worth a stop as it is the only museum in the nation dedicated to telling the stories of veterans, their families and the fallen from all services and all eras both wartime and peacetime. Across from the NVMM, sits the Center of Science and Industry, an expansive facility inside an old high school dedicated to science, technology, engineering, and math.

Also, along Broad Street is the Ohio Statehouse, the Columbus Museum of Art and the Franklin Park Conservatory. The Statehouse offers tours, CMA boasts a world-class collection of art from all eras and the Conservatory has several environmental biomes a visitor can walk through with glassworks by Dale Chihuly sprinkled throughout. And if one likes looking at glass, a small glass blowing studio on site offers the opportunity to make it too. Another place to make glass in nearby Franklinton is Glass Axis, a comprehensive glass-making facility, encompassing molten glass, casting, fusing, neon, stained glass, cold working, and torch working.

If arriving over the weekend, visitors can take in a show or two in one of Columbus' four historic theatres in the downtown area. The Ohio Theatre and the Palace Theatre are home to traveling Broadway shows, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and historical film showings, and the Lincoln Theatre and Southern Theatre offer wide variety of performing arts.

Greenspaces and parks are never far away in the city's center. The Short North's Goodale Park, the Arena District's McFerson Commons, downtown's Columbus Commons and German Village's Schiller Park offer a traditional urban greenspace with formal gardens, while expansive greenspaces like the Scioto Mile and Scioto Audubon Metro Park offer visitors a deeper dive into nature. The Scioto Mile stretches from the Arena District to the Whittier Peninsula and has several multi-use trails and paths. Porch swings along the promenade gives visitors a little respite and Scioto Audubon, located at the southern end of the Scioto Mile, offers an obstacle course, a free standing outdoor climbing wall, an observation tower, recreational areas, trails through prairies and wetlands and the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. Further out from downtown one can find the Columbus Park of Roses, Quarry Trails Metro Park, Inniswood Metro Gardens, and Highbanks Metro Park. All are an easy rideshare or COTA bus ride away.

Columbus is known for its public artworks and hundreds of murals, paintings, sculptures and installations can be seen throughout central Ohio with the highest concentration of works in the downtown area. "Out of the Box" is a series of artworks on utility boxes to liven up the often unsightly but necessary apparatus. They can be found all over High Street and participating artists are from historically marginalized communities.

Artists Steve Galgas and Mike Altman created a play on Grant Wood's iconic classic painting, "American Gothic." The mural "Short North Gothic," flips the farmer's daughter on her head and can be seen on the outer wall of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. Another mural which makes a famous painting infamous is the "Mona Lisa Mural," by artist Brian Clemons on the wall at 98 Bollinger Place. Installed in 1990, the mural is synonymous with the Short North Arts District. The twist here is she is painted on her side and her smile is as mysterious as in the original by Leonardo DaVinci.

For visitors who wander near the Scioto River downtown, be sure to watch out for deer. Bronze deer that is, created by artist Terry Allen. "Scioto Lounge Deer," in varying states of relaxation can be seen sprinkled throughout the parkland which surrounds the Scioto River.

Strolling through the Topiary Garden is like stepping into a 3D painting like the characters in the Disney movie Mary Poppins. The space, next to the main branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, interprets Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of Grand Jatte," in topiary form. While transiting to a favorite restaurant for dinner, one can see Columbus' most recent public artwork flying high above the intersection of Gay and High streets. "Current," by artist Janet Echelman, is a 229-foot long multicolored installation which looks like a wide ribbon floating in the breeze.

More public art locations can be found at https://www.columbusmakesart.com/ and more attractions are listed at https://www.experiencecolumbus.com/things-to-do/

Worth the extra miles

Columbus also has a lot to offer outside of the downtown area. And it's easy to get around via rideshare, taxi or bus. Before the conference starts, it is definitely worth checking out one of the city's suburban entertainment districts, unique restaurants, activities and shopping.

Dublin's Bridge Park, home to the longest single tower S-shaped suspension bridge in the world, is a must see if time allows. The bridge, which links Old Dublin with Bridge Park is a pedestrian span that crosses the Scioto River. Restaurants and shopping abound from rooftop dining to fare by a cozy fireplace. After dinner, one can stroll along the river, taking in the early spring breezes. Rideshare: 6741 Longshore Street, Dublin, Ohio 43017. COTA: Route 1 map.

Easton Town Center is another entertainment district on the city's northeast side that boasts a wide variety of dining, shopping and entertainment options. It is like traveling down the main street of any small town complete with cobblestone streets, fountains, festive lighting, town squares, a model train and more. Rideshare: 160 Easton Town Ctr, Columbus, Ohio 43219. COTA: Route 9 map.

Transportation

Besides rideshare services like Uber or Lyft, there are several other options to go near and far in Columbus. Catching a ride on a Central Ohio Transit Authority bus is an option if you want to ride around downtown and beyond. Routes of varying frequency can get you to the far corners of town in under an hour. Download the Transit app to plan, track and pay for COTA rides from your smartphone. Or go for a ride with CoGo Bike Share. There are more than 40 CoGo bicycle rental stations throughout downtown available anytime. A bike can be checked out at one station and returned to another. A fun way to go short distances is to try out any of the three scooter rental agencies in town. Lime, Birdor Spin all have downloadable apps which offer the user locations, pricing, policies and more. If time allows, renting a Pedalwagon or participating in a SegAway Tour is a great way to see parts of downtown Columbus.

This is by no means a comprehensive list but highlights of what Columbus has to offer. Go to Experience Columbus, run by the Greater Columbus Convention and Visitor's Bureau for information about amenities and attractions in every Columbus neighborhood and beyond at https://www.experiencecolumbus.com/

Editor's Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Defense Logistics Agency, DOD, or U.S. Government.

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