Downtown Delaware Ohio Restaurants: What's Changing in Fall 2026
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
Old Bag of Nails Pub will serve its last day in downtown Delaware on Sunday, October 11. That ends a 22-year run at 66 N. Sandusky St. that started in 2004. Its Sunday hours run from noon to 9 p.m., so the final service is Sunday evening. 1808Delaware reported the closing the morning after the company announced it.
The closing is part of a pattern on these blocks in 2026. Several new places opened this year, and the two whose earlier tenants were reported both moved into rooms that already held restaurants: an Indian restaurant in a former fried chicken spot and a wine bar in a former Cajun restaurant. The long-running pub on North Sandusky is leaving over lease terms, and its building is being marketed as a fully built-out restaurant and bar. In downtown Delaware, the names on the doors change while the kitchens, bars and patios stay in place.
The pub's original 20-year lease ran out in 2024, and it has operated month to month since then, according to Columbus Business First as cited by 1808Delaware. The company said it was "unable to reach a long-term agreement with the landlord that would allow us to continue operations."
This is not a struggling restaurant shutting down. Commercial marketing materials rank the Delaware pub fourth in the Old Bag of Nails chain, and the company has said it would come back if the chance arose: "Should an opportunity present itself for an Old Bag of Nails Pub in Delaware in the future, we would be happy to return."
When the pub opened in 2004, most of today's restaurants and entertainment spots along Sandusky Street had not yet arrived. For two decades the pub was a fixed point while the district filled in around it.
The building has been publicly for sale since early 2024, shortly before the original lease was due to expire. As of October 2026, the 1920 building is listed for sale at $1.7 million and for lease at $18 per square foot per year, and the listing was last updated in September. It has 6,651 square feet, a large central bar, a commercial kitchen, an outdoor patio and dedicated parking, all within walking distance of Ohio Wesleyan University.
No replacement tenant has been reported. The materials do describe the space as ready to operate as a restaurant and bar. That matters because the other openings in downtown Delaware this year show what tends to happen to rooms like this one.
Sip n Spice Indian Bar and Grill is at 12 S. Sandusky St., in the building that last housed Mashida Chicken. That Korean fried chicken restaurant opened as 92 Chicken in 2022, rebranded the following year and closed in 2025. Sid Tiwari and Raj Sabherwal own Sip n Spice. They previously ran the Two Fatt Indians food truck for about eight years, and Tiwari told NBC4 the truck "always sold out" when it stopped in Delaware. That track record is why they chose the city for their first restaurant. The menu is larger than the truck's but keeps favorites such as saag paneer and tikka masala, and the space has a full-service bar.
The opening date moved. A July preview from Delaware Source aimed for the end of July, and the August NBC4 report pointed to the first week of September. Neither report confirms the day it actually opened. Its online ordering page currently lists these hours:
Open Btl, a wine bar at 39 E. Williams St., held its grand opening on March 20 in the former J. Gumbos building. Owner John Cordas bought the building, and the purchase depended on one approval. In his words to Delaware Source, "One of the contingencies for us buying this building, actually, was approval from the building department that they would approve a rooftop patio."
No rooftop patio had been approved in the city before, so there was no approval process to follow. The rooftop took five months longer than the indoor space and ground-floor patio. Cordas explained the delay to Delaware Source:
"The city did not have a blueprint for approval of a rooftop patio, so we worked through it with the city to make sure any other future establishments can follow a process and plan."
The building is in the historic district, so the Delaware County Historical Society also helped with the approval to make sure the renovation kept the building's historic features. The patio was scheduled to open to the public in the last week of August. Open Btl's own site now lists it as part of what the bar offers. Cordas has said the rooftop will stay open year-round, weather permitting, with fire pits for colder nights.
That process now exists for any downtown building that tries the same thing, including one with a large patio and a full kitchen on North Sandusky.
Cordas did not stop at the wine bar. Hallihan's Irish Pub at 12 W. William St. began full service on Monday, Sept. 14, after a series of soft openings to test the menu. The Delaware Gazette reports that Cordas also owns Shorty's Pizza and Sandbar Station in Delaware, which puts four of the city's food and drink spots under one operator.
The pub began with a working relationship. Cordas's partner is Mike Barker, owner of CBUS Title Agency, the firm that handled the title work when Cordas bought the Open Btl property. Barker suggested an Irish pub, and the name comes from his family, which has direct roots in Ireland. Family photos hang inside. "We don't have any traditional Irish pubs," Cordas told the Gazette.
Cordas calls the food the main focus. The fish and chips are hand-battered. The house tartar sauce has a Cajun kick, and a regular homemade version is available too. The Reuben is made with corned beef slow-cooked for six hours rather than standard thin deli slices.
Hallihan's opened less than a month before Old Bag of Nails closes, a few blocks away. Sip n Spice and Hallihan's share the number 12, one on South Sandusky and one on West William, so check the street before setting your GPS.
| Address | Current or announced use | Previous use, as reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 66 N. Sandusky St. | Old Bag of Nails Pub | Same tenant since 2004 | Closing after service Oct. 11 |
| 12 S. Sandusky St. | Sip n Spice Indian Bar and Grill | Mashida Chicken, earlier 92 Chicken | Open, hours posted |
| 34 S. Sandusky St. | Espresso Air | Not reported | Opened Aug. 12 |
| 39 E. Williams St. | Open Btl | J. Gumbos | Open since March, rooftop added |
| 12 W. William St. | Hallihan's Irish Pub | Not reported | Full service since Sept. 14 |
Most of this year's changes affect evenings, but one is a morning stop. Espresso Air opened its second location at 34 S. Sandusky St. on Aug. 12. The brand started in Uptown Westerville, where Talip Kucuker opened the first shop, and Eslem Kucuker brought it to Delaware with a shop of her own. Delaware Source lists the menu as lattes, cold brew, teas, drip coffee, matcha, a seasonal tiramisu flavor, coffee cake and pastries from Tulip Cafe.
A coffee shop, an Indian restaurant and an Irish pub now share a few blocks, and Sandusky and William have a wider range of hours than they did a year ago.
The next big downtown weekend is Main Street Delaware's Home for the Holidays, Dec. 4 through 6. The weekend runs past most of the addresses in the table above:
The parade runs along Sandusky Street, the same street as Sip n Spice and Espresso Air. The space at 66 N. Sandusky will be the empty one, with its bar, kitchen and patio still in place.
If you own a building with history, or a home where the original features still do the work, a fitting market story begins with what the place already has. When you want to think through how to present a property like that, Brandon Emmanuel is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
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