Credit: Douglas Trattner

Kindred Spirit, which opened earlier this year at Van Aken District, has permanently closed. Forward Hospitality, the ownership group, says that the space will be home to a new concept in the coming months.

Garden City, the cocktail-focused rooftop bar above, will remain open. Any outstanding gift certificates will be honored upstairs or at the new restaurant when it opens.

Kindred Spirit took over the space formerly home to Sawyer’s, which closed after four months at the start of the pandemic.

“Forward Hospitality, during the past several years, has been working on a new fast-casual concept that it is ready to bring to market,” the company told Scene in a statement. “We believe this will be more in line with current market demands. Our company is excited to bring this concept to the Van Aken district.”

Forward Hospitality also operates Flip Side, Three Palms, One Red Door, Bell & Flower, Goodnight John Boy, FWD Day + Nightclub and SeeSaw in Columbus.

This article appears in Dec 15-28, 2021.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.