Columbus Classics: Ringside Café has remained a downtown contender for decades
Editor's Note: This is the eighth in a series highlighting Columbus classic businesses.
Ringside Café has been a prize winner in gourmet burgers in downtown Columbus for decades.
Husband and wife Adrian and Kim Rosu had years of restaurant experience under their belts before purchasing the business in September 2008.
“It had been in the back of my mind to have our own restaurant,” Adrian Rosu said. “At the time, we could make it happen.”
He said they are responsible for upgrading the quality of the burgers to all angus beef at the tavern that features a boxing theme, including the menu that shows “Heavyweight” choices as angus chuck, a hand-formed patty served with shredded lettuce, tomato, house kettle chips and a pickle spear.
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The “Welterweights” offerings include a portobello sandwich, grilled chicken and fish sandwich.
For the “Lightweights,” there’s a Caesar, Greek or harvest salad.
“Knockout Specials” also are available, like a BBQ pulled pork sandwich or veggie burger.
“Our most popular are the Cajun burger (known as the Duran after Roberto Duran) and Smokin’ Joe (Frazier),” Rosu said.
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The Duran is a half-pound patty with Cajun spices, blue cheese crumbles, grilled red onions and applewood-smoked bacon, and Smokin’ Joe is a half-pound patty with applewood-smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and house BBQ sauce.
Mary Kelly and Mandy Marshall, both of Nashville, Tennessee, were in Columbus on Jan. 6 to visit family for a late Christmas celebration and stopped for lunch at Ringside, 19 N. Pearl St., after a recommendation from a friend.
Kelly had the “Jack Dempsey,” a half-pound patty with mayonnaise, mustard and choice of cheese.
“It was delicious,” she said. “I had onion rings, too, and they were great.”
Marshall tried the “Ali,” a three-quarter-pound angus patty with sharp cheddar cheese and a fried onion ring topped with house coleslaw.
“I thought the hamburger was good, but the homemade French fries and chips were absolutely fabulous,” she said.
A recent Google by Ed Paul said, “Plain and simple that’s the best hamburger I’ve ever had!”
Another review by Caitlin Noll said, "If you appreciate local history and a great dive bar, come here! And if you don’t get a burger, that would be a mistake!”
When Alton Brown, a celebrity food show presenter, brought his culinary show – “Alton Brown Live: Beyond the Eats” – to the Palace Theatre on March 18, 2022, he visited Ringside with his wife.
“I was there by myself, cooking and bartending,” Rosu said. “He sat at the bar and ordered a traditional burger. He said they loved the food. The next day, they did a big post on Instagram about how much he loved the burger. He usually doesn’t just talk places up.”
Ringside Café's 1897 beginnings
Rosu said the tavern's history dates back to 1897, and he has consulted with the Columbus Historical Society to learn some of its background.
“It’s basically the oldest, continually operated business in Columbus,” Rosu said. “We closed for one week during COVID and then opened up to-go. I didn’t want to shut down on my watch.”
According to information provided by Rosu, the business has been a popular spot for politicians because of its close proximity to the Ohio Statehouse and was opened as the Board of Trade Saloon initially.
It was reopened in 1910 with the name Chamber of Commerce Cafe & Rathskeller, but the chamber didn't want its name associated with a bar, so its name was obscured with grapes and vines above the tavern's door that still shows the name Cafe & Rathskeller today.
"During Prohibition, the bar was called the Jolly Gargoyle," Rous said.
He said it was renamed the Ringside Café in the 1930s, when it was purchased by Al Haft, a Columbus wrestler/boxing promoter.
Rosu said Clem Ambrose owned Ringside from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Politics, politicians and ghosts
The building that houses Ringside was designed by a well-known architect named Carl Howell, according to Rosu.
The stained-glass windows – including one of a donkey to represent the Democratic Party and an elephant to represent the Republican Party – were imported from Belgium.
“Being downtown, we get a lot of politicians,” Rosu said. “The guys who have been around the block bring the newer guys in to check us out. We’re seeing another generation of politicians. People say it’s a hidden gem. Unfortunately, we’re not well known.”
The tavern is known to have uninvited guests, though, and it's is a popular spot for haunted tours in October.
“One of my guys was cleaning a fryer one morning, and all of a sudden, he looked at the back door and had a crazy look like, ‘What did I just see?’" Rosu said. “Apparently, there was a big shadow looking in his direction and did a swirling thing and shot down the steps. He freaked out. When I came in, he was still white in the face. He said, ‘I don’t know if I can work here anymore.’”
Rosu said he verified the incident from cameras on timers that are in the main area and downstairs, where there’s a prep kitchen.
“Whenever the camera senses movement, it will record what it sees,” he said. “At 3:30 in the morning, we started getting like an orb. I know now that they’re energy orbs kind of like flying around. It started in (one camera); then we see another one. At 4:30 a.m. we saw two of them together, and they did a swirly thing.
"Again, I was blowing it off to something else. What really got me – and I got chills – is that there’s a light upstairs that went up and down and went down. As soon as it went down, my camera downstairs kicked on and caught the light going through and continued on. It was freaky. It has never been a negative energy. I’ve been here many late nights, and you kind of feel it.”
In addition to the character of the building, its rich history and what appears to be friendly spirits, Rosu said, the quality of product helps set it apart.
“Everything we do, we try to do high quality,” he said.
Business hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays; and 5 to 8 p.m. Saturdays. It’s closed Sundays.
Read more of ThisWeek reporter Marla K. Kuhlman's "Iconic" business stories from Gahanna, Westerville and Worthington.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Ringside Café in downtown Columbus dates back to 1897
