If you haven’t heard of the Neighborhood Launch project, you’ve very likely at least seen its impact. For years, downtown – outside of its trademark skyline – has been typified by swaths of concrete and blacktop, not only aesthetically uninviting but marked hither and thither by signage permitting this, forbidding that.

Apart from the demolition of the old City Center (replaced now with Columbus Commons), Neighborhood Launch initiated a reimagining of the experience of living downtown. New residential spaces, some of them free-standing condominiums, others more idyllic collections of townhomes, now inhabit a nine-block space on and around Gay Street.

Those that live downtown (or even near it) can attest to the inherent difficulties. The amenities are simply different. Sure, there may be a coffee shop a few blocks away, but you’re not likely to find a parking spot. Gas stations? Fat chance. Getting one’s groceries can be just as challenging. Sure, you can zip up to North Market and snag something for dinner, but if you’ve run out of paper towels, it’s off to German Village with you.

Set to amend that and to add to the ever-changing face of downtown Columbus is The Hills Market, an Ohio-bred grocer that has been committed to showcasing the best foods Ohio can kick out since 1993. The original store, nestled just off Olentangy River Road north of the beltway, is frequently abuzz with weekly dining events, tastings, and demonstrations. Like North Market, you can do more than just shop there. Like a bigger chain, you can get all your shopping done in one place.

But it’s the very fact that Hills Market is not a big chain that makes it possible for it to wedge itself right into the thick of things on North Grant Avenue, just a block or so north of Broad Street and practically right next door to the Columbus College of Art and Design. The 12,000-square-foot space they look to occupy isn’t exactly huge by grocery store standards. To put it in perspective, the Giant Eagle Market District behemoth in Upper Arlington is a whopping 110,000 square feet. The new Short North Kroger? Just under 60,000.

So how can such a comparatively small store offer so much? Well, that’s just what they’ve been doing for nearly 20 years. A smaller company can simply exercise more control over its practices than a larger one, and more control means more options. The Hills Market can put Jeni’s Ice Cream in its freezers as easily as Ben and Jerry’s. The Hills can deliver groceries (www.hillsonthego.com), and can even whip you up a lobster roll and a piece of blueberry pie on a summer afternoon if you play your cards right.

In addition to the traditional grocer’s role, this new spot will feature beer and wine available in the store and on its veranda, so while it’s never good to go grocery shopping hungry, nobody ever said you couldn’t have a couple glasses of Malbec while you stroll the aisles. The Hills Market will look to become a social destination as well as a practical necessity, and it is that which will hopefully spell success for this big little corner market.

On the other hand, success is by no means guaranteed. Those of us that saw the infancy of the South Campus Gateway recall the short-lived presence of the Sunflower Market. It seemed like the right thing in the right place, a natural and organic oasis tucked right in between mountains of fast food and cheap beer. For whatever reason, it burned up and died out before most people had a chance to get to know it. So it goes.

The doors will open this spring, marking the beginning of another important chapter of the five-years-running story of the Neighborhood Launch project. Surely soon to follow: their famous hog roasts. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Short North Kroger: ‘Ghetto’ no more

Open since the end of last July, the shiny new Kroger location at the corner of High Street and King Avenue is another beacon of light dotting the path between the ever-expanding Short North and South Campus Gateway districts. The store expanded in size, yes, but more importantly in scope, renewing focus on produce and freshly prepared foods, trends that had long since been popularized in big suburban supermarkets.

It’s a big deal for students, whose on-campus food options have never been particularly varied – or healthy. This Kroger accepts payment by BuckID and offers free Wi-Fi, so bringing a laptop down, grabbing a sandwich or some sushi and sitting in the bistro is now a viable option. Residents of the Short North and Weinland Park will appreciate the location and convenience as well (not to mention the adjacent liquor store), but it’s the symbolism of the new venue that’s of real interest.

For years, the seven-or-so block stretch of High Street that separated the Ohio State campus from the arts district was an interesting (if a bit seamy) wrinkle of town. It provided topography to the area – a contrast. The demolition of what so many knew as the ‘ghetto Kroger’ might have been the last major step in a long series of calculated moves to elbow certain elements off the city’s main drag.

For better or for worse, the Short North keeps getting longer.