Category: Innovation (page 1 of 4)

July 1, 2020

COhatch Rethinks Coworking

Originally published in the July 2020 issue of (614) Magazine

Coworking is collaborative by design, the intersection of independence and interdependence. In many ways, it became the clever alternative to corporate cubicles or home offices, offering the advantages of both without the overhead or isolation.

But like every industry built around bringing people together, the climb now seems more steep for businesses based on communal space when the world and the way we work still seems so far apart. COhatch, among the first such endeavors in Central Ohio, is focused on the future of work, and the ways in which coworking won’t simply facilitate a return to so-called normal, but may become the new standard.

“COhatch was built by small business owners. We’re not this large company that sits back and just looks at spreadsheets asking each other how to optimize,” explained CEO Matt Davis, who remains reluctant when it comes to the “coworking” moniker, considering their larger mission beyond shared square footage. “We were also a group of friends trying to find a better way for our customers to live a balanced life.”

Anyone who has longingly hoped for years to work from home has probably had some buyers remorse in the past few months. That looming pile of laundry and sink full of dishes are the silent distractions companies have always feared would undermine productively. Now even skeptical remote workers are growing sympathetic to such concerns as the lines that define work-life balance become more blurred.

“We pride ourselves in being able to relate with small business owners. We built the kind of environment that allows us to thrive and get the most out of our abilities,” he noted. “So that’s why we’ve spent a lot of time trying to build spaces in the heart of communities where people live. If you live in Dublin, you may want to work in Dublin, not downtown.”

Dublin isn’t an arbitrary example. COhatch has quickly grown to five offices in Central Ohio, with Easton and Dublin among their latest, a new location near Dayton, and expansion into Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis already underway. But these also aren’t cookie-cutter concepts. Their original Worthington locations were once a library and a hardware store, and the Polaris space is a former pub. “The Market” in Springfield is the reimagination of a century-old public market now featuring fresh produce, a shared kitchen, and local eateries as well as open and private office space. COhatch doesn’t cover up their character. They embrace it, incorporating it into the brand.

“We’re launching a whole new marketplace where members can sell goods and services. You can advertise or fund your startup. Everyone loves the whole buy local movement, but no one ever really says support your local freelancer,” Davis explained. “So we want to try to get back to smaller communities and build tools to make small businesses more visible and relevant. I actually don’t like being called a coworking space because we’re so much more. Nothing is really out of scope for us.”

Ongoing costs and loss of corporate culture are also serious concerns among even established businesses, once flush now facing an uncertain recovery. Reducing expense through an innovative approach to space was already an advantage COhatch had in its favor, now with newfound value among traditional enterprises of every size.

“We introduced our ‘No Small Business Left Behind’ campaign with a 75 percent discount for the first month, 50 percent the second month, and a 25 percent discount the third month. We also have a 50 percent reduced cost guarantee for large companies,” he explained. “It’s not going to be a 20,000 square-foot dedicated office space. It could be two private meeting spaces on each side of town with a creative lab and 35 coworking passes. But if you’re willing to rethink how you want to work, we’re willing to create something that fits.”

Supporting philanthropic efforts remains a crucial part of their own culture, more so with the current crisis pushing donations to unprecedented lows for many charitable organizations. Dozens of nonprofits also call COhatch home, leveraging evening meeting space and their network of members.There’s also a remodeled, vintage Airstream already used by local charities for mobile legal clinics, résumé writing workshops, even free haircuts for those in need.

“We’re trying to help businesses and nonprofits rebuild together. We need people doing good things, and we can’t let them fail,” Davis explained. “I’m blown away by how many of our members are active in philanthropy. Our nonprofit scholarships are probably one the most rewarding things we have done. It helps us extend our mission of a balanced life into the communities where we work.” ▩

For more on memberships, amenities, and locations, visit cohatch.com

June 1, 2020

Special Delivery

Originally published in the June 2020 issue of (614) Magazine

It isn’t easy to outhustle Amazon. The point-and-click purveyor of everything certainly hasn’t been hurt by the current pandemic. It may be the only business immune to it.

Meanwhile, small shops struggle to survive until they can reopen their doors. For many, the shift to direct delivery was born of necessity. With taprooms closed, local breweries were among the first to offer to-you-door service. But they aren’t the only ones rapidly reinventing the way they reach customers outside their retail space.

Spoonful Records | spoonful-records.myshopify.com

The beloved local record shop never needed a robust internet presence, pushing off the prospect of online expansion for years. They assured patrons the reason their selection was so exhaustive was because you had to come into the store to shop. Unlike digital downloads, records aren’t really commodities. Condition matters and trusted curators who inspect and clean each album by hand are even more rare than some of their elusive inventory.

“We stayed open by appointment for about a week, while I worked on the website, which was finished the same day the governor shut everything down,” explained Amy Kesting, who owns and operates the bustling album emporium with her husband Brett Ruland. “I think there were only 20 items, but every day we add a few more things. Our customers know they can have the same confidence buying from us, even online.”

Kesting isn’t an amateur when it comes to the logistical challenges of online sales. Though Ruland focuses on trends and follows new vinyl releases, Kesting concentrates on collections, acquiring the balance of classic and obscure albums that define Spoonful Records. A dot-com era stint processing artwork damaged during shipping also gave her more than a little apprehension about the prospects of making such fragile merchandise mail-order only.

“From the get-go we had to figure out the right shipping price. A box cost $1.50—a good box, not the single-fold ones—and most media mail is like $3.50 to $4.50. So we’re charging $5.85 for shipping, and if it was close by, we just started delivering them ourselves,” she explained. “I was like, I can drop this off in Bexley, or go to Upper Arlington today. No problem.”

Local deliveries started by bicycle, but soon moved to excursions outside 270. They hired a driver to ensure same day deliveries when possible, but they still make extended record road trips themselves.

“We let everyone know on Facebook when we’ll be in their area, and they can just add to the order. One day, we went to Marysville, Delaware, and Powell and made a huge trip of it, like 15 deliveries,” Kesting recalled. “It rained the whole time, but was totally worthwhile. It was kind of like couples time, listening to music together along the way.”

Early enthusiasm has helped offset uncertainties about the future, particularly Record Store Day, the industry’s most notable annual event, already delayed twice. The retail closure has also afforded the opportunity to sort through a couple of recently acquired collections, not that Spoonful Records isn’t busy.

“We try to be humble and realistic, but April was our best month in at least the last two or three years that wasn’t a Record Store Day month or holiday sales month,” she noted. “We actually did more in sales through the website than we do normally in our brick and mortar. We’re so grateful everyone has been willing to support us through this, we wish we did it sooner.

Roll Bicycle Company | rollbicycles.com

Launching a new location in the midst of a crisis may seem risky, but Roll is hardly a traditional retailer, offering the expertise absent from typical online sales experiences. With three Central Ohio locations and a fourth already scheduled to open, shifting gears was essential to meeting the needs of customers in an entirely new way through curbside service and at-home pickup and delivery.

“We made the decision right from the outset to close our showrooms to the public out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our team and the community. It was a values-based decision for us,” revealed Stuart Hunter, founder and CEO of Roll Bicycle Company. “But that allowed us to quickly move to determining how to continue to best serve our team and our community while preserving our business.”

The closure of gyms coupled with the inherent social distancing of outdoor activities actually increased interest in cycling for fitness and riding for recreation. It was a surge that came the right time for Roll, which was already preparing for the beginning of their busy season.

“At the time, no one anticipated a boom of people wanting to get outside and exercise. People were still reeling from the implications of what was happening and there was a lot of concern about whether we’d actually have a business coming out of the other end of this,” he confessed. “So we launched a brand new web platform within a space of four days from start to finish where we took our entire inventory online.”

There was never a debate about whether bike shops were considered essential. Much like auto mechanics, selling and servicing bikes was a business that helped maintain transportation. But meeting customers at the door instead of inside and creating a pickup and delivery service from scratch were all unfamiliar terrain.

“Another challenge that was unanticipated was just how much strain the change would take on our team, just the speed of adapting so quickly. Everyone was working really hard, but we were also burning out really fast,” Hunter recalled. “So we decided to close our stores briefly and give everyone a paid break to just go home, ride a bike, and take a pause before we came back.”

Roll’s new Dublin store opened alongside existing locations in Bexley, Westerville, and Upper Arlington, but with new safety standards still in place. Though shortages have hit many retailers, regardless of industry, Roll’s evolution three years ago as a manufacturer of their own branded bicycles also helped smooth out supply chain disruptions of their signature product line.

“Like any small business, there was an incredible amount of anxiety about our ability to survive. I was wondering whether the past 15 years of my life were coming to a close. We are fortunate enough to be in a category that has high demand,” he noted. “But we fully recognize not all of our peers in the entrepreneurial community are in the same situation. I look around and see great people having a hard time right now, and I’ve been really pleased to see how the community has rallied around local businesses we hope will return and thrive again soon.” ▩

June 1, 2020

Sound of Silence

Originally published in the June 2020 issue of (614) Magazine

Columbus has always been a creative crossroads, an intersection of ideas. When Troy Stacy opened his unlikely convergence of a record shop, impromptu studio, and craft beer counter, it already seemed like too much to squeeze under one roof.

Yet in less than two years, the long-shuttered hardware store in Grandview has also become a credible concert venue for up-and-coming artists, added an expanded menu of musically-inspired paninis, and even published a book to parallel their famous pairings of classic albums with beers that best suit them. Call it foresight or fate, the inclusive name Craft & Vinyl seems more apropos with each new endeavor.

“The initial idea was to bring together vinyl collectors, music makers, and craft beer lovers, but we didn’t really anticipate bands knocking on the door and asking if they could play gigs here,” revealed Stacy. “The fact that someone would walk into our little space and want to bring their energy and creativity to our environment, I certainly invited it, but it took us a couple of months before we had the opportunity to build the stage, sound, and lighting they deserved.”

Emerging acts often struggle to book shows unless they know the right folks or have members connected to groups that are already established. The gap between garage gigs and even a basement bar can be daunting, especially for those focused exclusively on their own songs.

“It’s really challenging to get those first gigs, even more challenging if an artist or band is all about original music. That’s something that I love, music I’ve never heard before,” he explained. “There are a lot of great bands in our community who can bang out a cover and nail it. But I wanted to invite artists into this space and give them a platform to share music no one knows, an opportunity to engage audiences with something new.”

That enviable momentum came to a screeching halt in mid March, and like every small business, essential or otherwise, the labyrinth of government programs offered more dashed hopes than promised relief. Like most folks in the music scene, his passion was preceded by a less glamorous gig, in his case the insurance industry. So when Stacy started his business in 2018, his insights for finding the right coverage were formidable, and the fight now looming with his insurance company could impact small businesses across the country also trying to recover.

“We reached out to our insurer, Cincinnati Insurance, and our policy is in good standing. I have always paid my premiums,” Stacy stated, noting his coverage specifically includes losses incurred due to “prohibited access to the premises by civil authority”. “In fact days after they denied my claim, they sent me another premium notice. ‘Hey, don’t forget to pay your bill, dude.’ I felt betrayed.”

Point of fact, most commercial policies specifically exclude pandemics for a reason. More than a decade ago in the wake of the SARS epidemic, the industry lobbied Congress about the threat such losses could pose, crafting language to prevent claims during a crisis just like the one businesses face right now amid mandatory closures.

“My attorney said first of all, right off the riff, we know this is going to impact more than a hundred businesses. We anticipate it’s going to affect thousands nationally, and we filed it in federal court,” he explained. “If the case proceeds as a class action, Cincinnati Insurance will have to open up their books to the courts and disclose every single policy holder that has a policy like mine.”

Stacy is hardly alone in this fight. Even before seeking legal representation, he reviewed his policy’s fine print with former colleagues still in the insurance industry. The lack of exclusionary language seems to be an oversight, but a costly one that could serve as a legal precedent. Cincinnati Insurance Company covers numerous notable businesses in Ohio, but similar suits, raised mostly by restaurants, are also advancing in Louisiana and California. Wolfgang Puck is probably the most famous plaintiff so far, and even the White House has weighed in that if policies failed to exclude pandemics, then claims should be covered.

“The denial letter had things in it that I never even discussed or claimed. That’s when I knew they were putting me off, putting all claimants off, as they try to figure out what to do because they didn’t write their policies properly,” Stacy revealed. “They’re still out there taking money. I’m not sure what’s going to come of this, and I hope other businesses with policies like mine join the class action. At least now, Cincinnati Insurance knows my name, and I’m not alone.”

Legal maneuvering and loss of business aside, what bothers Stacy most is still the loss of community. Local bands aren’t the only beneficiaries of his small stage. Students from Capital University Conservatory of Music and Groove U present their capstone projects there, and School of Rock uses their space for recitals. He even offers studio time to students who wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. Craft & Vinyl is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians, now entering an industry where the future remains very uncertain.

“We’ve built a Facebook following, but it’s never been about making money as much as keeping customers engaged. It helps promote bands, and new music, and events like PickTown Palooza or our partnership with PromoWest that don’t necessarily happen at Craft & Vinyl, but exist in our universe,” he noted. “It keeps us connected, but it’s not the same. I miss the bands on my stage, the conversations at the bar. I miss the music, but I miss the people most. We all do, and we can’t wait to see each other again.” ▩

For more on Craft & VinyI, and to reserve your copy of Pour and Play, visit craft-n-vinyl.com

May 1, 2020

Social Distance Cinema

Originally published in the May 2020 issue of (614) Magazine

Though there is plenty of pain to go around, no industry has been more fundamentally disrupted than movie theaters, perhaps permanently. Exactly how bad is it? Studios have all but halted production and box office reporting has been suspended. Instead of celebrating their 100-year anniversary, AMC Theatres, the largest chain in the world, is hurtling toward bankruptcy.

No one wants to get into a contest of who has it worse, but when your entire business model is based on hundreds of strangers sitting elbow-to-elbow, there’s just no way to stay open when most of the country has been ordered to stay home.

But Columbus seems to find new ways everyday to get creative in a crisis, and our independent theater community is no exception. Though there is no shortage of content available from an ever-expanding arena of streaming services, watching a story unfold on an enormous screen as part of an audience is as absent as the aroma of fresh, buttered popcorn. Even though we may be a long way from anything approaching what once was, local theaters are finding innovative alternatives to stay connected to their loyal patrons, even if it sometimes feels like we’ve all been cast in a disaster movie.

“The virtual screening room isn’t new. We’ve been offering an on-demand channel as a way for people to see films they may have missed. Curating films supports our mission and also enhances our community,” explained Chris Hamel, president of the Gateway Film Center. “So when we were forced to suspend our normal programming, we just ramped up these opportunities and added our virtual screen.”

Independent theaters, specifically those that specialize in so-called arthouse features, have always been masters of improvisation without the deep budgets or blockbuster revenues of their mainstream counterparts. Now that notable nimbleness has become an appreciable asset. “Conversations from the Center” was another initiative that required rapid reinvention. The discussion of influential films and industry insights also moved online.

”I think we exceeded our expectations to some degree and we’ve got really great opportunities for the audience to engage moving forward,” Hamel revealed. “It doesn’t replace the cinema experience completely, but it is a nice way for us to continue to engage with our audience.”

For about the price of a typical ticket, you can buy a virtual one through their website, with a comparable percentage of proceeds going back to the theater. The process is a little different depending on the film and the distributor, but is very similar to renting a movie to stream at home with a limited viewing window. Selections aren’t exhaustive, but thoughtfully chosen as always. Features so far have included The Whistlers, a Romanian heist film with more than a hint of the Coen Brothers to the overdue backstory of the breakup of The Band, Once Were Brothers, a fitting bookend to Martin Scorcese’s The Last Waltz. If escape is more your speed, they’ve even offered a fascinating documentary on fungi and a critically-acclaimed collection of cat videos. There really is something for everyone.

“The indie film market was starting to pick back up. In January, we still had Parasite and 1917 and a lot of those films were still very strong and were able to carry through to the Oscars. Our virtual screenings are all films we would have shown anyway,” noted Jeremy Henthorn, theatre director at Drexel Theatre. “Our sci-fi marathon and series are postponed, not cancelled. If there is a bright side to all of this, presuming everyone is able to open by July or August, there will be a lot more options and choices to see later in the year. It’s always good to have something new for audiences.

While still considering virtual screenings, Studio 35 Cinema & Drafthouse recently launched their in-house kitchen, Fibonacci’s Pizzeria, and now serves craft pies, subs, and salads to-go. Both the Clintonville theater and their sister screen, Grandview Theater & Drafthouse, are filling growlers with your favorite craft beer, and will gladly pour some M&Ms over your tub of popcorn. Strand Theatre in Delaware is likewise offering drive-by concessions, virtual screenings, and their projectionist is even posting weekly film reviews and recommendations to keep patrons connected. The South Drive-In is selling discounted gift cards and may be among the first local theaters to reopen. After all, drive-ins are the original social distance cinema.

Motion pictures since their start have always been an art of collective experience. Though there are now a near infinite number of options available online and easy to stream, sitting on your couch still doesn’t replace the immersive intent, nor is that the expectation. But buying virtual tickets, a couple of tubs of popcorn, the occasional pizza or jug of beer, and a few gift cards will hopefully ensure your favorite Hollywood haunt is still around when we can once again gather in in the dark and become part of a shared story. ▩

For more on virtual screenings and other ways you can support your local theaters, please visit their websites and check social media, as details are subject to change.

March 1, 2020

Cherry on Top

Originally published in the March 2020 issue of (614) Magazine

When planning any getaway, the most crucial question that often goes unasked is what do you hope to escape, or discover? Cherry Valley Hotel may offer the answers to both.

With 200 well-appointed rooms, purposefully preserved accents, distinct dining options, an on-site day spa, and the industry’s only enclosed arboretum in the country, many may ask why they haven’t heard of Cherry Valley Hotel before. That’s because Newark’s newest hotel is nearly three decades old.

“This renovation was top to bottom, down to the studs and the cement. Everything came out except the stone and the wood that were signature parts of Cherry Valley,” explained Patrick Beaver, director of sales and marketing, and an Ohio State grad who recently returned to the area to oversee the transformation. “We considered staying open and doing it in phases, but there was just too much that needed attention.  ”

Originally intended as a retreat center and training facility, the former Cherry Valley Lodge was actually owned and operated by State Farm Insurance. (No kidding.) Subsequent acquisition and renovation added an onsite waterpark many may recall named CoCo Key to the amenities, an endeavor that eventually led to diminishing returns and a downward spiral in revenue that required a radical reinvention.  

Unlike most destination accomodations in its class, Cherry Valley Hotel has both local owners and national owners, a team of insight and investment that decided to close the struggling lodge and waterpark for the better part of a year. It was a $20 million decision that carried inherent risks. Hotels that close entirely for such extensive updates often fail to reopen at all.

“Once the lodge shifted from a group hotel to a leisure hotel, it hurt our event business and most of the money coming from the waterpark was going back into maintaining the waterpark — but not the lodge,” Beaver revealed. “We changed our name from ‘Lodge’ to ‘Hotel’ to set ourselves apart from Mohican or Deer Creek. It was an early concept decision. Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge do waterparks well, but we wanted to distinguish ourselves from being either a lodge or a waterpark. We think we’ve found our niche.”  

That niche is hardly narrow. With 60,000 square-feet of event and conference space, Cherry Valley Hotel offers a more affordable alternative for trade shows, yet a scale that still accommodates wedding parties of any size, particularly those that exceed that capacity of typical venues. But perhaps the most underappreciated draw for guests is the serenity of the surroundings, a stark contrast from the bustle of Columbus. The original building was intentionally designed as an octagon, mimicking the geometry of the nearby earthworks built by the indigenous Hopewell people centuries ago. The botanical gardens and lake at the center still evoke fond memories among couples and families who return for reunions, or just a weekend away to unwind or reconnect.

But unlike many hotel dining options that tend to be overpriced and underwhelming, Cherry Valley Hotel offers a menu and atmosphere that rival the best the hospitality industry has to offer with a focus on elevated fare that isn’t intimidating, and options to accommodate any preference or palate.

“Everything on our menu is made from scratch, and we feature local ingredients whenever possible. We look at trends, but aren’t afraid to put our own twist on them,” noted Robert Olinger, executive chef and Newark native. “Our cauliflower steaks are seasoned and coated in Greek-style yogurt made in Ohio, then we slow roast them to just the right char before slicing them.”

The lodge turned hotel technically operates four distinct dining destinations. Craftsman Kitchen & Terrace offers a classic yet contemporary restaurant complemented by the Lobby Bar’s more casual setting for creative cocktails. O&E Taphouse features both craft drafts and bottled beers with its own menu, while the Granville Pantry offers coffee and light breakfast to go or on their patio. But the first three are where you’ll find the unexpected.

“I don’t want to be known for our burgers, but we use five cuts of Ohio beef ground in-house daily,” Olinger confessed, noting their burgers are often a frequent foray for first-time diners. Plant-forward patrons will likewise swoon over their burgers made from a blend of roasted peas, mushrooms, beets, and chilis. “Our fish and chips are almost as popular. We use Lake Erie walleye, beer-battered with lime zest, and serve it with baton fries we steam and chill before they’re sliced and fried. It’s the most light and delicate fry you’ll ever find.”

Utility and versatility are the measure of any credible kitchen, and Cherry Valley Hotel epitomizes both. The same fontina and white cheddar sauce you’ll find drizzled on the cottage fries with kimchi is also in the kids mac and cheese, the chorizo fondue, as well as the lobster cavatelli. The kitchen presses each pasta shell by hand, and there’s a rhythm to doing it right. Oligner insists the secret is rolling them to classical music—and if his offering is evidence, he may be right.

Whether it’s the wild boar sliders, cut with just enough pork butt to tame the gaminess, topped with crunchy daikon slaw with a hint of watermelon, or the perfectly pungent French onion soup, simmered low and slow for 48 hours with stout, sourdough, and Gruyère in humble harmony, there is nothing ordinary anywhere on the menu. Even their chicken wings are inspired, serving the whole wing three ways: Newark hot, country rub, or “buckeye” style with a dark barbecue and tahini sauce sprinkled with black sesame that somehow evokes the intersection of chocolate and peanut butter. Weird, but wonderful.

“Our most hands-on dish is our ancient grain pilaf, with toasted farro, quinoa, grilled artichokes, feta, olives, and a lemon curd. You spoon it into butter lettuce cups, like a taco,” Olinger explained matter-of-factly, despite the dish’s deceptive complexity. “The Black Forest chocolate cheesecake is served upside down, crust on top, with a cherry reduction and cherry ‘pearls’—like little cherry caviar.”

It‘s this keen attention to detail and daring variation that shows in every dish, and why Cherry Valley Hotel invites neighbors to dine and embibe with them at any of their eateries, even if you don’t spend the night. But with culinary attractions like “Truffle Week” or making your own s’mores by the fire in the arboretum from house-made marshmallows folded with goat cheese covered in ganache, you may come for lunch or dinner often enough to consider booking a weekend away, though still close to home.

“If you check in on Friday, you could have dinner at the taphouse to start off, then grab and go Saturday morning. You could have lunch in the Craftsman, dinner in the Lobby Bar in the evening, and then room service for breakfast on Sunday,” Beaver chidded. “You could stay the whole weekend and never eat at the same place twice. ▩

For more on Cherry Valley Hotel, including their menu and amenities, visit cherryvalleyhotel.com

March 1, 2020

Esports Engine Goes Global

Originally published in the March 2020 issue of (614) Magazine

Cultural critics used to dismiss video games as an isolated obsession. That’s hardly the case anymore, if it ever was. Even back when neighborhood kids used to huddle around an Atari for hours, it was always social, competitive, and often collaborative.

Now with most households capable of streaming data at speeds that would probably melt a dialup modem, online gaming has come of age, and those same critics are now forced to reckon with millions of players engaged in an emerging entertainment medium that scarcely existed a generation ago.

“It’s a completely different landscape today than when we launched Major League Gaming. But even then, we predicted that video games would have their own version of the NFL,” explained Adam Apicella, CEO of Esports Engine, the Columbus-based startup built on nearly two decades of industry expertise. “It’s what we set out to create back then.”

That early insight wasn’t far from foreshadowing. Through a series of expansions and acquisitions, what started as Major League Gaming in 2002, better known now as MLG, has become a leading player in a global phenomenon—with Esports Engine at the edge of an evolution, backed by gaming industry veterans, long-time collaborators, and the former CEO of ESPN and NFL Network.

Launching Esports Engine in Columbus was always an obvious choice, even if not for Ohio University graduate Apicella’s familiarity with the market and the proximity to Ohio State and dozens of additional colleges and universities throughout Central Ohio. Even MLG’s 2014 investment in a dedicated, 14,000 square-foot, live competition arena in an empty warehouse that used to be an indoor bounce house, was no less ironic. Gaming had grown up.

“Back in the late nineties, early 2000s, multiplayer games first started to pop onto the scene. I think the first I remember was James Bond GoldenEye on the Nintendo. You could have four players on one TV,” he explained. “Publishers started to realize these multiplayer components would create longevity for their games. You’d sell a ton of copies, but after they’d beaten the game, they’d put it away and not play as much after that. Multiplayer changed everything.”

A ton of copies is not entirely hyperbole. The same month Esports Engine opened its doors this past October, Activision Blizzard released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It was the most successful digital launch in the company’s history, generating $600 million in the first three days. For comparison, that’s nearly twice the worldwide, opening weekend box office for the final installment of the Star Wars saga. Apicella knows the industry and the stakes well. When MLG was acquired by Activision Blizzard in 2015, he was promoted to vice president, and helped design the launch of earlier Call of Duty releases.

“Multiplayer is the bedrock of esports, and publishers saw players would keep playing. Now when a game launches, people still play it years later, spending money within the game through microtransactions,” he revealed. “It’s a completely different line of revenue that didn’t exist when I first started with Major League Gaming.”

Apicella admits that despite concerns about over-hiring in anticipation of brisk business from the moment they launched, they have already doubled the size of their staff in just six months. Created as a one-stop production powerhouse for organizing large-scale exhibitions and competitions, he soon discovered an unexpected demand as a consultancy for those struggling to host their own events, challenges he understood firsthand.

“When we first started out, we had trouble booking venues. We’d have to prepay in full because people thought it was some sort of scam. They didn’t believe this was a real thing,” he recalled. “Now we have cities begging, commissions and convention and visitors bureaus fighting, to bring our business to their markets.”

Despite cities in the US and around the world eager to get in on the ground floor of live, competitive gaming, Columbus was still the right fit for Esports Engine. After considering several sites, Apicella found Smith Brothers Hardware “checked all of the boxes”. Hosting clients from Riot Games and Microsoft to colleagues from Activision Blizzard, the proximity to downtown, the Short North, and the campuses of Ohio State and Columbus State was too perfect to pass up.

“Everyone wants to reach 18 to 30-year-olds and that’s our sweet spot, and we have an epicenter of that demographic right in our backyard. We’ve built out a newsroom style studio, like MTV used to have with Total Request Live, where you can see what we’re producing from the lobby,” he explained. “We can have meetings down here in a premium space, and then go up to Juniper afterward, which is one of the coolest spaces in the city. It was important for us to have an office that was a representation of Columbus when we bring in people who may not be familiar with the city.”

But gaming is more than just college kids blowing off steam or skipping class, and it’s a misperception the industry pushes back as it moves forward; the stereotype of a sedentary, socially awkward kid playing video games in his mom’s basement doesn’t match their broader metrics. Women are among the fastest growing segment of gamers, and the collaborative component of most games forges real friendships that defy typical social stratification.

“Our big, live events are where they meet up, like any sporting event, whether they are players or spectators. Tens of thousands of people, so it’s not a solitary endeavor,” he noted. “Gaming transcends a lot of things. It’s blind to race, gender, socioeconomic status, physical characteristics. It’s inclusive. Anyone can play and compete.”

Despite the enormous economic implications, there’s still a modest, Midwest sense of purpose dating back to the early days of Major League Gaming that resides in the DNA of Esports Engine, and a culture that continues to permeate the entire industry.

“There’s a diversity in this space, men and women playing on the same team as equals. And there’s a lot of crossover,” he noted. “You know what’s awesome? Watching a six-foot-seven NFL player standing behind some skinny kid, going nuts watching him play, cheering him on. It’s a reversal that really doesn’t exist outside our arena.▩

For more about Esports Engine, visit esportsengine.gg

December 1, 2019

Ten Years of Tech

Originally published in the December 2019 issue of (614) Magazine

Columbus is a city of contradictions, often to the surprise of visitors and newcomers alike. Still sadly maligned by some as a cowtown, we’re actually equal parts cosmopolitan and metropolitan, and as soon as the world thinks it has us figured out, we reveal another side—sometimes surprising even ourselves.

Parallel to our rugged, working-class reputation is a burgeoning credibility as a world-class technology town. Startups and bootstrapping were our proverbial bread and butter a decade ago, but the roots run deeper. As a call center capital, thanks in part to our unassuming Midwest accent, earlier industry innovators from CompuServe to Sterling Commerce called us home. The world’s first firewall and wireless router were both created by an OSU grad back in the early days of the internet. Even today, from ridesharing rivals like Uber and Lyft to more spontaneous transportation like CoGo bikes and electric scooters of all stripes, if it takes off here, it will probably fly anywhere.

But those achievements are past and present. Columbus is a city of the future, and the changes over the past decade only hint at what the next decade may hold. Sure, we didn’t land Amazon HQ2, but Google’s $600 million data center in New Albany is more than a parting gift. As the fastest growing city in the Midwest, Smart Columbus is already investing nearly as much money between an initial $50 million grant and more than $500 million in private funding into creating and testing next-generation transportation solutions, then sharing these lessons through an “online playbook” with cities around the globe. Local blockchain pioneers Safechain and Ethex are already applying durable, redundant database design across industries, and the venture capital interest in what’s going on in Central Ohio hasn’t stopped there. Even the ongoing grumbling about Short North parking comes amid an award-winning effort to modernize meters by effectively eliminating them. We really are the test market for any new idea, not just what’s new on the menu.

As surrounding states shrink in population, Columbus is attracting talent at an enviable rate. STEM schools used to be the exception, and now such science, technology, engineering, and math programs are the standard. Efforts like those of the PAST Foundation and Invention League are cultivating future innovators who already call Columbus home through hands-on application of design thinking principles to address real-world problems.

Key to all of these endeavors is collaboration, something Columbus tends to do naturally and better than most. Where industries in similar cities compete, ours exchange insights conspicuously. From beer to barbecue, coffee to cuisine, mutual admiration and collaboration are just part of who we are. It’s our prototype for progress.

“The roots of the Collaboratory, in terms of underlying philosophy, are an extension of what we know as the ‘Columbus Way’. It’s well-documented, there’s even a Harvard case study on it. It’s how corporations work together to raise the collective tide,” explained Ben Blanquera, Vice President of Delivery and Experience at Columbus Collaboratory. “Historically, this has manifest itself through the Columbus Partnership, a collection of city leaders across lots of industries who ban together to leverage resources to do the most good, from the arts to economic development.”

With its origins in the Columbus 2020 initiative, recently rebranded as One Columbus, the Columbus Collaboratory’s membership is a who’s who of industry partners filling a crucial void in shared services—cybersecurity and advanced analytics. Hanging a shingle and hoping customers walk through the door just isn’t good enough anymore. They have to trust you first, if not foremost.

“The character of this region is its defining competitive advantage. Couple that with being a great place to live with 70 percent of the country’s GDP within a day’s drive and it creates a flywheel that’s speeding up,” he noted. “It’s why the number of college graduates in Columbus who plan to stay in Columbus is rising. The Collaboratory is still a startup, and startups require talent as much as capital. Columbus attracts and retains both.”

The nexus of next steps isn’t an isolated investment. Startups require shared insights as much as shared services. So-called coworking wasn’t even in the local vernacular a decade ago. Now it’s the most likely launch point, and not just to split rent and utilities. The critical mass of complementary skills often generates the necessary escape velocity to turn an idea into an enterprise.

“The reason growing companies are crucial to any region is that early-stage companies tend to create the majority of net new jobs. It’s important to have the right mix of new companies, companies that are growing, and successful companies that stick around,” noted Kristy Campbell, Chief Operating Officer at Rev1 Ventures, an investor startup studio that helps entrepreneurs build the foundations for sustainable expansion. “We’re here to focus on those early companies, innovators who are doing something new and novel in their industry.”

Innovation and investment are mutually dependent, but are far too often mutually exclusive. Closing the gap between a great idea and the financial resources to get it out of someone’s garage is where Rev1 Ventures steps in, pulling folks together individually to the same table and collectively under one roof.

“Rev1 Labs is just part of what we do. About a third of our clients have operated in the space, and the rest are operating throughout the region. But they are all headquartered locally and are what investors consider high-growth firms in one of the industries that are commonly backed by venture capital—like enterprise IT, healthcare and bioscience, food and ag tech, advanced materials and manufacturing, alternative energy,” she explained. “Access to advisors is why many are here. But they also value having fellow entrepreneurs around the corner. What’s unique about this innovation center versus some that you see in other cities is that we’re not dedicated to one industry. That cross-pollination of ideas reflects the culture of Columbus.” ▩

For more about Columbus Collaboratory and Rev1 Ventures, visit columbuscollaboratory.com and rev1ventures.com

November 1, 2019

Six Years of Columbus Soup

Originally published in the November 2019 issue of (614) Magazine

Big things have small beginnings, sometimes just a spoonful.

Columbus SOUP started as a simple concept, borrowed as great ideas often are. Audiences come together to share bowls of soup from local restaurants, listen to pitches from a collection of community advocates, everyone votes with their signature green spoons for the project they want to fund, and the ones with the most votes receive a small grant. Imagine Kickstarter with a supper club spin meets Shark Tank for social change.

“It really struck a chord with me, as something we could pull off, and that would really resonate with the Columbus community,” explained Liz Martin, executive director of Columbus SOUP. “Our city is really receptive to people with a passion for new ideas.”

Introduced through a friend to earlier efforts in Illinois and Michigan, Martin connected a cadre of folks involved in various local community-building efforts over tea on a cold winter’s day to see whether there were enough combined skills and bandwidth to launch a similar SOUP in Central Ohio. Six months later, on June 9, 2013, Columbus SOUP hosted its first event, amid more than a little uncertainty.

“We thought if 35 people showed up, it would be a success. We reached out to people we thought might be interested and received six applications,” she recalled. “All of them were invited to pitch, and we packed the house with more than 100 people at Brothers Drake.”

The idea undeniably resonated and grew to nearly two dozen events in the years that followed—and nearly $60k in grants so far. But it also offered the invaluable experience of distilling an idea down to its essence, then selling it to an audience of strangers with a succinct and inspiring pitch.

“The heart of SOUP nationwide is to fund projects that may not be eligible for traditional funding. These micro-grants give people exactly what they need to achieve something small, yet impactful, in their communities,” Martin explained. “Most of us grew up in an age of giant checks where it seemed like only the wealthy could be philanthropic. SOUP brings philanthropy down to a level where anyone can make a difference.”

Themes quickly became a concept unique to Columbus SOUP. Chicago’s version was created to support arts and culture, while Detroit’s was adapted to serve social justice. Columbus SOUP is both, yet neither, providing access and an audience to a variety of community-led projects that don’t always fit easily into obvious boxes.

Also there since the start is Bryant Miller, director of Columbus SOUP, and among the first folks Martin recruited to the cause. His infectious enthusiasm and knack for putting everyone at ease was also the perfect match as event host, welcoming new and familiar faces, ensuring presentations run smoothly, and sharing the results of voting in a way that recognizes everyone’s efforts—not just those who receive funding at the end of the evening.

“The magic of Columbus SOUP is that it’s very different than any similar organization because we allowed it to morph into what Columbus needs. We just tend to say yes to a lot of things,” Miller revealed. “When we were at the Idea Foundry a couple of years ago, there were some folks who had never been to one before who asked us afterward if we could help them host an event for teenagers, and we said, ‘YES!’ It was an event that reached an audience we hadn’t before. SOUP is about saying yes, giving people a chance, and not trying to put everything in the same box.”

Crowdfunding and collective philanthropy only seem like a novel idea inspired by the internet. But the notion of ordinary folks doing extraordinary things with a humble investment is hardly new. Back in 1938, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was still a small and obscure organization that needed a boost, even in the midst of a polio epidemic. That’s when radio and film comedian Eddie Cantor asked Americans from all walks to send 10 cents to the organization’s founder, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The response was unprecedented, with tens of thousands of letters pouring into the White House the week of FDR’s birthday—just as Cantor requested when he coined the phrase, the “March of Dimes”.

The indelible idea stuck, eventually becoming the name of the organization now focused on providing a healthy start for new mothers and their infants. That sounds like a tall order, but so too was curing polio with pocket change.

Without hyperbole, Columbus SOUP is not so different, offering a solid start to ambitious initiatives with a donation many of us have in our wallets, pooled together to achieve something no one could do alone. SOUP has likewise accomplished its original goal to inspire grassroots ideas and small-scale investment, which is why the next Columbus SOUP will be the last, putting a proverbial lid on the concept and making room for what’s next.

“It’s easy to get hung up on the idea, and many do, that organizations need to go on forever to be significant, and I just don’t believe it. I tend to think of it like a story. What story did we set out to tell? We wanted to share philanthropy in a completely different way,” Miller explained. “We loved the concept behind micro-grants, because they create the opportunity to be the very first group of people to believe in an idea. We feel really good about what we’ve achieved and have accomplished everything we wanted to do. That’s our story.

Everyone has watched a television series or film franchise that effectively ended long before it was over. Columbus SOUP didn’t want to make that mistake by presuming everything worthwhile extends indefinitely. But they’re really only half right. If every event was like a pebble thrown into a pond, the ripples continue to make waves that grow, intersect, and change shape long after the stones were cast. Quantifying the lasting impact six years of SOUPs have had on Columbus is impossible, because the ripples just keep going.

“I think about how distraught everyone was when Independents’ Day ended. All of that energy didn’t go away, now it just goes somewhere else,” he noted. “When you look at all of the new events and festivals inspired by Independents Day that only started after it ended, you can still see the impact.”

The final event, billed as “SOUP’s Last Hurrah” was originally set for November. But an accidental scheduling snafu afforded the opportunity to extend the application deadline, ensuring everyone from presenters to donors won’t miss their chance to celebrate, say goodbye, and raise their spoons one last time.

“We decided the final Columbus SOUP should end how it started, without a theme. We’ve had projects reach out to us that never quite fit into one of our recurring events or common categories,“ Martin explained. “It’s a chance for all of those ideas to finally be heard. This will be the last Columbus SOUP, but it’s still the beginning of something new.” ▩

For details on Columbus SOUP’s final event, or to apply to pitch your idea, visit columbussoup.org

October 1, 2019

North Market Grows up

Originally published in the October 2019 issue of (614) Magazine

On a long enough timeline, everything this side of the Atlantic seems shiny and new by relative comparison. Public markets elsewhere in the world mostly measure their history in centuries instead of decades. And even their more recent descendants, like London’s Camden Market, feature more than 1,000 vendors and top 100,000 visitors on an average weekend.

But is authenticity lost in all that bustle? Can you really claim to be local if you practically require your own zip code?

That’s the inherent challenge in preserving and expanding any public market, keeping things literally and figuratively fresh without losing the culture and community that customers have come to expect. And that’s why planning for the new North Market Tower has generated both anticipation and apprehension in a neighborhood that’s seen a lot of change lately, not all of it welcome.

“I grew up in Columbus until I was 18, so I remember the Quonset hut. When I moved back, we were in this building. I started coming here a lot just like when I was a kid,” recalled Rick Harrison Wolfe, Executive Director of the North Market since 2013. Despite zero nonprofit experience, it was his vision of the future that earned him the position from among more than 400 applicants for the role. “Expansion wasn’t part of my presentation, but it was already on my mind. The more I considered the space and the experience, I knew there were opportunities that could only come with growth, and there was nowhere to go but up.”

Wolfe’s résumé is revealing and rolling, following a career in fashion that took him from Chicago to San Francisco and Los Angeles before heading back to Columbus. Upon returning to his hometown, and a brief reinvention in the local food truck scene, his retail insights and close to the bricks work ethic comfortably converged in the food-centric destination constantly adapting to new trends and tastes.

“When you look back to the original market of the late 1800s, it’s where people came for provisions, for everything. The North Market at the turn of the century had a quiltmaker and a blacksmith. It reflected the role of public markets of the era,” he explained. “I think we need to think about the other types of retail we can bring in. I love that we focus on food, and complements for food. It says on our door that we’re, ‘local, fresh, authentic.’ There are a lot of businesses in Columbus that are local, fresh, and authentic that aren’t just food.”

Beyond the expansion of vendor space, the mix of offices, residences, and a hotel—with parking to support all of them—is enough public space to present and restore enumerable opportunities. A vital public market requires ongoing change, but that constant churn can be unnerving for patrons and prospective tenants. When square footage is always scarce, something has to go to make room for something new. Space that became home to a highly-popular purveyor of poultry used to serve as a quirky catering and event location. I actually have friends who were married there, and now when folks see their wedding photos, everyone asks why they decided to exchange vows at Hot Chicken Takeover. Wolfe knew capacity and critical mass would always be at odds without a radical solution that created both.

“Density and flexibility, having people who live and work in North Market Tower, is crucial for our merchants and our future. You have to evolve to remain relevant,” he noted, explaining that earlier designs have changed, but still reflect the original priorities. “Projects like these always evolve, and should, just like the market itself. A rendering is just a rendering until it’s a reality.”

Wolfe’s earlier career has also had a more subtle hand in the growth of the North Market, particularly the travel it afforded and his experiences with public markets in the US and abroad. California-inspired elements from Oxbow Public Market in Napa and Grand Central Market in Los Angeles, which has seen a similar resurgence in recent years, have been given a Midwest makeover that suits Central Ohio.

“I used to travel to Barcelona twice a year, which has one of the strongest public market systems in the world. With 35 markets, anywhere in Barcelona is only a 15-minute walk from the nearest public market,” he explained. “I’ve been to Borough Market in London, which is more than 1000-years-old, and it’s still where you get the best taste of the city.”

In fact, the North Market is for many visitors their first taste of our city as well, conveniently located across the street from the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Recent attendees from the American Society of Association Executives selected Columbus for their annual conference for several reasons. But the Short North, and the North Market in particular, make quite a first impression on guests from across the country. It’s why Joe DeLoss, founder of Hot Chicken Takeover, calls the North Market, “the front door to Columbus.”
Those fond memories may mean millions. Experience Columbus predicts if even a fraction of those organizations represented by ASAE bring their own conferences to Central Ohio, it could create half a billion dollars in local economic impact over the next decade.

“Deals like this between the city and developers are always a negotiation. But Columbus included us in those conversations. We were always in the room, and that doesn’t happen everywhere,” he explained. “You’re going to laugh when I say I got more than I wanted in this project, but it’s true.”

Though talk of the North Market Tower seemed to go silent for nearly a year after it was formally announced, much of that was to accommodate the mandate that the market remain open for the duration of construction. Ongoing development throughout the Short North—from streetscape, sidewalks, and parking improvements—have had their share of fierce critics and retail casualties. The current plan includes 28 stories and a budget approaching $200 million. Even amid a project this complex, Wolfe remains committed to an orderly transition instead of avoidable disruption.

“The cost and construction of the building we’re in right now wasn’t a safe bet at the time either. It was a long shot. There isn’t a public market project like this anywhere in the world, and there hasn’t been an expansion of a public in the US this big in the past 50 years,” Wolfe noted. “But when you look at projects like the riverfront now, people ask why we didn’t do this years ago. I hope when this project is complete and people see and experience the evolution, they say the same about the North Market.” ▩

For details on the North Market’s ongoing expansion, visit northmarket.com

October 1, 2019

The Rise of Ghost Kitchens

Originally published in the October 2019 issue of (614) Magazine

When Chris Baggott returns from a run to the ClusterTruck kitchen, he’s almost always late, and his fellow drivers don’t mind letting him know it. Tight delivery times aren’t just an expectation for the fledgling food service. It’s part of the brand, serving fresh fare to waiting patrons often in less time than the average restaurant.

So what’s ClusterTruck’s trick to providing such a wide range of high-quality cuisine at a record pace? There’s no restaurant, and their slowest delivery driver, Chris Baggott, is also the CEO.

“I don’t go out as much as I used to, just to keep my hands in it. But when I get back minutes later than our more experienced drivers, they laugh at me,” Baggott confessed. “If you’ve been doing this for a year, you’re good at it. You know which corner or which door, a little shortcut here and there. Faster delivery is what makes our business work.”

Quietly creeping into the local culinary scene between the flood of innovative eateries and a fleet of food trucks are so-called “ghost kitchens.” They’re restaurants without the restaurant, focusing exclusively on delivery without the hassle and overhead of running a retail establishment. Homegrown concepts like Food Fort Columbus and 1400 Food Lab help industry entrepreneurs prepare meals with all of the precision of their retail rivals. Kitchen United, which already operates locations in Pasadena and Chicago, is scheduled to open their latest facility in Grandview Yard this year as the next phase of an ambitious nationwide expansion. For those struggling to find and afford suitable space, it’s the culinary equivalent of co-working and part of an already $100 million food delivery industry.

But ClusterTruck remains the original, unapologetic disruptor. Operating out of an inconspicuous warehouse near downtown Columbus, it relies on its own dedicated delivery team instead of contract food couriers to serve their hungry customers.

“There’s a broken model in third-party food delivery, from delays that affect quality to low courier morale. If you look at Yelp, a lot of the negative reviews are really criticisms of the delivery process,” he explained. “When I first looked at this market, the restaurants weren’t happy, the customers weren’t happy, and the drivers weren’t happy. So we deconstructed it and built a system that serves all of its constituents.”

That approach may sound a little wonky for a phantom food truck operator. But Baggott didn’t work his way into the restaurant business busing tables. His former life as a software creator proved both profitable and liberating, with earlier endeavors snapped up by Salesforce and Oracle for handsome sums. Along the way, he got back to basics, exploring his growing passion for sustainable agriculture, going as far as starting his own grocery store, then founding three farm-to-table restaurants from scratch. Baggott is as much a chameleon as an iconoclast, as comfortable in a conference room as a chicken coop. Even with dirt under his fingernails, the gears of an engineer are always turning.

“Let’s say the customer is five minutes away from the kitchen, and I have 30 minutes to get the order there. Our software manages our drivers, so we may not start making your food immediately,” Baggott noted. “Our driver may be able to make another delivery before your order is ready. We’ll start making your order when the driver is five minutes away. That way, you get your order on time, and fresh from the kitchen.”

Comfort food is evolving by definition. From hearty carbs to sophisticated salads, “comfort” is now more a measure of how food makes you feel, not an arbitrary attribute that’s the same for everyone. Meeting that ever-expanding expectation is also an edge for such hyper-efficient eateries.

“Ghost kitchens can iterate and innovate. We recently launched a gyro in Indianapolis. We also launched a protein bowl with hummus we make in house,” Baggott recalled. “That’s when we realized we already have pita, tahini, and chickpeas—we should make a falafel. Now, we’re testing recipes to launch a falafel.”

Not all revelations are as obvious or unemotional. Some menu items have also gone away when they didn’t make the cut, including their take on Johnny Marzetti. The Columbus customer base continues to grow, as are operations in Denver, Kansas City, and the original location in Indianapolis. But ClusterTruck locations in Cleveland and Minneapolis were temporarily suspended.

“Dropping Johnny Marzetti was heartbreaking for me because we already had all of the ingredients. I loved it, but it just didn’t sell. But a big advantage we have over a brick-and-mortar restaurant is access to data. A traditional restaurant may launch a new menu item and sell 500 the first day,” he explained. “But they can’t see who orders it again, or worse, who ordered it and never came back. All of those transactions are anonymous. We see everything, order rates and reorder rates. We don’t just know what sells, we know how it impacts overall customer experience.”

ClusterTruck launched a tofu kimchi burrito that initially sold very well, but then seemed to taper off. They dropped it, but once they dug into the data, they discovered existing customers returned, but customers whose first order was the ill-fated burrito didn’t. Their online menu has since become more adaptive, featuring items with higher rates of reorder for new customers, something typical restaurants just can’t do, and an insight they probably would have missed.

“One of the challenges with Cleveland and Minneapolis was building the brand. We were great at building kitchens and software, but frankly, we weren’t great at marketing because what we do is so different,” he noted. “We haven’t abandoned those cities, we’re just refining our marketing before we reopen. It’s one of the advantages third-party food delivery services like Grubhub and DoorDash have. They’re just adding a new service to an existing restaurant. We have to introduce a whole new brand.”

The funny thing about brands is that they aren’t how you view your company, it’s how others view you. And that’s also an inherent challenge for restaurants minus retail, even as the market for prepared foods booms. Catering is key for most ghost kitchens, and ClusterTruck tapped into it early, making group orders easier for folks with restrictive and selective diets, even offering access through the popular office collaboration platform Slack. Now about a third of sales come from group orders. But every new business needs a little luck and a leap of faith. Fast, free delivery still came down to customers meeting couriers at the curb, a hunch that paid off.

“That’s our entire business model, and the one thing we couldn’t know for certain before we launched if customers would be willing to do. It’s why our drivers get four to six, even eight deliveries an hour, instead of just one or two,” Baggott explained. “We’ve had more than a million deliveries and I can count on one hand the number of complaints we’ve had about having to meet the driver. When it comes to quality, every efficiency matters. It’s why customers are as much a part of our success as our staff and our software. They come to us, online and outside, and that’s what makes ClusterTruck work.” ▩

For menus and ordering, visit clustertruck.com