LIVING IN STYLE: JEFF MATHES
BY JIM COLEMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT CUNNINGHAM
On a small block in the heart of downtown Columbus between Third Avenue and High Street, there lives an economic revolutionary. His name is Jeff Mathes.
With urban redevelopment efforts stagnating, elected officials and developers have been laboring to bring jobs and people back to the center of our major metropolitan areas. Mathes is one of those people.
Mayor Michael Coleman says, “Jeff Mathes is one of downtown’s great pioneers and risk takers. Before Gay Street was reborn, he bought a building as his home and opened within it a great restaurant. He understands that there is a critical balance in creating vibrant urban settings that attract people and energy.”
67 GAY STREET
The typical real estate developer purchases a building, makes improvements and then recruits some tenants—not Mathes.
In 2001, Jeff and his wife, Heather, bought a three-story brick building at 67 Gay Street and gave the block a pulse. They started building from the top down with their own third-floor residence. The loft’s elevator opens to an impressive view of Gay Street. Spacious living, dining and sleeping areas are defined by crisp white walls that greet the blonde wood floors with elegance and a sense of great comfort. The back deck stretches across the length of the building, offering a unique glimpse of the Ohio Statehouse through the bookends of Key Bank and Rhoades towers.
The second floor is the brain of the building. Mathes’ modular steel company, restaurants and other ventures occupy three office suites. Also housed on the second floor are the offices of Matthew Kallner’s lobbying firm and BAAX Inc., a data warehouse firm.
Meanwhile, the front windows of the office building have become billboards for Mathes’ new golf company, Boxgroove (www.boxgroove.com). Like a good hunter who uses every part of the daily kill, every inch of Mathes’ building is utilized to increase the energy and success of its tenants and neighbors.
Recognizing an entrepreneur investing in the city’s goal of a vital urban core, the City of Columbus stepped up with significant infrastructure and streetscape improvements. Then, other businesses joined the party—and Gay Street was reborn.
DUE AMICI AND PRIVATO
In its fourth year, Due Amici remains the pinnacle of downtown’s emerging culinary scene. The successful Italian bistro is located on the first floor of Mathes’ building, and invites patrons to step off Gay Street into a SoHo village dining experience.
Mathes transformed the extra space west of the restaurant into Privato, which offers the the non-profit community of Columbus a unique venue in which to promote their varied missions. The Privato space is an example of Mathes’ vision at work, giving the block a shot of social adrenaline by welcoming new participants to the revitalized Gay Street. It has also allowed Mathes to support his passion for the local arts community. The room serves as a community meeting space for the newly formed Independence Day Arts Festival. The Ohio Art League has grown thanks to Privato and expanded its annual brunch beyond the borders of Due Amici.
A love of music and a genuine commitment to promoting local singer-songwriters is Mathes’ true passion. This past fall, performer Jason Quicksall joined Mathes and helped transform Privato into the home of Columbus’ first annual singer-songwriter music series. During four consecutive Thursday evenings, the brick-walled space was transformed into an intimate concert venue featuring some of the city’s most prolific musical acts. Highlights included diverse performances by Happy Chichester and Megan Palmer as well as The Floorwalkers, who, days later, jetted to Nashville to put the finishing touches on their upcoming album.
BARRIO
The heart of Mathes’ Gay Street has since expanded to include the corner of Spring and High streets. Barrio opened its doors and, spectacularly, its windows in the former Wendy’s building, as the distinctive dining vision of father-son property owners Jim and Sam Horner.
“My dad and I always believed in the quality of the corner of Spring and High as a picturesque setting for a restaurant, but the general herd mentality of many brokers and real estate department suits of major and regional companies dismissed our convictions,” says Sam Horner. “It was not until Jeff and Heather came along that we found true urban pioneers who shared our vision for the Barrio corner.”
Barrio, Spanish for neighborhood, boasts the festive flavors from South America and Spain. The rustic exterior and vibrant interior of this neighborhood eatery serve as welcome respite from the towers of Nationwide Insurance and the Green Federal Building.
“Jeff is not afraid to butt heads when his sense of economic fairness is challenged,” says Jim Horner. “He believes in a level playing field for all businesses, including the small operator. Jeff maintains a level congruency that, at certain times, has probably not been in his own best business interests, but I admire his integrity and courage to speak up for impartiality.”
LUC
Heather and Jeff Mathes welcomed their first child, Luc, on June 2, 2009 – adding another heartbeat to the pulse of Columbus’ urban core. You won’t have to keep your eyes open for it: Listen for it! Whether it finds your ears or invades your soul, the pulse of Gay Street will locate you if you open up your mind and heart to a new social escapade.
