Bagels and memories: How Columbus' downtown is changing

Broad Street Bagels & Deli, known for its cheap sandwiches and vintage sign at 66 E. Broad St., will close for good on Oct 31.

Why it matters: In pilgrimaging to the deli for a final meal last week, I realized I wasn't sad about the food.

• I was mourning what it represented: the downtown I once knew.

Between the lines: Like many of you, I'm a suburban remote worker who left my office job during the "great resignation."

• I don't venture downtown as much as I used to, and a lunch break outside my home is a rarity.
• … basically, I'm the problem.

Catch up quick: Broad Street isn't closing by choice. After 29 years in operation, the building's owners aren't renewing its lease.

• This is hardly the first restaurant to close amid a thinning weekday lunch crowd, but losing this staple hits differently.

State of play: Downtown's vacancy rate was about 15% in September, Columbus Business First reported. It may feel more empty, though, due to "phantom space" that is leased but unoccupied.

• Some employers, like Nationwide, are still trying to call workers back.
• Meanwhile, local officials hope to rebuild downtown's residential population, but it's slow-going.

Reality check: I'm not saying downtown is dead. I still begrudgingly circled 10 minutes to find a parking spot, after all, before settling for a pricey lot. The Statehouse isn't going anywhere.

Yes, but: There are no more greasy burgers from Jack's Downtown Diner or midday lattes from the friendly folks at Cafe Phenix.

• The former Dispatch office where I worked for five years now houses the Center for Christian Virtue.
• Lui's food cart is long gone.
• And so are many office worker "regulars," like me, who gave up business casual for a T-shirt and Chuck Taylors.

What I ate: My usual club wrap with mayo, salt and vinegar chips, and a Mountain Dew ($13).

• For a moment, I was the only customer in the dining room. Unthinkable, years ago.

The bottom line: I've come to accept that downtown Columbus, a haven for white-collar workers, is changing.

• I imagine this is how many felt in the early 2000s, when Lazarus closed and City Center Mall came down.

📬 But now I'm wondering: Who decides what downtown becomes next? And how can it draw you back?

• Email us at [email protected] with your thoughts.

Read past editions of Columbites, our weekly food column.