Columbus’ historic Goetchius House gets reimagined as a restaurant and bar

Caption

The Goetchius House in Columbus was built in 1839 and survived many challenges. It's now reopening as a restaurant.

Credit: Geotchius House / Matthew Lapides

One of the oldest homes in Columbus is reopening as a restaurant.

The 1839 Goetchius House (pronounced GET-chee-us) was saved from demolition in 1969 by John Woodruff Jr., a founding member of the Columbus Historical Society.

That’s when the nearly 9,000 square-foot building was moved to its current location at 405 Broadway, where it later became a popular spot for prom dances, graduations, weddings and birthday parties.

It’s been closed for about a decade.

Miami-based developer Matthew Lapides is one-half of the husband-and-wife duo reimagining it.

“My wife and I did not understand how this house and the community really have walked hand in hand,” Lapides said. “Everyone seems to have a story. Only if the walls could talk would we be able to hear all the joy that the house has created for the community over so many years.”

The house started its life at the corner of Second Avenue and 11th Street as a home built by Richard Rose Goetchius for his bride, Mary Anne Bennett.

Its location became a parking lot after Woodruff moved it.

Caption

The Goetchius House menu will be overseen by two longtime Columbus chefs and feature a variety of Mediterranean cuisines from France to Greece and the Middle East.

Credit: Goetchius House / Matthew Lapides

It had a number of owners until Werner Bludau bought it and turned it into the Goetchius House event venue and restaurant in 1980.

The last time a business license was issued for the property was shortly before the Cantrell family bought the house in 2012.

Although the Cantrells did some work to the property, it mostly sat empty, Lapides said.

“I think the challenge wasn’t just doing the work but also having a vision of what this could be,” he said, crediting his wife, Italian-Brazilian interior designer Renata Martoni, for the eventual concept. “The first time she walked into the property, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She saw the wallpaper, she saw the color scheme, she saw the floor plan and the layout.”

A fine-dining restaurant, led by local chefs Uriah Harris and Noor Harp, is opening in the house Wednesday.

Later openings will include spaces for a bar, casual dining restaurant, a bakery and an ice cream parlor.

The schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday, Dec. 13: Opening of upper level fine dining (Terre e Mare Sapori, Tastes of Land and Sea), Wednesday through Saturday, 4 p.m. until closing time.
• Tuesday, Dec. 19: Opening of upper level bar and lounge (Bardot).
• Sunday, Dec. 24: Holiday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 31: New Year’s Eve party.

In January there's a planned opening of lower level casual dining, an espresso café with bakery and ice cream parlor (The Scoop at 405), serving Leopold’s Ice Cream.