If you have lived in Powell for more than a few years, you have watched Olentangy Street shift from a Saturday brunch stop into something closer to a full week destination. This summer is the clearest evidence yet. Between the openings inside Liberty Plaza, the boutique hotel proposal sitting in front of City Council, and a calendar at Village Green Park that now runs Tuesday through Sunday, the downtown you already know is becoming a place you can use on a Thursday night, not just when guests are in town.
The pace of change is worth paying attention to as a homeowner. Walkability to daily amenities is one of the reasons Powell holds value the way it does, and the map of what counts as "walkable" is expanding.
The three addresses reshaping W. Olentangy Street
The most consequential storyline downtown right now sits in a City Council development committee packet. A local developer, Transform Construction, has submitted plans for two buildings that would fundamentally change the west end of Olentangy Street.
Transform Construction has submitted plans for a two-story restaurant at 147 W. Olentangy St. and a three-story building at 173 W. Olentangy St. that would house another restaurant, retail space, and a 16-room boutique hotel. The combined investment totals about $7.8 million, according to a presentation made during Powell City Council's Development Committee meeting on Nov. 5.
That is the first hotel proposed inside the downtown core in recent memory. The rationale from the city is straightforward. "They want to see more choices and restaurants here in our downtown in particular, and Powell in general," Economic Development Administrator Sean Hughes told the committee, framing the two new dining spaces as a direct answer to resident demand.
For anyone whose morning walk crosses Olentangy, keep an eye on 147 and 173. And keep an eye on COhatch, whose downtown Powell footprint will include the Lani Rooftop Lounge, a Hawaiian-inspired rooftop bar open to the public and available for private events. Rooftop and boutique-hotel sightlines are new vocabulary for this stretch.
The openings you may have missed
Four new food businesses have landed in or are on their way to Powell this year, and they are spread across the map in a way that matters if you are picking a walk or a short drive.
| Business | Where | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Glazed Over | 240 N. Liberty St. (Liberty Plaza) | Small-batch donut and pastry shop, open 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Three Brothers Diner | 345 W. Olentangy St. | Family-run Cuban, Mexican, and American diner, all-day breakfast |
| Khaab Indian Kitchen & Bar | Powell (location TBD) | Second Central Ohio location after Bexley |
| Tous les Jours | 10726 Sawmill Parkway, Suite 102 | French-Korean bakery café, opening Fall 2026 |
A few details worth carrying with you. Glazed Over is not a chain. Every donut is hand-rolled and hand-cut in small batches throughout the day, and the company originally opened in Sandusky, Ohio in 2019. The short hours are the tell. Get there before lunch or plan on next week.
Three Brothers Diner took over a familiar address. It is coming to 345 W. Olentangy St., which housed Monte Carlo Italian Kitchen before it closed in May. The restaurant was founded by brothers Filadelfo, Nivardo, and Eliseo Cruz, who are from Oaxaca, Mexico and learned to cook from their mother, and it serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with all three available all day.
The Sawmill Parkway addition is the one that stretches the definition of downtown. Tous les Jours is expected to debut its third Central Ohio location in Fall 2026 at 10726 Sawmill Parkway, Suite 102, and the name is French for "every day." The Powell location will join the brand's existing Central Ohio bakeries in Columbus and Dublin.
And the Bexley crossover: Powell is getting a new edition in 2026, and Khaab Indian Kitchen & Bar has announced plans for a new location promising traditional recipes, a contemporary vibe, and elevated hospitality.
Take those four together with the anchors that have defined the food scene for years, and Powell has quietly built the kind of density where a resident does not have to drive to Dublin or Polaris for variety. Kraft House No. 5, Local Roots, Nocterra Brewing, Huli Huli Tiki Lounge, and The Locust Table cover different moods on different nights. The newcomers plug gaps: morning pastry, all-day breakfast diner, and, this fall, a Korean-influenced bakery on Sawmill.
Thursdays, not just Saturdays
The quieter shift is the weekday programming. If you have not been downtown on a Thursday evening recently, you are missing the change.
- Nocterra Run Club meets weekly. The club meets every Thursday at 6:15 p.m. for a run followed by a hangout in the taproom or beer garden, working with Columbus Running Company, and the group incorporates all levels of ability, pace, or distance.
- Music on the Green style evenings. Residents are grabbing dinner from a local restaurant, sipping a DORA beverage from participating businesses, bringing lawn chairs and blankets, and enjoying a relaxing summer evening filled with live music in the heart of Downtown Powell.
- Lolli-Pops Children's Concert Series. Free, interactive concerts in Village Green Park run during the summer months, with lively performances designed to get everyone dancing and singing along.
- Outdoor movie nights at the Village Green Amphitheater. Bring blankets, lawn chairs, and cozy loungers to the amphitheater in Downtown Powell, where the movie shows on a large LED screen, and make a night of it by grabbing food, snacks, and drinks from local establishments beforehand.
The DORA piece is the connective tissue. It means the restaurant you picked for dinner does not have to be the place you stay for the show. That flexibility is what turns an event calendar into an actual evening out.
Circle June 19 and 20 for the Powell Festival
If you are budgeting one big weekend downtown, this is it. The Annual Powell Festival will take place downtown in Village Green Park on Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20, 2026, with musical entertainment, merchants, food vendors, a Kids' Zone, activity stations, animal visits, games, DORA, a local beer and wine beverage tent, and free fireworks on Saturday night to wrap up the festival.
The festival is free, though a portion of the Kids Zone requires an admission of $10 per child, and that admission is good for the entire day, so children may leave and re-enter at any time on the day of purchase.
The Saturday lineup is the draw. The schedule runs 3:45 p.m. Full Moon Fever, 6 p.m. Stadium 11, 8 p.m. Vertical Horizon as headliner, and a 10 p.m. fireworks show, with festival hours Friday June 19, 5 to 11 p.m., and Saturday June 20, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Parking is the thing to plan around. A free Delaware County Transit shuttle runs to and from Powell Festival during festival hours, picking up and dropping off at Seldom Seen Park on Friday and Saturday, with free public parking available in the downtown parking lots. If you live within a mile, the shuttle is the easier call. If you live farther out, park at Seldom Seen and ride in.
One more July date worth circling. The Taste of Powell Tour runs Sunday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., letting you sample food, drinks, and local favorites, with tickets at $3 each available online through the Powell Chamber or at the event.
A short routing plan for out-of-town guests
If someone is visiting this month, the walkable version of a full day looks something like this. Morning donuts at Glazed Over in Liberty Plaza. A walk toward Village Green Park to see whatever is programmed that day. Lunch at Three Brothers Diner on the west end of Olentangy or at The Locust Table if brunch is what your guests want. Late afternoon at Nocterra Brewing's patio. Dinner at Kraft House No. 5 or Local Roots depending on the mood. If it is a Friday, stay for whatever is on the Village Green stage.
That itinerary was not possible three summers ago at this density. The Olentangy Street redevelopment is the reason you should expect it to feel even fuller a year from now.
What this means for a Powell homeowner
Foot traffic downtown is one of the leading indicators of long-term neighborhood value, and it is easier to feel than to measure. The market data everyone reads focuses on medians and days on market. The information that does not show up on a portal is whether the street you live near is getting more useful. In Powell right now, the answer is yes, on named evidence: three new food businesses inside the last twelve months, a fourth by fall, and a boutique hotel plus two restaurant proposals in front of City Council.
If you are thinking about how these shifts might factor into a future move, a refinance decision, or simply what your home is worth in a downtown that keeps adding reasons to walk to it, the team at Ayana Realty Group is happy to talk through it. You can also explore more about the area on our Powell neighborhood page or contact us directly.
