Canal Winchester, OH Area Guide

Canal Winchester began as a 160-acre homestead farmed by Henry Dove beginning in 1811. Henry's son Reuben named the village after the family's hometown of Winchester, Virginia. The town grew as an agricultural community when the Ohio & Erie canal came through in 1831. Ohio recognized Canal Winchester as a town in 1866. Since then, the population has grown from 350 to more than 7,000 residents.

In addition to several historic buildings throughout Canal Winchester, two prominent and unique museums call this suburb home. The National Barber Museum & Hall of Fame archives and displays thousands of artifacts from the barbering profession, while the Bob McDorman Automotive Museum contains several vintage Corvettes and neon signs from the automotive industry.

The Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival represents the longest-running event in the neighborhood. The three-day event includes a classic car show, live music and boat races in the canal.

A few chains and ethnic restaurants dot the culinary landscape in Canal Winchester. A majority of restaurants throughout the neighborhood feature local eateries with homegrown tastes. Several bars provide nightlife for local residents, while Hidden Lakes Winery has live music regularly. Check out the downtown scene for truly unique dining and nightlife experiences since many venues inhabit historic buildings of old town Canal Winchester.

Village Wines and Bistro has a retail section so you can purchase bottles of wine after you sample a glass with your meal. The menu changes with the seasons to include locally grown produce such as tomatoes and strawberries. During the summer months, go for a soft-shell crab dinner featuring an entire crab, breaded and deep fried, on a bun with coleslaw. Deep fried chips come as a side. The rock shrimp po' boy contains fried shrimp on a bed of lettuce, covered in spicy mustard. This dish comes with a side of potato skins and lemons for squeezing fresh juice. Try some of the many unique beers on tap.

Harvest Moon Café has an attached herb shop where you can purchase health food items such as supplements, teas and spices. Staff makes sauces, dressings and sides fresh and in house every day. For breakfast, heavenly hotcakes are lemon-ricotta pancakes infused with lavender and topped by a locally made maple syrup. Enjoy a side of turkey bacon with your huge pancake. Many burgers contain bison meat as opposed to beef, including the Homestead bison burger topped with turkey bacon, an organic egg, field greens, tomato and house-made garlic aioli. This tasty treat comes on a pretzel roll. The Asiago flatbread contains Alfredo sauce, spinach, pulled chicken, pork bacon and tomato covered by Asiago cheese.

Fantasy Cupcake has 11 signature flavors of regular-sized or miniature cupcakes. This unique eatery also sells cookies, cakes, homemade caramels and ice cream. The Cookie Monster cupcake has chocolate cake and buttercream frosting rolled in Oreo pieces. The Buckeye cupcake contains chocolate cake with peanut butter buckeye frosting. Finally, the cookie dough variety comes with vanilla cake cooked around a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough and topped with chocolate chip cookie dough frosting. During the summer, enjoy a root beer float alongside your cupcake or sweet treat.

The Ugly Mug Bar & Grill, formerly Club 33, has plenty of billiard tables to complement darts and theme nights. Enjoy several craft beers on tap and live music every Friday and Saturday from local artists. Bike night happens every Thursday from May through September. Ladies' night happens every Wednesday, sometimes accompanied by live acts.

Hidden Lakes Winery also hosts great live music every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. In the summer months, they have outdoor concerts on the patio, while the indoor venue offers a more intimate setting for musical acts. The winery suggests reservations for live music nights. You can enjoy locally made wine alongside a full menu.

Definitely bring a car to get around the wide-open spaces of Canal Winchester. Streets have sidewalks for cozy evening strolls with your family. Most houses have driveways, so feel free to bike down residential streets without worrying about cars parked on the road. Main, Waterloo and Washington Streets all contain bicycle-friendly thoroughfares. Dedicated bike trails run along Dietz Drive, Waterloo Street and Gender Road.

Drive along Main Street or Waterloo Street west to reach Gender Road. Gender goes north to U.S. Highway 33 in order to reach Columbus. High Street and Washington Street go north-south along the eastern side of the neighborhood. Public places provide plenty of free parking. If your car breaks down and you need a lift, call one of several taxi companies based in Columbus or contact Uber for a ride.

Buses from the Central Ohio Transit Authority route 49 stop along Main Street and High Street as an express route to downtown Columbus. Buses arrive between 6:28 and 7:25 a.m. before returning between 4:39 and 5:29 p.m. weekdays.

Several free parks give residents great excuses to go outdoors. Stradley Place park helps form the centerpiece of downtown Canal Winchester near city hall. Nearby Village Park has a swimming pool and playground for kids. Roger Hanners Recreational Fields provide a place to hit, throw or kick a ball. Walnut Creek Park, near Westchester Golf Course, has wide-open spaces to walk, run or fly a kite. Bring your leashed dog for some puppy play time, or walk with the kids for some exercise.

Every third Friday in May, June and July, patrons listen to live music and see local artists at the Music & Art in the Park event from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The last day of the event in July has a classic car cruise along with a classic rock-style band.

Living costs a little more in Canal Winchester than in downtown Columbus, mainly due to the more-expensive housing options. A one-bedroom apartment typically costs $825 for one month's rent.

A pint of domestic beer costs approximately $2.50 during happy-hour events. Gas prices usually run 2 to 3 percent higher than the national average. A one-way fare on the express bus line costs $2.75, while a day pass on the COTA system goes for $4.50 plus 75 cents for an express route.

Canal Winchester has plenty of high-end and high-value stores for all kinds of shopping experiences. Easton Town Center features national retailers in an open-air market format visited by more than 21 million shoppers each year. Kroger, Walmart and Meijer serve as major supermarkets in the area. The Canal Winchester Farmers' Market runs Saturday mornings from late May to late September in historic downtown.

Georgie Emerson Vintage represents one of Canal Winchester's several antique stores near the downtown area. The shop owners collect pieces from local garage sales and estate sales to find vintage treasures to sell in their shop. Look for antique tablecloths, furniture, dining sets, clocks and dresses on the store's display shelves.

Dill's Greenhouse sells decorative flowering plants, saplings, vegetables, herbs and water garden designs at its facility off Rager Road. See what's blooming every day of the week, and tour the nursery and greenhouse that house more than 500 perennials, 80 herbs and 50 different varieties of tomatoes.