This spring, the Columbus-based restaurant Kitchen Social will open its third location, this one at Pinecrest. The concept was created by a team of Bravo-Brio vets who saw a need for an attractive hospitality-driven eatery with an affordable from-scratch menu.
“We got into this because we really wanted to provide a great experience for the guests,” says partner Brian O’Malley. “I truly feel that hospitality is a lost art in our industry today. Everybody is so focused on making that nickel. As long as we can provide the same experience and hospitality that we’ve done at the first two, then we’ll continue to grow.”
O’Malley, along with partners Brian Harvey, Phil Yandolino and Justin Stratford, opened the first Kitchen Social in late 2019 at Polaris shopping center in Columbus. Two years later they capitalized on the success of the first spot by adding added a second location in Dublin.
“We wanted to create something with the feel of Short North but at Polaris,” O’Malley says of the launch. “Everything was chain, corporate America, four walls. We said, let’s create something with a little different ambiance, different design. I wanted a place with food made from scratch. And we wanted a price point where people could afford to eat there once or twice a week – and they do.”
The former Next Door space at Pinecrest will be reworked into a cosmopolitan eatery with indoor and outdoor dining. The owners plan to relocate the front door from the side street to the main road, while also moving the bar to that front area, in order to create an indoor-outdoor bar with enclosed and heated patio.
O’Malley describes the broad menu as offering something for everybody.
“It’s a little bit of everything for everybody,” he says. “If you look at the menu, we’ve got Indian, Asian, Mexican, Italian and Southern. We have fresh seafood and steaks, but then we’ve got great burgers and pizza. The menu works for everybody and that was an important part for us.”
The menu is created with affordability in mind, and Social Hour, the restaurant’s version of happy hour, is a popular affair.
“I’d rather have you in twice a month at $20 than once a month at $30,” O’Malley adds.
The plan is to open this March.
This article appears in Nov 17-30, 2021.