Nativo to open in former J. Gumbo's spot in Gahanna's Creekside, but when is a mystery
Large banners displaying colorful drinks and Latino food cover the windows at 64 Granville St. in Gahanna, announcing, “We’ve Got Something Coming Soon — Nativo.”
But no one seems to know exactly how soon.
“The Nativo restaurant team is working round-the-clock to bring a vibrant, classy dining experience to Creekside,” reads a June 29 post on the Creekside Gahanna’s Facebook page, adding, “Stay tuned for more updates in late summer /early fall.”
The restaurant is planned in the location of the former J Gumbo’s.
A team of city employees manages Creekside Gahanna’s social-media site, including economic-development manager Courtney Thraen, but, she said, no contact information is available at this time for the restaurant.
Thraen said the “coming soon posters” were placed in the windows in early June.
The post created a lot of buzz on Creekside Gahanna’s page, with 40 comments and 17 shares as of July 13.
“Can’t wait to try this new restaurant,” wrote Vicki Headley Hensley.
A manager of the site said the restaurant would offer different Latino varieties of food.
“Wow! Can’t wait to try it,” wrote Michelle Howell.
A document on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website shows a trade name registration of Nativo614 effective Nov. 3, 2021, by RBD Restaurants LLC, 64 Granville St.
Robinson Bustamante Davila, owner of RBD Restaurants LLC, filed Nov. 12, 2021, to acquire D-1, D-2 and D-3 liquor permits from Newark’s Ten North Park LLC, transferring to 64 Granville St. through a process known as “Transfer-Exempt” or TREX.
A TREX allows for the transfer of ownership and location of permits from a municipal corporation to an economic-development project in another municipality when no additional permits of that class are available.
The city endorsed the transfer Nov. 12, with city attorney Ray Mularski's signature acknowledging that the transfer is an economic-development project. According to the document, the restaurant has a $400,000 investment and is expected to create 15 jobs.
The Franklin County Auditor's Office confirmed July 14 that a vendor's license had been issued March 1 to RBD Restaurants for the business.
Dan Pearlman, the city’s public-information officer, said in a July 7 email that Gahanna doesn’t have a contact for Nativo but that he was working on getting one so the city could issue a joint press release with the business.
ThisWeek confirmed that the restaurant planned at Creekside isn’t affiliated with Nativo Highland Park in California.
Check ThisWeekNEWS.com/Gahanna for updates.
mkuhlman@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekMarla
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Nativo restaurant to open in Gahanna's Creekside, sometime
