📚 A Little Bookstore Is Doing Big Things in Lancaster

Plus: 🍴This Fast-Casual Mediterranean Chain Is Headed To Polaris

Author

Chelsea Wiley
July 08, 2025

Sponsored by Columbus Recreation and Parks 🎶
Your favorite ’90s bands (sort of) are back. Tribute Tuesdays is bringing free live music, food, and drinks to Bicentennial Park all summer long. Catch tribute sets of Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and more. It’s all happening along the Scioto Mile and admission is totally free. Music starts at 6:30, but come early for happy hour vibes at 5. Please click here for more info.

Hello, Tuesday! Chelsea here.

Inside an old Lancaster school building, something special is happening, and no, it’s not a pop quiz. The Big Book Nook is a used bookstore with a mission that’s doing more than just clearing shelf space. It’s warm, welcoming, and packed with personality. Every purchase helps support local kids through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern Ohio. It’s one of those hidden gems that deserves a lot more attention.

🍴This Fast-Casual Mediterranean Chain Is Bringing The Bowls To Polaris
Mediterranean chain Cava is heading to Columbus, with plans to open its first local spot at Polaris. It’s taking over the old Shake Shack space, so delicious bowls, pita, and Hot Harissa Chips are on the horizon.

🏓 Columbus Dinks Into Summer With New Pickleball Courts At Anheuser-Busch Sports Park
Columbus just added four new outdoor pickleball courts at Anheuser-Busch Sports Park, complete with lights, shade and serious summertime vibes. They're free, open to the public and perfect for players of all levels.

Headlines 📰 

☀️ After two years of debate, the Frasier Solar project in Knox County has been approved and will move forward, unless an expected appeal delays it. Here’s what’s planned, why it has both supporters and opponents, and what could happen next. (NBC4)

🏡 Columbus officials are considering new restrictions on large gatherings and short-term rentals after a deadly July 4 shooting at an Airbnb party. Here's what you need to know about the incident, the city’s potential response, and how leaders are hoping to prevent future violence. (WOSU)

📚 In her new memoir Always There, Always Gone, Bexley writer Marty Ross-Dolen unearths family history and grief by piecing together letters, memories, and imagination to better understand the grandparents she never knew. (Columbus Monthly)

☀️ Weather: 87 and partly sunny

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Today's Photo 🤳

☀️ Have a great Tuesday, Columbus. I hope it’s beautiful, that work goes by quikly, and that every one gets a chance to just go outside and enjoy nature for a few minutes.

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- Chelsea