Good Night John Boy brings the 1970s back to Columbus

Grace DeRolph
Mon, 11 Sep 2023 23:33:35 +0000
Arts & Life, food & drink, Instagram Page, News, 70s, aesthetic, arts, arts and life, Arts and Life at OSU, arts and life desk, Arts and Life in Ohio, bar, club, dance, disco, drink, food, generation, good night john boy, lantern, new, Ohio, ohio state, ohio state university, osu, restaurant, retro, seesaw, short north, The Lantern, university

The lower-level disco ball at Good Night John Boy, located in the Short North. Credit: Grace DeRolph | Lantern Reporter

Those who appreciate 1970s aesthetics can step back in time at Good Night John Boy, one of the Short North Arts District’s newest draws.

The bar’s fourth location — which has recently moved into the vacant space left by restaurant-bar SeeSaw — is adopting a 1970s aesthetic, according to the restaurant’s Instagram. Good Night John Boy aims to offer Columbus residents a nostalgic slice of ’70s life whether they were alive during the decade or not, general manager Max Martin said.

Having opened Sept. 2, Good Night John Boy serves up its own twists on TV dinners, tater tots and Hamburger Helper(s), Martin said. He said the most popular menu items, called Johnny Meals, resemble McDonald’s Happy Meals right down to the box.

“I think you’ll see people walking around the Short North holding these boxes,” Martin said.

While the Johnny Meals offer a familiar sense of a Happy Meal, Martin said it has a distinct flare.

“We’re trying to stick to the theme of nostalgia but also keeping with the theme around in the Short North of food being elevated,” Martin said. “So, although it’s just a cheeseburger, its elevated ingredient is scratch made in the kitchen daily.”

Good Night John Boy’s interior atmosphere — complete with a dazzling disco ball hanging from the ceiling — helps set it apart from surrounding bars or restaurants, Martin said.

“Every single person that walks in this building gets a huge smile when they see the wallpaper, the shag carpet, the light-up dance floor with disco balls everywhere,” Martin said. “It doesn’t matter if there are 10 people in the building or if it’s a fully packed Saturday night, those people are having the time of their lives.”

Jalal Raza, Good Night John Boy’s server lead and an Ohio State alum, said the community SeeSaw garnered over its duration in the Short North has already translated into Good Night John Boy’s client base.

“Before we were John Boy, we were SeeSaw, so we had a nice culture and group of understanding and dynamic between all the people that worked here,” Raza said. “After we became John Boy, it was awesome to see that even though we’re having a new name and a new style of doing, we still have that culture.”

In addition to the now four Good Night John Boy locations operating across the country, Martin said the restaurant-bar is planning on expanding into other cities in the next few years.

“I think this is going to become a nationally known brand,” Martin said.

More information about Good Night John Boy and its various locations can be found on the restaurant’s website.