Friday Food Bites: Mezcla opens in Italian Village, Happy Little Treats moving, Marx Bagels opens

Image courtesy @mezclacolumbus on Instagram

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

• Mezcla, a new modern Latin eatery in Italian Village, opens today – Friday, April 11. Operated by chef Garrett Talmadge (previously from Cosecha and Nada), the restaurant and cocktail bar features features upscale Latin American fare.
• Happy Little Treats vegan bakery announced that it is moving from its Short North home to 1043 W. Goodale Blvd. in Grandview. The bakery, whose pastries are found at a variety of coffee shops and cafes throughout the city, has been closed temporarily in recent weeks due to the partial collapse of its building’s facade.
• Cincinnati’s Marx Bagels is now fully open in the old Block’s Bagels space at 6115 McNaughten Rd. on the east side. Block’s Bagels closed recently after more than 50 years in business. Marx Bagels is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
• The Haitian eatery Bibi’s Patties celebrates the grand opening of its new storefront this Saturday, April 12. You can find the eatery, focused on meat-filled patties, at 6086 Huntley Rd. near Worthington.
• Bada Bean Bada Booze has opened its fourth Columbus location, this one at 2157 Quarry Trails Dr. Suite A, in the Quarry Trails development. The in-house coffee shop/cocktail bar concept is part of Thrive Companies’ developments, and includes locations in Italian Village, Harrison West, and the Little Grand Market.
• Osteria Pizzeria debuted this week at 892 Oak St. in Olde Towne East in the former Mikey’s storefront. Osteria is operated by the owners of the Olde Towne Tavern across the street.
• Johnson’s Real Ice Cream debuts its newest store at 50 S. Liberty St. in Powell on Thursday, April 17. They’ll be open from 6-9 p.m. that night offering free scoops.
• Last week the North Market Downtown released the first renderings of its expansion into the under-construction Merchant Tower. The addition space covers 15,000 feet over two floors, with new merchant stalls, a bar, common area, event spaces, and a covered balcony overlooking the new outdoor market plaza.
• The Boni Filipino street food stall at Budd Dairy Food Hall has rebranded as Beep! Beep! and revamped its menu offerings to include noodle dishes, rice bowls, adobo chicken, and more.
• The Purple Door coffee shop, part of Zora’s House in Weiland Park, has expanded its offerings by adding breakfast sandwiches.
• Multiple sources have reported that The Kee downtown has switched to an events-only model and has closed its restaurant, bar, and coffee shop.
• Sexton’s Pizza opened its newest location – its fourth total – at 5880 Evans Farm Dr. in Lewis Center’s Evans Farm development.

Some great events:

• Charmy’s Market downtown celebrates its grand opening on Saturday, April 12 from noon to 3 p.m. with specials, tastings (including a hot bar of Persian food), local vendors offering samples, and more!
• The final edition of the Souper Heroes soup fundraiser takes places this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Worthington Farmers Market. Guests can sign up to donate soups or can just visit to sample soups and donate to the Worthington Resource Pantry.
• Rose Dough Donuts will do another pop-up this Saturday at its forthcoming Clintonville bakery, at 3375 N. High St. They’ll open up at 10 a.m. and will most likely sell out!
• Roosevelt Coffeehouse is celebrating 10 years this weekend with events at its two locations. Each party will have treats from local bakeries, new merch, and more. On Saturday, April, 12, celebrations are taking place at their Franklinton shop from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday, April 13, they’re celebrating from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at their Long Street shop.

This week I’m also writing:

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