Small businesses earn big business from Ohio State community

Tess Wells
Thu, 07 Oct 2021 00:37:10 +0000
Arts & Life, Best of OSU, food & drink, Instagram Page, adriaticos, alumnus, arts, arts and life, best of ohio state, best small business, best small business close to campus, clothing, clothing underground, favorite small business close to campus, House O’ Music, jameson wagner, josh harden, life, ohio state, Ohio State alumnus, ohio state clothes, ohio state university, osu, OSU gear, pizza, pizza place, small business, small business fashion, the ohio state university, vintage

Clothing Underground is a second hand clothing store at 1652 N. High St. that sells upcycled items, often Ohio State-related. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor

This story was updated July 31, 2022 to appear in the Buckeyebound Edition distributed Aug. 1.?

There are few businesses too physically small to go unrecognized by the Ohio State community, as proven by a clothing store started in a small rented room and a quaint pizza shop.

Voted some of the best small businesses near campus by readers of The Lantern, Clothing Underground and Adriatico’s, despite supplying starkly different products, found beginnings in stereotypical Ohio State small-business fashion: in little dwellings, with the support of college students.

Josh Harden, owner of Clothing Underground, a secondhand clothing store at 1652 N. High St., sells upcycled items, often Ohio State-related. He said eight years ago, the shop started out in a small rented room to the side of a larger record shop, Johnny Go’s House O’ Music.

“[The owner] was able to rent us a little room to the side of his record store to try it out and see how it went,” Harden said. “Like I said, it kind of took off from there.”

Two years later, Clothing Underground moved into its current residence, which is two or three times larger than its original domain, Harden said. With a more accessible location directly off campus and a dedicated fan base, the secondhand store has not only attained popularity, but maintained it as well.

“It’s a very unique store that could only work on these few blocks at this campus,” Harden said. “We have kind of a rabid fan base, and people like to wear different things to each game, and we keep things at a price point that they can do that.”

With a combination of trendy, football-season-friendly items and a location that appeals to students, Clothing Underground found what worked for them and has stuck with it over the years, Harden said.

For Adriatico’s, a pizza place near campus, a marriage of unique flavor and remaining faithful to original recipes is what makes the spot stand out against its competitors, Jameson Wagner, general manager at Adriatico’s and a 2009 Ohio State alumnus, said.

“We have a unique style to our pizza — our sauce is a flavor that I haven’t seen anywhere else,” Wagner said. “We really stress consistency, trying to make the same quality pizza that people had when they were in college 10, 20 years ago. They come back and they like to make sure it’s the same pizza that they remember.”

In similar fashion to Clothing Underground, Adriatico’s switched locations in 2018 to a much larger building nearby at 1618 Neil Ave. However, instead of moving as a deliberate upgrade like Clothing Underground, Adriatico’s had to leave to make way for an Ohio State optometry clinic and office building, according to an article from The Lantern.

Despite leaving its cozy, hole-in-the-wall beginnings, Wagner said the move was good for the pizza place, allowing it to better serve customers as business continues to grow.

“Bigger dining room, bigger kitchen and everything,” Wagner said. “I feel like we’ve really just helped grow the business there and just been able to meet the demand that we have.”

Despite Clothing Underground and Adriatico’s having become popular community staples, with upcycled clothing present at every football game and pizza from the shop around the corner served regularly at Ohio State student organization meetings, Wagner said their appreciation for their customers has never waned.

“Something we strive to do is to be in the forefront of OSU students and employees and everything because, you know, they’ve always treated us well, given us lots of business,” Wagner said. “We just try to have a consistent quality, and it’s great to be recognized that people see that and appreciate that.