Restaurant to land in former Locos Grill & Pub space in Midtown

A restaurant is headed for the Midtown area of Columbus, with plans to locate in the former Locos Grill & Pub space at The Village on 13th, a shopping, dining and service center on 13th Street near Lakebottom Park.

Will Burgin, president of Columbus-based Jackson Burgin Inc., which owns the complex of businesses across from a Piggly Wiggly-anchored shopping center and a Red Lobster restaurant, said Tuesday that partners in two downtown establishments, Maltitude, a craft beer store, and Nonic Kitchen Bar & Kitchen, will be the new tenants at 1358 13th St.

Though they could not be reached for comment, Garrett Lawrence and Robert Battle are two of the partners, along with Miles Greathouse. The name of their future restaurant, which could be open by early spring, is to be Jarfly, which is a name for the loud, buzzing bugs known as cicadas, which make an appearance in various decibel levels during some summers in the Deep South.

“Those guys live in Midtown and right around the park and thought that Locos was maybe underperforming and that they had a couple of ideas that they wanted to see there,” said Burgin, explaining he was approached by the Maltitude and Nonic businessmen a few months ago.

“We spent three months or so really going through the space,” he said. “They like the fact that it’s set up as a restaurant. It’s got all of the necessary things, the hood vents and walk-in refrigerators and grease traps. But they definitely want to put their own spin on it. They’re not just looking to start up the Locos again as much as do their own thing.”

Though the owners of Jarfly LLC, which was created as a corporation with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office in October, have yet to develop a menu, Burgin said he understands it is going to be family and pet friendly and affordable. It also is to have a layout that includes roll-up doors that open the exterior wall to the outside and to an outdoor patio.

“We’ve toured several places that they really like,” Burgin said of the Jarfly owners. “They want a solid family option, something that people can come to and get a wide variety (of food), catering toward that lunch need that we have in the area, both from Aflac as well as from the other (area) offices. … Then, in the evening time, they want it to be the 5 o’clock spot for people to come and spend their time together and with lots of activities and things.”

Burgin said he was approached by several interested parties after Locos Grill & Pub closed its doors suddenly last June. He negotiated for the departing restaurant ownership to leave the equipment and fixtures inside rather than sell them piecemeal. That made the 5,095-square-foot property with 23 parking spaces even more attractive to prospects because it was more of a turnkey operation to start up.

The Maltitude and Nonic owners also like the fact that the heavily used Lakebottom Park is nearby, and a disc golf course at the adjacent Dinglewood Park, Burgin said. The bike lanes that have been added to 13th Street, along with the Fall Line Trace path connecting Midtown to downtown, were attractive to them as well.

“It’s a requirement in their new lease that I install bike racks, The Village on 13th owner said. “They definitely want to play up the bikes. They want to play up bringing your pets onto the patio. The patio will be smoke-free. It will really be set up for the outside coming in. They want folks to feel comfortable being there often.”

Burgin said the new ownership of the restaurant space was undergoing a Columbus Health Department inspection on Tuesday so they could move forward with the licensing process. He said much of the paperwork can simply be transferred from the previous restaurant operator to the new one, saving time on getting everything launched.

“Then after that we’ll do the repair (to include handicap use improvements) and those repairs will take about two months,” he said. “We would like to have them in here by March or April and selling food.”

When Jarfly does make its debut at Village on 13th, it will have food establishment company, joining Wicked Hen restaurant, as well as Midtown Coffee.

“Wicked Hen continues to do really well and (owner and executive chef Bryant Walker) makes a strong name for himself with his food, having won ‘Taste of the Town’ two years ago,” Burgin said. “Midtown Coffee continues to be real popular and setting itself apart from other coffee houses in the way that they treat everybody like family who comes in.”

Although it’s not necessarily an indication of what will come at Jarfly, the eclectic menu at Nonic Bar & Kitchen includes chicken and dumplings, foie gras, quail skewers, wings, chicken sandwiches, house burgers, citrus salad, croquettes, veggie rissoto, chicharrones, herbed mac and cheese, bulgogi cheesesteak, shrimp po-boy, and fish and chips.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Restaurant to land in former Locos Grill & Pub space in Midtown."