Take a look inside new Columbus restaurant, event space that recently hosted Jill Biden
Derek Shelling’s voice echoes through the empty front room at Warehouse 9, the restaurant and event venue he owns. Tables sit several feet apart, televisions hang on the walls, and liquor bottles shine under the room’s house lights.
Shelling, a Columbus native and Kendrick High School graduate who most recently worked at Spring Harbor at Green Island, took over the venue this year. Two weeks prior to COVID-19, he walked into the building with lots of ideas for the restaurant and event center. But all of his plans came to a halt with the pandemic.
Around August, Shelling said, he and his business partner decided to “give it a shot.”
“(We decided to) go ahead and do a grand opening,” Shelling told the Ledger-Enquirer from a bar stool on Monday morning. “August 21 and 22, we did a grand opening event, invited the community in, and we’ve been running live ever since then.”
Business steadily has grown for the center, and its hosting of a Jill Biden, wife of former Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe Biden, event Oct. 12 marked a new high for the new business.
A hidden gem
Warehouse 9, at 920 9th Street, is on the edge of downtown in the Liberty District. Its outside is almost entirely brick, with a black “Warehouse 9” sign facing the street.
Upon walking through the main doors, customers step into a massive restaurant area with a high ceiling. A heavy metal sliding door separates the restaurant space from the back room, used primarily for events. On Monday, the back room was set up for a wedding.
The wood floor in that room is the building’s original flooring, and the new wood floor in the restaurant space was installed to match it.
Warehouse 9 offers a classic American menu and the Cajun pasta is a crowd favorite, Shelling said. Other menu items include a berry pecan chicken salad, classic ruben, in and out stuffed burger and an island chicken sandwich.
“From the outside of the building, you really don’t know what’s going on in Warehouse 9,” he said. “But this is a unique place.”
The business is open for weddings, catering, family reunions or any type of convention. Operations are somewhat limited right now due to COVID-19 precautions: The regular capacity of the center is 342 people, Shelling said, but has been reduced to 100 people for events.
“It’s been slowly growing,” Shelling said. “Every week has been progressing.”
Right now, Shelling’s goal is to focus on the restaurant side. He wants to be the “new restaurant in town.”
“But I would love for the community to come and see the building for events, also,” he said.
Shelling said he has no idea how Warehouse 9 was chosen to host the Jill Biden event, but the location and space inside were perfect for it.
“It sits outside (as a standalone building),” Shelling said. “Everything is brand new, it’s really large, and it was very secure for the event.”
U.S. Congressman Sanford Bishop, State Reps. Calvin Smyre and Carolyn Hugley, State Sen. Ed Harbison and other local Democratic officials were among those who attended or appeared alongside the former second lady of the United States.
Opening during a pandemic
Shelling, a 24-year veteran of the restaurant industry, originally envisioned Warehouse 9 for events such as weddings, baby showers or family reunions. Once COVID-19 hit, he was immediately forced to cancel every booking.
Months of uncertainty followed.
“It was a lot of me, in here, by myself,” Shelling said.
In mid-March, Shelling found himself at a loss, until he came up with the idea of a grab-and-go program.
While most of the country worked from home, Shelling would drive to Warehouse 9 at 5 a.m., cook up a fresh breakfast and cater to those who did go to work.
“That kind of got the name going that, ‘Hey, Warehouse 9 is open, and the food is really good,’” Shelling said.
The new normal is the only normal for Warehouse 9.
While other, established restaurants may have had to downsize indoor seating due to social distancing, Warehouse 9, which was born during the pandemic, made that adjustment as it opened.
“With the space that we have, you can come in and dine in and have no worries about being too close to anybody,” Shelling said. “Your average place is doing 6 feet. I have enough space that I can put 10 feet of space between a person, and we’ll be just fine.”
When can I stop by?
Warehouse 9 is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It also offers private lunch and dinner bookings.
For more information and to book with Warehouse 9, visit its website or call 706-780-1300.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 6:50 AM.
