place

The Book Loft

1977 establishments in OhioAmerican companies established in 1977Bookstores established in the 20th centuryCompanies based in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan areaGerman Village
Historic district contributing properties in Columbus, OhioIndependent bookstores of the United StatesRetail companies established in 1977
German Village 2005 07 02 IMG 4527
German Village 2005 07 02 IMG 4527

The Book Loft of German Village is an independent bookstore in the German Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Opened in 1977 and described by the Columbus Business First as "iconic" and a "tourist destination", the store has also been called "a national treasure" by The New York Times. The Book Loft has been described by visitors as a "literary labyrinth" due to its maze-like 32 rooms of books connected by narrow passageways and staircases.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article The Book Loft (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

The Book Loft
Thurman Avenue, Columbus South Columbus

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: The Book LoftContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 39.9495 ° E -82.9957 °
placeShow on map

Address

German Village

Thurman Avenue
43206 Columbus, South Columbus
Ohio, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

German Village 2005 07 02 IMG 4527
German Village 2005 07 02 IMG 4527
Share experience

Nearby Places

Pistacia Vera
Pistacia Vera

Pistacia Vera is a bakery and café in the German Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The building contributes to the city-listed and National Register-listed district of the same name. All of the café's foods are made on-site, including its macarons, pâte de fruit, liqueur-spiked preserves, tarts, cookies, croissants, teacakes, and éclairs, including some which are crème brûlée-stuffed. In addition to its French pastries, the café also prepares brunch-style meals (primarily quiches and croque monsieurs accompanied with simple salads. The café is perhaps best known for its colorful dozen of varieties of macarons.The first known commercial use of the property was in 1843 for Greenley Dill's brick-making company. Local clay was used in thirteen brickyards across South Columbus, and the material was in high demand. By 1930, Reiner's Doughnuts relocated to the property after having been operating one block north. The business was owned by German immigrant Gottlieb "George" Reiner, who sold cakes and doughnuts for approximately 44 years. In 1974, the Will Plank family purchased the building and began operating Thurn's Bäckerei (named for Will's in-laws). The business operated for 33 years, closing in 2004. Pistacia Vera was founded in the same year by siblings Spencer Budros and Anne Fletcher, as a stall in North Market, a marketplace and food hall in Downtown Columbus. Around 2006, the business became "Pistachio", operating in the Short North district of Columbus. Around 2007, the owners extensively renovated and moved into the South Third Street bakery building. In 2013, Pistacia Vera reopened a stall in North Market, while continuing to operate the German Village café. In 2018, the owners hired a new beverage manager who had worked in coffee shops across the city and remade the café's beverage program.Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the café closed for several months due to a stay-at-home order; reopening in June 2020 with takeout and curbside delivery. The café's North Market stall remained closed. Also in 2020, its pastry chef and co-owner Spencer Budros was a semifinalist for the Outstanding Baker James Beard Award. In August 2020, amid restaurant and North Market stall closures, the continuing uncertainty around the COVID pandemic led the owners to permanently close its North Market stall.Edible Columbus reviewed its favorite bakeries in 2015, including Pistacia Vera. In 2020, The Columbus Dispatch reviewed the bakery as "top-notch", and opined that "no food-producing outlet in Columbus is better at what it does than Pistacia Vera". In 2022, Columbus Navigator listed the café first in a list of best bakeries in the city. Columbus Monthly's reader poll in 2022 determined most readers to find the café to make the best desserts in the city.

Hausfrau Haven
Hausfrau Haven

Hausfrau Haven is a wine shop in the German Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The store makes up the ground floor of 769 South Third Street, a contributing property to the German Village historic district, listed by the city and on the National Register of Historic Places.The building's earliest history is unknown. The oldest photograph dates to c. 1890, showing a "sample room", saloon, and a grocery or hardware store in the building. The second floor appears to have always been used for apartments. In the 1950s, a portion of the building held a grocery store operated by Adam Sauer. After a few years, Tony Shumick moved his own grocery into the building. In the mid-1970s, partners Fred Holdridge and Howard Burns established Hausfrau Haven, then a small market. The two stocked any items two or more customers would ask for; wine and The New York Times were especially popular. The store operated every day except January 1, when community members and customers would help them take inventory. The store was also noted for its witty signs, including those reading "Unattended children will be sold!" and "We will not be taken over by The Limited!".Over several decades, Fred became occupied with more civic roles, especially with the German Village Society. Howard and his mother predominantly operated the store counter at this time. Howard died in 2001; Fred sold the store five years later, in an agreement that he could live above it until his death (he passed in 2010). In the present day, the store's owners continue to run the shop in a similar manner to Fred and Howard. In 2014 the German Village Society dedicated a plaque commemorating the achievements of Fred and Howard; the plaque is attached to the southeast corner of the building.