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Crestview Foodtown

In my book I wrote about Crestview Foodtown, presently the Clintonville Community Market. The building has had many lives: at one time it was a Red & White (market), a Piggly Wiggly, and a Kroger’s. At one time there was a barber shop downstairs; and in the late 1920s the corner was a drugstore.

7 Responses to “Crestview Foodtown”

  1. Ben Jay Says:

    Shirley, thanks for including the Crestview Market in your book. My family owned and ran the market for nearly 20 years from the early 60s (when i was 6 years old) to my parents’ retirement in the 80s. It was a bold move for my parents Gim and Jan to buy the store so that my brothers John, Dan and I could go to North High School and put us through college at Ohio State. My mom and dad turned the store into one of the first Asian-American grocery stores in Columbus, carrying foods from 13 different countries and was the place to go for international OSU students to find familiar foods of their home countries. I grew up in that store and the house across the street. Crestview was the street of great neighbors, block parties and just plain working class folks who looked out for each other. Thanks for the memories. Ben Jay

  2. charles coryn Says:

    I first saw the Crestview market when I was about 3 years old, it must have been in 1940. Our family had moved into a rental on Crestview Rd just a few houses east of Calumet, and we lived there for a year or so before moving to 3130 Indianola Ave. in 1941. I remember it also from later years as I passed it frequently going to North High in the 50’s. Wilbur Mills lived next door to the market around 1953 or so.

    Thanks for the memories……

  3. dotty ghent Says:

    i grew up on the corner of kelso & druid. i must have visited this place five times a day! it was an awesome neighborhood to grow up in & Ben Jay, THANKS TO YOU & YOUR FAMILY FOR ALL THE MEMORIES!!!

  4. Scott Graham Says:

    I grew up at 89 E. Tulane and walked past Crestview Market twice a day. Loved having a market in the neighborhood and thought it was cool that my buddy Ben Jay’s parents owned it.

  5. John C. Kovalo Says:

    When my friend Spirit Williams took me to the Crestview for the first time in the early 80s, it was like entering the hold of a freighter just in from the Orient. I remember the smells from the fish and an introduction to many, many things I never knew existed. I loved the Vietnamese chili garlic sauce so much I bought it by the gallon! [Took me 2-1/2 years to go through it]. I saw chicken feet for the first time since my Slovak Grandmother fixed them when I was a kid. The brightly colored wrappers with unintelligible writing were a delight, as was lotus seed cake and moon cake, two of my favorites. I now love green tea ice cream second only to chocolate. And the lovely, affordable little dishes, fish sauce, soy and sesame by the gallon – ah, Ben Jay, I miss the place!

  6. Becky Betz Says:

    I lived on East Tulane. I remember stopping at that cute little store on my way to school. Many memories.

  7. Barb lower Says:

    I lived at Crestview and findley.y parents were Mary and George. I pased the store when i walked to school. I recall the 5 cent candy bars. Wonderful memories. Thanks Jay family.

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