By 1808Delaware
An economy once driven mainly by suburban housing starts is now flexing its commercial muscle. From craft spirits and fried-chicken franchises to multimillion-dollar hotel renovations and warehouse construction, Delaware County and northern Franklin County are enjoying a summer surge of investment. The projects range from small, locally owned ventures to corporate-scale plays, but all share a common thread: confidence that the region’s population growth and strategic location just off I-71 will keep foot traffic, freight, and funding flowing.
Small-Batch Spirits Stir the Scene
The aroma of fresh-distilled gin and rye now drifts across Lewis Center’s Powell Road corridor thanks to the June debut of Dog Distilling Company. Housed in a renovated 1860s schoolhouse, the craft outfit offers tasting-room flights, a cozy fireplace lounge, and a dog-friendly patio. Owner-distiller Blake Webster says the first bottled releases—an Ohio corn vodka and a bourbon finished in maple-syrup barrels—are slated for late summer, timed to catch the back-to-school and football tailgate crowds.
Southern Comfort Rolls into Delaware
Just up U.S. 23, another first is days away: Bojangles, the North-Carolina fried-chicken icon, is finalizing a soft opening for its Coughlin Lane site in Delaware. The location is part of franchisee Jeff Rigsby’s 15-store expansion plan for Central Ohio. Expect drive-thru lines to spike at breakfast; the chain’s buttery biscuits and Cajun-seasoned chicken have a cult following that stretches far beyond the Carolinas.
Retail and Industrial Players Double Down
Investors are wagering on continued population growth north of Columbus. Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison & Co. last week paid $20.4 million for Oak Creek Center near Polaris Parkway—93,000 square feet of grocery-anchored retail already posting enviable foot traffic.
On the industrial side, Fed One Development has cleared the path for two warehouses totaling 180,000 square feet at its Airport Business Center in Delaware. Construction crews break ground in August, pursuing logistics and light-manufacturing tenants hoping to ride Intel’s supplier wave.
A Hospitality Makeover with Buckeye Flair
Meanwhile, a familiar conference hotel is getting a new identity. Nationwide Realty Investors is wrapping a multimillion-dollar facelift of the former Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center in Lewis Center. When the last contractor packs up later this summer, guests will check into The Ohioan Hotel & Event Center—complete with revamped ballrooms, refreshed guest rooms, and a landscaped courtyard designed for weddings and corporate retreats.
Legacy Brand, New Label
Westerville’s 130-year-old Lancaster Colony has reintroduced itself to Wall Street—and shoppers—as The Marzetti Company. The name change spotlights the company’s flagship salad-dressing line, which now drives most of its $1.8 billion in annual sales. Executives will ring the Nasdaq closing bell on July 10 under the new ticker symbol MZTI, capping a year of recipe revamps and refrigerated-dressing line expansions.
Uptown Westerville Nears “Full House” Status
A recent city-commissioned report found that 90 percent of Westerville’s 10.8 million square feet of non-residential space is occupied, a figure municipal planners call “remarkable” for a post-pandemic Midwest suburb. Uptown’s restored brick facades and eclectic mix of boutiques, cafés, and offices remain the district’s calling card, while shovel-ready sites in the Westar business park give tech and medical tenants room to grow.
What’s Next on the Horizon
- Dog Distilling’s first bottle release arrives in July, aiming to snag local bar placements before football season.
- Bojangles’ grand opening, tentatively set for July 22, will test the breakfast-to-dinner chicken market in Delaware County.
- The Ohioan Hotel’s ribbon-cutting later this summer adds conference capacity just as the fall corporate-meeting calendar heats up.
- Fed One’s warehouse project should gauge industrial absorption north of Columbus when leasing launches in early 2026.
From biscuits to bourbon and warehouses to wedding venues, Delaware County and northern Franklin County are scripting a summer of rapid, diversified growth—proof that the economic engine north of Columbus isn’t easing off the accelerator anytime soon.
