Downtown Powell in August: New Openings, a Cruise-In, and a Weeknight That Finally Has a Center

For years, downtown Powell was a Saturday errand. You parked near Village Green, walked to a bakery or a wine shop, and drove home. In 2026 that pattern is quietly breaking. A coworking campus opened on East Olentangy in March, a rooftop bar followed at the end of the month, and the block now has weekday foot traffic it didn't have in 2024. The August calendar sits on top of that new baseline, not next to it. Here is what a resident actually needs to know before the second half of the month.

The block that changed on East Olentangy

The single biggest shift is at 50 and 60 East Olentangy Street. COhatch opened its coworking and event campus in downtown Powell in early March, spanning both addresses and including the Middlebury Member House and Lani Rooftop Lounge, with the rooftop lounge debuting later that month and the member house opening to members in May. The 14,000-square-foot campus includes private offices, dedicated desks, coworking areas, meeting rooms, and event space, and the Middlebury Member House is a restored historic home designed as a lodge-style setting for members to work, meet, and host private events.

Two things follow from that for anyone who lives within a few miles.

First, Lani. The Hawaiian-inspired rooftop bar, the Lani Rooftop Lounge, is open to the public and available for private events. That is a rare thing in this ZIP code. Rooftops are a Short North or Bridge Park convention, and until this spring the closest one to a Powell resident meant a drive.

Second, the sidewalk. Public infrastructure improvements have taken shape along East Olentangy Street, with crews installing a sidewalk in front of the COhatch site along with on-street public parking, part of a public-private investment aimed at enhancing walkability and accessibility in Powell's downtown district. If it has been a while since you walked from Village Green east to Grace Drive, the experience is different now.

The food map, opening by opening

Three openings in the last six months are worth knowing by name and address.

Glazed Over, 240 N. Liberty St. Every donut is hand-rolled and hand-cut in small batches throughout the day, the shop originally opened in Sandusky, Ohio in 2019, and the new location is inside Liberty Plaza at 240 N. Liberty St. in Powell, open from 6:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. They opened on February 26, so August is the first full summer they have been in the market.

CoccoKay Bites, 170 W. Olentangy St. The business, founded by husband-and-wife team Bala and Priya Somakandan, occupies the historic Downtown area in Powell at 170 W. Olentangy Street and features food and drink options from India and Sri Lanka as well as other European and Asian cuisines. Menu items include biriyani, Indo-Chinese fried rice dishes, Indian street foods, European cakes and desserts, a large selection of bubble teas, and a signature four-foot-long dosa designed for sharing. A four-foot dosa is not something you order casually. It is a reason to bring six people.

Khaab Indian Kitchen & Bar, coming to Powell. Khaab Indian Kitchen & Bar announced plans for a new Powell location in 2026, building on the success of its Bexley location. The Powell spot promises refined dishes, handcrafted cocktails, and an upscale space aimed at date nights and celebrations. Not open yet, worth watching if you have been driving to Bexley for the original.

What's on the drawing board

The demand behind these openings is not slowing. 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, with the combined investment totaling about $7.8 million according to a presentation made during Powell City Council's Development Committee meeting on Nov. 5.

The interesting quote from that meeting was less about the buildings and more about who is asking for them.

"Why more restaurants? Quite simply, it's because our residents want them," the economic development administrator said. "They want to see more choices and restaurants here in our downtown in particular, and Powell in general."

Read the COhatch build and the hotel proposal together and the shape of downtown five years out becomes visible: a workday population, an overnight population, and enough dining seats to hold both without pushing residents out on a Friday.

The August calendar in one glance

Here is what is already on the books between now and Labor Day.

Dates from the Visit Powell calendar and the AllEvents Powell listings.

The one to build a Sunday around: Larry Coolidge Cruise-In

If you only clear one date, clear August 16. All makes, models, and antique vehicles are welcome to enter a judged show with plaques, trophies, and Best of Show, awards begin at 3 p.m. with a 50/50 drawing to follow, and the event benefits the Powell-Liberty Historical Society, Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center, and Powell Sertoma Club. The show, formerly known as the Powell Cruize-In & Pig Out, was renamed the Larry Coolidge Cruise-In for 2026. It runs on the Village Green block at 47 Hall Street, which puts you a two-minute walk from every restaurant mentioned above.

The weekly one worth trying once

If Thursday nights have gone stale, the running group at Nocterra is the low-friction option. The Nocterra Run Club meets every Thursday at 6:15 p.m. for a healthy run, followed by a hangout in the taproom or beer garden, works with Columbus Running Company, incorporates all levels of ability, pace, or distance, meets year-round, is open to the public, and members can join anytime. The barrier to entry is: show up.

A Saturday that actually uses the new stuff

Here is a plausible August 15 for a household that has lived here a while and is bored of the usual loop.

1. 8:30 AM: Pilates in the Park at Village Green. Powell Parks and Recreation is partnering with Body Alive Powell to offer free Pilates In The Park at Village Green Park at 47 Hall Street for a 45-minute mat Pilates class; bring a mat and water.
2. 10:00 AM: Coffee and a hand-cut donut at Glazed Over in Liberty Plaza.
3. Late morning: A short drive to Highbanks Metro Park for the naturalist programming at the Big Meadows Picnic Area, which has been running weekend nature walks throughout the summer.
4. 6:00 PM: Split a four-foot dosa at CoccoKay Bites on West Olentangy.
5. After dinner: Walk east to Lani for a drink on the roof.

None of those five stops existed in that combination two summers ago.

Why the block matters more than the openings

A neighborhood with one new restaurant is a story about a restaurant. A neighborhood with a coworking campus, a rooftop bar, three new food concepts inside a half-mile, and a hotel in the permit queue is a story about a downtown adding a second and third daypart. Powell has always been strong at Saturday morning and weekday lunch. What is filling in now is weekday evening and Sunday afternoon.

That has a practical effect for anyone who already owns here. Streets that were once quiet after 7 p.m. on a Tuesday have people on them. Parking near Olentangy is tighter than it was in 2024, and the city has been adding on-street spaces to keep up. The COhatch build is the 38th building restoration for the company and part of Powell's broader effort to revitalize its downtown through public infrastructure upgrades and private development. Extensions to Scioto Street and a larger public parking lot behind the coworking campus are next.

The short version: the downtown you live near is not the downtown you moved to. That is worth a walk this month to see for yourself.

If you have been curious about what any of this activity has done to home values on the streets nearest Village Green, or you are thinking through timing on a move within Powell, Hart Property Advisors can pull the numbers for your specific block and walk you through what they mean. Start with a free home valuation whenever you are ready.