Birria, pizza, empanadas, oh my! 6 more restaurants joining central Ohio’s anticipated food hall
This summer is bringing the heat — sure, there’s the hot weather, but also, spicy birria, tteokbokki, and empanadas are on the menu at the highly anticipated food hall opening this August.
The Little Grand Market is opening at Grandview Summer, and they’ve been keeping us on our toes with their food vendor announcements. Last week, 614 wrote about four new vendors joining the food hall, and now, we have the inside scoop on 6 more restaurants who will proudly be part of this community hub.
Warning – your stomach is going to rumble after reading about the vendors:
Los Agavez Taqueria
Named by Yelp as one of the Top 100 Taco Spots in America, Los Agavez Taqueria, the food truck known throughout the city for its Tijuana-style birria tacos, will open its first brick-and-mortar location at The Little Grand Market. The taqueria will serve a variety of tacos, huaraches, tortas, burritos and more, focused on made-from-scratch dishes with fresh ingredients. This includes the special Al Pastor – marinated pork that cooks on a rotating vertical skewer and shaved off for multiple dishes.
Los Agavez is best known locally for its iconic birria tacos, made with a tender stew of shredded beef loaded on a crispy corn tortilla, topped with cheese, onion and cilantro and served with consommé for dipping. According to owners David and Elvia Ramirez, they prepare 100 pounds of birria beef daily and consistently sell out every day from the food truck in Clintonville. David and Elvia both hail from Mexico, and they are looking forward to sharing their exclusive birria recipe and other traditional dishes at The Little Grand Market .
“We are so excited about our new location at the Little Grand Market,” said Elvia Ramirez. “Our goal is to one day be positioned as one of the best taquerias and restaurants in the city, and this opportunity allows our brand to shine and grow.”
For the Love of Dough
There is a reason that For the Love of Dough calls its large cookies “Big Poppa.” The huge, 3-ounce cookies are dense and full of ingredients like crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, peanut butter chips, chocolate morsels, blueberries and buckeyes. Owner Loren Snow started baking cookies for friends during the pandemic, and by February 2021, she was baking for people all over the city and seen at farmers markets and events throughout Columbus. Along with partners Daryl Jones and Tim Steward, Loren is expanding the offerings at For the Love of Dough at The Little Grand Market with ice cream sandwiches, ice cream sundaes with “Big Poppa” cookies, milkshakes and lil’ shots with flavored milk.
“We are expecting to offer 6-8 varieties of cookies each day and our sundaes, milkshakes and ice cream sandwiches will be made using Columbus’ best ice cream,” said Snow.
Gant’s Pizza
Gant’s Pizza is known for its “fairly thin crust” baked “well done” for a crispy bite. The Little Grand Market is the second location for the pizzeria with the original location in Circleville. According to owner Matt Gantner, the Meat Lovers pizza drizzled with sweet chili sauce and the Italian Specialty pizza with ham, salami, pepperoni, sausage, onion, tomato and banana peppers are customer favorites that he plans to serve at The Little Grand Market.
“We have had a lot of requests to open a Columbus location and are ready to introduce ‘well done’ pizza to more people,” said Gantner.
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Just Chicken
Just Chicken made its debut at the East Market in 2022, serving fresh, never frozen, chicken tenders with homemade sauces and fresh sides. Since then, the concept has opened locations in Charlotte, North Carolina and Silver Spring, Maryland focused on a signature menu – Just Tenders (chicken tenders battered in a special spice blend), Just Chicken Sandwich (the iconic tenders on a locally-made focaccia roll), Just Salad (a fresh salad blend topped with tenders) and Just Loaded Fries (tenders, a cheese blend and a sauce of choice piled on daily cut French Fries).
Childhood friends and fellow tender lovers D’Andre Martin and Mike Johnson grew up in Cleveland and shared a love of bringing people together over a great meal. They opened The Pit BBQ Grille in 2015 and decided to branch out with another concept that is easy and fun to cook without sacrificing quality or flavor, and Just Chicken was born. The pair shares a passion for family- and community-based business, and their partnership with The Little Grand Market was a natural fit.
“When we saw the vision for The Little Grand Market, we immediately loved the people and the community involvement with the project,” said D’Andre Martin. “We couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to share Just Chicken with the Grandview community. Nuggets are for kids, but tenders are forever.”
Seoul Food on the Go
Seoul Food on the Go is a Columbus-based restaurant serving staples of Korean comfort food loved by millions worldwide. The concept operates a location in Bubbly Hall in New Albany and will bring the authentic street food experience to Grandview in The Little Grand Market. Signature menu items include tteokbokki, soft rice cakes with savory, sweet and spicy sauce options perfect for a comforting meal, and kimbap, freshly made seaweed and rice rolls filled with a variety of fresh ingredients and available as a customizable bowl option. Seoul Food on the Go specializes in house-made bulgogi meatballs with its own special recipe.
Owner Dennis Kang was born in Seoul, Korea, and after living in Korea for 10 years, he relocated back to Columbus to be with family during the pandemic. He began experimenting with various recipes for his favorite comfort foods to eat in Korea – tteokbokki and kimbap – and saw an opportunity to share both traditional versions and his own modern takes of these dishes in Columbus.
“While Korean culture is increasing in popularity worldwide, I feel that authentic Korean street food is still underrepresented in central Ohio,” said Kang. “The Little Grand Market is an exciting way to share my culture, my passion and my food in the heart of Columbus.”
Pablo’s Havana Café
Owned by Cuba-born Pablo Taura, Pablo’s Havana Café serves world-famous Cuban sandwiches and homemade Cuban cuisine. Inspired by the home cooked meals of his mother and grandmother, Pablo opened his authentic Cuban restaurant in Powell, Ohio in 2018 and now operates a location at North Market Bridge Park.
The Pablo’s Havana Café menu features its signature sandwich “El Cubano”, the Cuban Sandwich, made with Cuban bread, fresh roasted pork, honey ham, Swiss cheese, sliced pickles and mustard, all pressed to perfection using a panini press. Additional menu items include tostones, croquetas, empanadas, homemade soups and salads, as well as traditional Cuban desserts.
“I decided to take a chance and bring the diversity of the Cuban cuisine to central Ohio in 2018,” said Taura. “Now, I cannot wait to share my family’s recipes with The Little Grand Market and the entire Grandview community.”
We’ll definitely see you there this summer!
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