ORANGE VILLAGE, Ohio — The dining and shopping experience at Pinecrest, a popular mixed-use district, is forever changing.
“Anything we can do to bring guests into Pinecrest only benefits all of the tenants,” said Kitchen Social General Manager Mike Creedon.
If you’ve been to Pinecrest, you know it’s a vibrant area, so to add to the vibrancy, a designated outdoor refreshment area will soon come to create an even more inviting culture.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for Pinecrest and Kitchen Social. I think that the DORA that we have in our Columbus restaurants has been just a big win for us overall,” said Creedon.
Creedon said the restaurant supports the idea for people to enjoy a drink while they shop.
“It’s a little more of a niche to have to manage, but we’ll get through that, and hopefully everybody in Pinecrest and hopefully everyone in Pinecrest will love the DORA,” said Creedon.
The restaurant opened last July, and so far, Creedon says business has been good.
But, he says Kitchen Social will welcome any new ideas to continue boosting sales.
“They have helped in the past, and they’re going to continue to help,” said Creedon.
In an email, Pinecrest Marketing Director Jessi Fausett said the idea to create this space came after property owners saw how much people enjoyed takeaway drinks from restaurants during the pandemic.
Once restrictions were lifted, Fausett says people sent in requests wondering if a designated outdoor refreshment area could come to Pinecrest and Orange Village, so Fausett said they decided to explore this opportunity to give people like Evan Piscitani more options.
“I think it will add to the culture of the area. I’ve always known this place to be a lively shopping center, and I think that’ll kind of just add to it,” said Piscitani.
Others, like Lelan Champ, agree, especially since this will be Champ’s first summer working as a server and bartender at Kitchen Social Pinecrest, and he believes this will add more excitement to the area.
“I’ve been working in Pinecrest for actually four years; I’ve been in this area, so just seeing it develop and seeing some new actual things like this, this concept right here, is absolutely amazing,” said Kitchen Social Pinecrest bartender and server, Lelan Champ.
Fausett said the property is still figuring out how its program will be regulated before it launches this July.
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