BEXLEY, Ohio (WCMH) — A Columbus-based Mediterranean restaurant is expanding in Columbus, including a new spot in Bexley.
Panini Opa has placed a “coming soon” sign in the spot formerly occupied by Anthony’s Pizzeria. Anthony’s abruptly closed in April 2024, and the site at 602 Pleasant Ridge Avenue has been unoccupied since.
Panini Opa first opened at the corner of Sawmill Road and Bethel Road in February 2012. The restaurant describes itself as a “casual fine-dining” spot serving Greek and Italian street food. The menu includes pastas, paninis, gyros, kebabs, and spreads served with pita.
“Greeks and Italians approach food with a combination of seriousness and nostalgia, inevitably thinking back to the dishes they were raised on,” Panini Opa’s website said. “They don’t eat to live but rather live to eat.”
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The restaurant said meals are nearly always social in Greek and Italian culture, and the restaurant centers around the idea of breaking bread together.
Bexley used to have a Mediterranean restaurant not far from the new Panini Opa site. Cafe Istanbul in Bexley closed quietly in June. Cafe Istanbul specialized in Turkish cuisine, but its menu had overlap with many of Panini Opa’s offerings.
State business records indicate the acquisition is somewhat new, with the business Panini Opa Bexley registered on Oct. 2. On Sawmill, the spot also serves beer and wine, but Panini Opa Bexley has not yet filed a liquor license application. The spot has also not announced a timeline for opening.
This marks the second expansion for Panini Opa, which announced it will join North Market Bridge Park shortly before Thanksgiving.
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Dining and Cooking