Friday Food Bites: Blue Danube reopens, Bitty & Beau’s debuts in UA

Image courtesy @bluedanubeonhigh on Instagram

There’s always a lot happening in the Columbus restaurant world! Here’s the latest news:

• After years of mixed announcements and progress, the campus institution the Blue Danube suddenly reopened this week, much to everyone’s surprise. The Dube has been an Old North staple for just shy of 80 years; it originally closed in 2018 while it changed ownership. Now let’s hope they bring back the mural! You can find the Blue Danube at 2439 N. High St.
• The first Columbus location of Bitty & Beau’s Coffee opens this Saturday, May 3 at 10 a.m. It’s located at 3110 Kingsdale Center in Upper Arlington. Bitty & Beau’s opened their first shop in 2016 in Wilmington, N.C., and has a mission to employ people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• A second Columbus-area location of Roots Natural Kitchen opens this Saturday, May 3 at 808 Grandview Ave. Roots first opened in Charlottesville, V.A. in 2015 and features just over a dozen stores around the east coast and mid-Atlantic region. It’s focused on health-conscious bowls and salads. The first Columbus Roots opened at 10 E. Fifteenth Ave. in early 2022.
• A new cocktail bar inspired by mid-century desert getaways called Palm Valley Cocktails opens today – Friday, May 2 – at 6770 Riverside Dr. in Dublin’s Bridge Park.
• A new coffee shop called Vongdara’s celebrates its grand opening today – Friday, May 2 – from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Located in the lobby of 700 Bryden in Olde Towne East, Vongdara’s offers drip coffee, cold brew, hot and iced tea, lattes, Vietnamese iced coffee, and other drinks.
• Starting this weekend, Mad Moon Craft Cidery will open its taproom the first Saturday of every month from 1-8 p.m. They offer indoor and outdoor seating, plus nine ciders on tap, growler fills, bottles and bombers, and merchandise for purchase. Mad Moon is located at 2134 Britains Lane on the northeast side.
• Soul 2 Go Cafe, which features a storefront in downtown Columbus and a carryout/delivery location in Linden, announced that it will add a Gahanna location on North Hamilton Road. An exact opening date has yet to be announced.
• Ziggy’s Beer & Wine in Harrison West launched its own food truck, Ziggy’s Fusion, this week at 184 W. Fifth Ave. The truck features a wide-ranging halal menu of samosas, fries, burgers, pastas, subs, rice bowls, and more.
• Mark your calendars: Columbus Food Adventures’ next Supper Club arrives on May 21 and features chef Lara Pipia. It’s sure to be excellent! (And you can taste her work at her Sunday brunch pop-up at Antiques on High.)
• The outdoor farmers market season is returning! The Clintonville Farmers Market kicked off last week, and the award-winning Worthington Farmers Market transitions back to outdoors in Old Worthington this Saturday, May 3. Hours for Worthington’s outdoor market are 8 a.m. to noon. The Dublin Market at Bridge Park also returns this Saturday.

This week I’m also writing:

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