One of the most prominent original business centers in the central Ohio area is the Grandview Bank Block. Originally called the Grandview Avenue Shopping Center, it was built in 1927 by pioneering retail developer Don Monroe Casto Sr. of Columbus. Casto, once described as "the man who changed the shopping habits of the free world," was a dominant figure in retail commercial development in the Midwest for much of the 20th century; he also built the Town and Country Shopping Center in nearby Whitehall, OH. According to Casto in a WOSU-TV interview, the concept of the Grandview Avenue shopping center grew out of a desire to provide shopping resources in proximity to the rapidly expanding residential areas in Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington.
The development was innovative, responding to a new era that saw the increase in use and importance of the automobile. The mindset of developers at the time was to build shopping venues adjacent to the street, separated only by a sidewalk. To accommodate the automobile, they added on-street parking. According to Casto, this design was insufficient as it wouldn’t provide enough parking for the number of shoppers that he envisioned. So the new shopping center was designed with 30 shops and incorporated 350 parking spaces at the rear, complete with uniformed attendants. Called the nation’s first “strip center”, the Bank Block’s first tenants included several competing national grocers (Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, and the A&P Tea Company).
The current designation as the Bank Block was due to the fact that its anchor tenant was First Citizens Trust, later known as the Ohio National Bank. The 1928 opening received national attention, and included a special appearance by the child actors from the “Our Gang” films (Alfalfa, Spanky, etc.). It enjoyed a great deal of popularity in its early years, attracting Columbus visitors in addition to the strong local following. In 1932, a new owner purchased the property from Casto. After the owner’s death, it went into a trust, which was later transferred to the Cadiz Methodist Church. Primarily because of neglect by the non-resident owners, the block fell into disrepair.
By 1976 only two retail stores remained, a hardware store and an office supply store, and much of the space was used as storage. City officials even considered tearing the eyesore down. Local developers and brothers, Thomas and Michael Wagenbrenner, saw the possibilities of reviving the space. A 1976 Columbus Dispatch headline read “Wagenbrenner Brothers plan to spend nearly $750,000 acquiring and renovating Grandview Heights’ aging "Bank Block” and plan to turn it into a bazaar-type center” that would include restaurants and specialty stores. A crucial tenant was found to provide an anchor to the proposed development, and Chef Hubert Seifert opened the Gourmet Market, which would later become Spagio restaurant. Over the next decade expansion was slow, but the Bank Block eventually returned to its original vibrancy.
The Bank Block was accepted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places for its 70th anniversary in 1998, and with the help of the Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historical Society was the recipient of an Ohio Historical Marker in 2000. It remains the hub of Grandview Height’s commercial sector today.

Grandview Avenue Bank Block looking southwest from the then vacant east side of Grandview Avenue. The lamppost on the left is at the corner of what is now Second Avenue. The Piggly Wiggly grocery store is just to the left of the parked cars.

Frank P. Hall Hardware was a famous Columbus company that operated locally from 1907 until 1972. Hall's main store was located at 115 S. High Street, and at its height the company had 13 stores in the area. Hall's Hardware was an original tenant of the Bank Block in 1927.

Long's Pharmacy, located in the Bank Block at 1275 Grandview Avenue, was a landmark in the years prior to and just after World War II. This 1947 photograph shows a group of Grandview Heights High School students near the front entrance of the local hangout. The drug store had a pharmacy, sandwiches, and a popular ice cream and soda fountain. The facade of the store was removed, and part of the store was eliminated to make way for the breezeway between the front of the Bank Block and the back parking lot. Stauf’s Coffee occupies the remaining portion of the former Long’s Pharmacy space.

Shoppers visit Bank Block stores on a late October morning in 1948.

Stauf's Coffee Roasters has been a tenant in the Bank Block since 1988, offering hand-roasted specialty grade green coffee and other refreshments (photo from columbusunderground.com).

In 1980, Chef Hubert Siefert opened the Gourmet Market as a crucial anchor in the revitalization of the Bank Block; the Gourmet Market would become Spagio in 1989. After 40 years, Spagio closed in 2020, a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic (2017 photo from cityscenecolumbus.com).

Bank Block Shopping Center

Cenci Brothers Market

Krema Nut Company

Ohio Craft Museum

Rife's Market/Sweet Carrot

Star Beacon Products

Wyandotte Market