COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A restaurant in Clintonville will close in September to make way for an Ohio brewery’s newest taproom. 

Yellow Springs Brewery, which opened in the western Ohio village in 2013, will take over The Crest’s soon-to-be former location on Indianola Avenue in the fall. The location will be the brewery’s second taproom, and its first in central Ohio — although its actual brewing operations will stay in western Ohio for the time. 

Jayson Hartings, chief operating officer of Yellow Springs Brewery, said the brewery had considered adding a physical location in Columbus for more than a year. 

“We see a lot of people come down from Columbus to our taproom on the weekends,” Hartings said. “I feel like we’ve had a lot of people embracing us, and our products, up there.” 

That vague idea became clearer when Abed Alshahal, owner of The Crest, reached out in early 2023 about whether the brewery had any interest in expanding to Columbus. “Long story short, they kind of came to us, and we really fell in love with the idea, and we’re kind of rolling with it,” Hartings said. 

Teams from both have since been collaborating on the transition — including on how best to make use of the kitchen. Yellow Springs Brewery’s original taproom only offers some snacks, rather than a full lunch and dinner menu, he said. 

“This is our first adventure into the world of making food for people,” Hartings said. 

That eventual menu won’t be as “elevated and diverse” as what The Crest’s was, he said, but will likely offer tavern-style fare. 

Alshahal said after discussing downtown properties with the brewery, a light bulb went off, and he felt Yellow Springs was the right business to transform The Crest. The Crest is part of restaurant group A&R Creative, which also owns Alchemy, Ethyl & Tank, and Midway. 

A&R wouldn’t have considered closing The Crest, he said, if it weren’t for Yellow Springs Brewery — which he felt was similarly committed to sustainability. 

“Right place, right time, and path of least resistance for us. Everything kind of fell into place,” Alshahal said. 

The Crest’s last day will be Saturday, Sept. 2, and Yellow Springs Brewery is planning to be pouring beers by October, barring any delays.