Small Plates: Mikey’s Late Night Slice, Corner Bakery Cafe, City Barbeque

A familiar name is bringing pizza back to Olde Towne East, a national chain shutters its sole Ohio eatery and a new boss takes over a local-based chain for the first time in its history.

The week in Central Ohio restaurant and food news starts in Olde Towne East:

• Mikey’s Late Night Slice is moving into the Oak Street building that previously housed Yellow Brick Pizza.
• Diners in the Polaris area this week lost an option for coffee, baked goods and sandwiches. Corner Bakery Café closed its restaurant at 1478 Gemini Place. It was the only site for the 155-unit Panera Bread competitor in Columbus and Ohio.
• While that chain contracts, Dublin-based City Barbeque continues to grow. Now at 54 restaurants in multiple states, the day-to-day future of that business will be overseen by new CEO Mike Muldoon who takes over for founder and new executive chairman Rick Malir who has led the brand since it started in 1999.
• Westerville’s Java Central is expanding with the help of Zaftig Brewing Co. The coffee company is setting up a shop in the brewery’s Italian Village brewpub that will operate during the morning and early afternoons during the week when the tavern is closed. Here’s more on that arrangement and why it made sense to both businesses.
• Schmidt’s Sausage Haus is closed until Jan. 14. The historic German Village restaurant said an upswing in Covid cases among key staff and family members led to the temporary closing. Those craving their specialties can still find their food trucks around town, including one stationed at the restaurant for the next week.
• Schmidt’s isn’t alone. Columbus Business First talked with several restaurant operators this week about how they’re managing through the latest surge in Covid cases. Some already have gone through temporary closings, some are tweaking hours and one actually has expanded hours — though not for the reasons one might think.