Moment in Time (September 15, 2021)
In 1916 King Thompson’s Northwest Boulevard Company purchased a significant portion of several farms in Grandview, including the large Thomas farm and the Salzgaber farm, in order to create a new development, the Northwest Boulevard Addition, that would serve as the gateway community to the company’s proposed Country Club District. The Country Club District included the planned residential community that would become Upper Arlington.
The building at 1291 West Third in Grandview hasn’t changed much, but the signs indicate the several local businesses that operated there over the years. The photos are, clockwise from the upper left: Tower Confectionery, Franco’s Barber Salon, The Ohio Tap Room, and Barber Shop Imports used cars.
In 1916 King Thompson’s Northwest Boulevard Company purchased a significant portion of several farms in Grandview, including the large Thomas farm and the Salzgaber farm, in order to create a new development, the Northwest Boulevard Addition, that would serve as the gateway community to the company’s proposed Country Club District. The Country Club District included the planned residential community that would become Upper Arlington.
Lot 276 of the Northwest Boulevard Addition, at the intersection of Hope and Third near Northwest Boulevard, the new road linking Goodale Blvd. with the new district, was purchased from the developers in 1921. The buyers were the Cenci Brothers, Pasquale (Patsy) and Nicholas (Nick) who owned the Cenci Bros. Market at the southeast corner of Glenn and Fifth. They apparently never realized their vision and the property was sold.
A building was built on the 4356 sq. ft. lot. It was an 800+ sq. ft. structure intended for retail purposes. Lucinda Danes opened Tower Confectionery in the front of the building in 1935. An article in the 1955 Columbus Evening Dispatch described an armed robbery at the candy store, and indicated that Lucinda Danes lived in the room at the back of the store. A recent Dispatch article referenced memories of her not being fond of children, and putting candy in glass jars on pedestals that weren’t allowed to be touched by the customers. She ran the store for 31 years. The building was purchased by O.K. Schurtz, who with his partner Tom Polk owned Central Music Company, a distributor of coin operated machines.
In 1958, Franco Policaro emigrated to Columbus with his family and six years later married Giovanna Ciotola. (The Ciotola family is very prominent in the restaurant business in Columbus. Giovanna’s sister Dina and husband Giuseppe founded Milano's Steakhouse and Villa Milano Banquet Center; her brother Benny was a barber and founded LaScala and co-founded the Refectory; brother Bruno founded Bruno’s pizza; brothers Angelo and Domenico started DaVinci Ristorante; and Bruno, Angelo, and Domenico opened The Monte Carlo Ristorante.) Franco was a master barber and opened his business, Franco’s Barber Salon in the former confectionery. He operated his barbershop there for 41 years until he retired for health reasons.
Mark Bowman thought that the location would attract a lot of eyes because of the volume of traffic at the intersection, so he opened a used car dealership on the lot in 2011. Paying homage to Franco’s he called his business Barber Shop Imports. According to Bowman, “All of Franco’s barber equipment was still in place. It looked like he had just locked up and gone home for the night.” Bowman kept the Barber pole attached to the building, and it is still there today.
The dealership lasted for only a very few years. In 2013 it became the home of the Ohio Tap Room, known for their collection of local and regional craft beers and other Ohio products. The Ohio Tap Room will serve as the host of the Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historical Society annual meeting (tagged as “Howlers, Growlers, and Ghosts”) on October 11th at 5:30pm.