Columbus chef Josh Dalton- to open riverfront restaurant
The chef behind Veritas and Speck is taking over a prominent Columbus restaurant space.
Josh Dalton, the chef who helped turn High and Gay streets into the new center of dining in Columbus, has been tapped to create a new restaurant in a high-profile, city-owned space on the Scioto riverfront.
The chef and owner of Veritas and Speck Italian Eatery said he plans a Mediterranean menu — it will include influences from southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East — when he opens his yet-unnamed restaurant in the spring of 2026 at 229 Civic Center Drive.
The address is the former home of Milestone 229, which closed Dec. 31, 2024.
Dalton said he was approached by officials from Downtown Columbus Inc., the private, nonprofit agency that oversees Downtown development and programming, to examine the rounded restaurant structure built in 2011 as part of a $44-million transformation of the riverfront from Whittier Peninsula to North Bank Park.
“It’s cool, but I didn’t know what needed to go there,” he said. When the thought came days later of people sitting on the restaurant’s patio, enjoying a summer breeze, sipping gin and tonics, and nibbling on mezze appetizers, he called Downtown Columbus Inc. President Amy Taylor.
“I want that patio to rival anything in Columbus as far as a place to meet,” Dalton said.
What does Josh Dalton have planned for his Scioto Mile restaurant?
The new restaurant has a targeted opening of spring 2026.
Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, who called Bicentennial Park, with its fountain, restaurant and performance stage, “one of my favorite places” in Columbus, said Dalton understands how the space fits into city life.
The chef and restaurateur said he’ll create the restaurant with an eye on accessibility and affordability for everyone who visits Bicentennial Park and the Scioto Mile. Dalton said he will embrace the nearby activity, including children playing in the adjoining fountain.
“We’re not going to put ourselves on this pedestal,” he said. “If you don’t embrace it, it isn’t going to work.”
Taylor said the new Scioto Mile restaurant will take advantage of the city’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area rules, which allow people to buy alcoholic beverages to consume while walking or sitting elsewhere along the riverfront. She said plans for the space include an area of the patio bar specifically for DORA customers.
Other plans include indoor seating for nearly 100. Dalton said the patio will include not just tables and chairs but also “living room setups” for people to feel more relaxed. He said his early thoughts about the food include items such as roasted seafood, pasta, lamb, dips and spreads, and other fare.
Dalton, a native of New Orleans, opened his first central Ohio restaurant, 1808 American Bistro in Delaware, in 2007. He also owns Rosebud’s in Delaware and plans to open a Mexican restaurant called Rosalita’s on Gay Street in Columbus in the summer of 2026.
Dining reporter Bob Vitale can be reached at rvitale@dispatch.com or at @dispatchdining on the Instagram social platform.
Dining and Cooking