Grandview Cafe

The Columbus property upon which the Grandview Cafe' sits (Lot 229, 1455 West Third Avenue) was bought for $1 and “other valuable considerations” by Maybelle R. Casbarro in 1924 from Blaine Galloway, an “unmarried man” from California. Casbarro and her sons (Nicholas and John J. Jr.) held the property through the late 1930s. John J. Jr. was the owner of the Jewelry Department in the John J. Carroll Store in Newark, OH. After the Casbarros, the Benua family owned the property from the late 1930s through the early 1990s. The Benuas were active in conservation activities for many years in Fairfield and Hocking Counties. The Benua family donated 661 acres to Franklin County; that acreage became part of Clear Creek Metro Park in Hocking Hills in 1995 and includes Benua Lake.     
Dean P. Close, owned and operated the Grandview Café from from the late 1940s through the ‘70s. Before his restaurant career, Close was a jazz musician who played with many of the big bands of the 1920s through 1940s. Close was listed for 40 years in Who’s Who In American Art and won numerous awards for his art. He retired as director of Fifth Avenue Galleries, Columbus, OH. While Close was Grandview Café owner in August 1949, a fire of undetermined origin caused extensive damage to the walls and burned about one half of the bar in the Café. After various owners and renovations, the Grandview Café was purchased in 2016 by Brian Swanson. Major renovations were undertaken by Swanson, including moving the kitchen upstairs, adding windows along Grandview Avenue, updating bathrooms, adding a staff staircase, and reconstructing the outdoor patio and bar area. Swanson retained ceiling tile, layers of wallpaper, and other features for a nostalgic feel. A late 1800s-era chandelier added to the two-story foyer of the restaurant was resurrected from a Broad Street mansion. Swanson installed vintage suitcase fronts as the base of the bar on the first floor. Unfortunately the old suitcases may have pre-dated flame retardants – many caught fire as the fronts were cut off!  In the 2016 renovation the iconic Grandview Cafe' neon sign from the front (Third Avenue) of the building was moved to the second story back patio.    

Former Grandview Cafe' owner - and accomplished musician and artist - Dean Close.  

Grandview Café has even been memorialized in art (2004). Per the artist “I find it challenging to try and capture how the reflections of lights are distorted and abstracted on the wet sidewalks and streets” (graphic of painting and text from Michael S. McGinn website).

Former Grandview Café property owner, Emily Platt Benua, crossing footbridge over Clear Creek in Hocking County, 1931 (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Digital Photo Archives).

1959 advertisement for Grandview Cafe'.