If the AC Hotel by Marriott Columbus Downtown It opened in the Park Street entertainment district on June 3rd, reinforcing owner Chris Corso’s desire to become a serious restaurateur and real estate developer.
The 8-story hotel with 160 units, which was developed by the local developer Continental Real Estate Cos. will later have four dining options owned by Corso that will open at a later date: a sports bar, a Latin dining concept, a speakeasy style bar and a “green bar” with lavish Plants and other foliage.
Corso, who owns the property, worked with the hotelier to preserve the brick facade of the earlier buildings on the street, while the upper floors of the hotel pierce the downtown Columbus skyline.
“The circle on Park Street is coming full circle,” said Corso, founder of Corso Ventures, which owns additional property west of the AC Hotel that is about to become another hotel, apartment building, or office, or a combination thereof.
But before his business went vertical, Corso cut his teeth on a burgeoning club scene.
Corso’s early nightclub portfolio with former business partner Mike Gallicchio had its share of critics.
Corso slurps off his rebel image with a cool demeanor, but understands why others portray him that way.
“I’d say we have a bad boy image because we’ve always worked hard, because we’re impatient,” said Sandusky, now 50. “We want Columbus to be the best as soon as possible. ”
But nothing prepared him for the citywide media coverage last May and pictures of maskless groups of twenties frolicking Standard hall, one of its Short North restaurants with a busy terrace after COVID-19 coronavirus restrictions were put in place.
He said he tried to comply with the state’s COVID laws, but in a timely manner.
“We were frustrated that the public guidelines weren’t clear about what the expectations were,” he said. “That was a difficult situation. We want to do the right thing, but we are doing something that is very social. “
But once again he got into hot water with the Black community when he enforced a dress code in Standard Hall that banned loose clothing, excessive jewelry, barbecues, work boots, and slack pants.
Stephanie Hightower, president and CEO of the Columbus Urban League, said she reached out to Corso to say the dress code was offensive for blacks who felt excluded from some popular Short North destinations.
“He admitted he made a mistake,” said Hightower. “After they did it, they realized it was discriminatory and they fixed it.”
They discussed changing the landscape, not just for its spots but others, to include those who live immediately outside the neighborhood, Hightower said.
She said she wanted local business owners to expand their employment opportunities to include people of color and offer them opportunities for advancement.
“We were just preparing to do something and the pandemic struck,” she said.
Corso temporarily closed standard hall, the Short North Pint House and the Short North Goody Boy Diner – other properties he owns or owns with in the area – after an employee tests positive for COVID-19. Corso recently announced that his Short North Food Hall will be closed to allow expansion of the standard hall.
Corso moved to Columbus in 1989 to study at Ohio State University, from which he graduated with degrees in finance and real estate. It was there that he met Gallicchio.
You worked with local real estate developer Kyle Katz Mecca, a big city-style dance club in what was then the Buggyworks building, near what would become Hamilton Park and the Arena District.
They have pushed the nightlife further, with clubs like Red zone and Long Street Live, was aimed at young people who liked to cut a carpet to popular top 40 music and hip-hop. A broader goal was to prevent college graduates from fleeing the city to larger metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Chicago, and New York.
“I feel like I developed what Columbus needed back then,” said Corso. “It was an incredible time. We had thousands every weekend. “
Red Zone was the site of a fatal shootout in 2013. Corso and Gallicchio were named in a lawsuit as bartenders and waiters Park Street Patio sued – and won – on Park Street and three other bars in 2012 for arrears in wages.
When they opened Spice up On Park Street, along with a group of other nightclubs, Corso admitted that parking, traffic jams, and noise complaints piled up as quickly as cocktail napkins.
He said he then joined the Columbus Parking, Community Relations and Noise Commissions to do his part to reduce frustration for customers, drivers and residents of Park Street and Short North.
“The city has always been a great partner for me with every question,” he said.
Years later, after the velvet rope properties became less of a focus and closed, restaurants were a more attractive business model, he said.
In 2015 he ended his long-term partnership with Gallicchio, who organized several festivals – such as the Columbus Food Truck Festival – and founded Titan Trucks Manufacturing, a food truck and trailer manufacturer.
Gallicchio said he still considered Corso a “great friend”.
“We’ve been friends for ages, met in college, done a lot of business together, and done a lot of successful things together,” said Gallicchio.
It was over Forno kitchen + bar, one of Corso’s Short North properties where he met Urban Meyer, then the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team.
“That was his point of contact,” said Corso. “When he retired, we decided to do something fun together.”
The first such company was Urban Meyers Pint House Meyer, a brisk, casual space that opened in Dublin’s Bridge Park in September 2019.
Although Meyer was hired to coach the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL in January, he and Corso signed a contract for deal Urban Chophouse, a steakhouse that opened May 12th on the ground floor of Luxe 23, an apartment complex in Short North built by the area Preferred Living.
Corso in turn owns the property and opened the Chophouse together with Whiskey lounge and terrace bar There.
He said he didn’t know if his bad PR was behind him, but he wasn’t going to let that stupid him.
“If you do things up to date, you will get some pushback,” he said. “We’re ready to try different things to make Columbus a great city.”
gseman@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekGary