Starbucks moving into former Short North bar space
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Short North bar outside which a man was beaten to death in 2022 is being replaced by a Starbucks.
According to permits filed with the city, Starbucks is moving into retail space on North High Street left vacant by the bar Julep. It will mark the sixth Starbucks along a 3-mile stretch of North High Street between Ohio State’s campus and Downtown.
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Preliminary renderings submitted to the city show Starbucks plans to have enough room for about 30 sit-in patrons in the 2,300 square-foot space, with outdoor seating in front of the store.
(Courtesy Photo/Starbucks) (Courtesy Photo/Starbucks) (Courtesy Photo/Starbucks)
Julep closed last June after a court ordered the bar to vacate its space at 1066 N. High St. amid a legal dispute with its landlord. The bar was also ordered to pay $69,000 in missed payments to the landlord, whose lawsuit remains pending in Franklin County Court.
Before then, Julep had attracted city officials’ ire with repeated calls for service to the bar. In December 2022, Columbus City Council objected to the renewal of Julep’s liquor license. Ohio Liquor Control Commission records indicate that Julep had nine liquor violation cases since 2018, mostly for tax issues. Its liquor license has since lapsed.
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The bar is named as one of several defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a man who was beaten to death outside Julep in September 2022. The family of 37-year-old Gregory Coleman Jr. has said the two men who killed Coleman were working as security guards for the bar the night of his death, a claim the bar previously disputed.
Coleman died days after being assaulted by Chrystian Foster and Dwayne Cummings, an assault that was caught on video. In February, Cummings was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of murder by a jury. On Friday, a judge found Foster guilty of murder and also sentenced him to 15 years to life.
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