Editor’s Note: I wrote most of this last night, but fell asleep before posting it.Â
I am attending the Ohio Association of REALTORS winter meeting and spent most of Monday at Easton Town Center on Columbus’s east side.
Easton is one of the new “open air” mall concepts that are being developed all across the country as a mock-town center. Of course, I don’t know of many towns that have a Macy’s and Smith & Wollensky sitting just apart from each other.
The small things aside, Easton has become a summer haven for those enjoying the chance to walk tree-lined streets while window shopping. Of course, on a cold, snowy, January day … the streets were basically empty. As I sat in the Barnes & Noble Cafe (a Starbucks without the name), I was fascinated by how the shoppers would hustle from one store to the next on this chilly day. Why not head north to Polaris and its indoor warmth?
Hmm … that I can’t answer.
Well, maybe I can get away with it after slipping into the afformentioned Barnes & Noble. I love to read, and this huge store is the mecca for people like me.
How many self-help books does it take to make me normal? Okay, don’t answer that … it was rhetorical.
Seriously, where most bookstores would have a shelf of selp-help books, this store has racks and racks of them.
Of course, Easton Town Center has lots more than the Barnes & Noble. It has a Trader Joe’s gourmet market, Crate & Barrel, a huge scrapbook store, a Bose store, and lots of other stores.
All that shopping is bound to work up an appetite and Easton has you covered there. From Cameron Mitchell’s Ocean Club (site of Gretchen and Toby’s first date) to Smith & Wollensky to Cheesecake Factory to Potbelly’s to just about any other type you desire.
Easton is more than just a shopping and dining destination, there are also offices and homes for rent in Easton Commons. Easton Commons has everything from suites ($715-905) to 3-4 bedrooms (“call for pricing” but a 2-bedroom ranges $1375-1925).
Easton Town Center is located off I-270 at Morse Road on Columbus’s east side. Depending on traffic it is about 45 minutes from Delaware.
Both photos were taken by Toby Boyce (c) 2008 on his Verizon VX6800.
