Until 8 p.m. on weeknights, the bookstore in the brick building just south of Old Bag of Nails Pub will pour you a Zaftig IPA renamed "Unreliable Narrator" to drink among the shelves. This is the 1875 building where Worthington Hardware sold supplies from the late 1800s until about 2014, according to NBC4. Its storefronts have mostly kept daytime retail and café hours. That is changing one storefront at a time, and the timing lines up with a stretch of the year when Old Worthington's calendar moves into the evening.
A building that kept shop hours
The hardware store closed, and the building was split up. City planning records show that in 2015 and 2016 the old Worthington Hardware space was redeveloped for a group of tenants: Grid Furnishings, Igloo Letterpress, Vernacular, Snap Fitness, Bubbles Tea and Juice Co., and COhatch. Most of them were daytime businesses: a furniture showroom, a stationery studio, a boutique, a tea bar, a gym and a coworking space.
The storefront at the south end has its own long history of small, daytime uses. According to the City of Worthington's September 10, 2026 planning record, it held offices in the 1970s and 1980s, then American Traditions retail in the late '80s and early '90s. Fine Lines stationery moved in in 1994, Blue Frost Cupcake in 2010, and Sassafras Bakery ran there from 2013 until 2021. Joya's Café opened in that space in 2022.
The property is bigger than it looks from the sidewalk. It covers 0.93 acres and runs 120.65 feet along High Street and 252.25 feet deep. That frontage holds several storefronts under one roof, and that is why a change in one of them shows up so clearly on the block.
The bookstore that took both floors
The Whispering Page opened at 661 N. High St. on September 3, 2026. Columbus Underground and NBC4 both reported the opening. Sisters-in-law Ashley and Devin McCoy own it, and they took over both floors of the space that last housed Bubbles Tea and Smoothie Bar downstairs and Snap Fitness upstairs.
The bar is the reason this building now has evening hours. The counter pours Florin Coffee and nitro cold brew, along with beer from Zaftig and Wolf's Ridge, including Wolf's Ridge's 614 Lager. It also serves wine sourced through Aardvark, including prosecco. Pastries come from The Little Dot and Mrs. Goodman's. Ashley McCoy explained the idea to NBC4:
"If you wanted to just buy a book, it's really easy to go online and do that. But we think people are coming into The Whispering Page because it's a place to spend time."
The Whispering Page is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Here is how those hours compare with the rest of the building and its neighbor next door, based on each business's posted schedule this fall:
| Storefront | Address | Posted hours, fall 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Joya's Café | 657 High St. | 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Tue–Thu and Sun; 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Fri–Sat |
| The Whispering Page | 661 N. High St. | 10 a.m.–8 p.m. weekdays; 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Sat; 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Sun |
| AR Workshop Worthington | 661B High St. | Scheduled workshops; no fixed walk-in hours listed |
| Vernacular | 661C High St. | 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon–Sat; noon–5 p.m. Sun |
| Old Bag of Nails Pub, next door | 663 N. High St. | 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily |
On weeknights, the bookstore is the only walk-in storefront in the building with posted hours past 6 p.m. Next door, Old Bag of Nails stays open until 9.
Joya's is approved to add dinner
The second change is approved but not yet open. On September 10, 2026, the Worthington Municipal Planning Commission approved chef Avishar Barua's plan to expand Joya's Café from 657 High St. into the neighboring space at 661A, the former Grid Furnishings storefront. WhatNow Columbus reported that the expansion adds about 60 indoor seats and planned dinner service Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. Today Joya's runs as a daytime café.
The city record lays out the physical work. The former Grid entrance will be recessed and made accessible, and the record treats eight more sidewalk seats as acceptable. On the south side of the building, a window will be removed to make room for mechanical equipment, which will sit behind a six-foot fence. COhatch keeps the second floor. The conditional-use approval covers 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Those are the hours Joya's is allowed to keep, not the hours it keeps today.
614NOW reported on September 15 that no construction or reopening timeline had been confirmed, and Joya's has not announced one since. Joya's is named for Barua's mother, Jayasree "Joya" Barua. It is known for a Bengali-American daytime menu, coffee and doughnuts, and it appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2024. Barua also owns Agni in the Brewery District. When the dinner room opens, the building will have two storefronts serving food and drink into the evening under one roof.
Where the evening block fits the holiday calendar
This matters most over the next six weeks because so much of Old Worthington's holiday programming happens after dark. Here are the dated events on and around High Street from Saturday, October 31, through December, along with one at the bookstore:
- Saturday, October 31, 8 a.m. to noon. This is the last outdoor Worthington Farmers Market of 2026, at 649 High St., a few doors south of the building.
- Wednesday, November 4, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Free monthly Book Bingo at The Whispering Page.
- Thursday, November 5, 6 to 9 p.m. Holidays on High, with merchants open late and sidewalk vendors across Old Worthington.
- Saturdays from November 7, 9 a.m. to noon. The farmers market moves indoors to The Shops at Worthington Place, 7227 N. High St., and runs Saturdays through April, according to the Worthington Partnership.
- Sunday, November 29, noon to 5 p.m. The Holiday Open House downtown, with carriage rides, live music and Santa photos.
- Sunday, November 29, 5:30 p.m. The Tree Illumination on the Village Green, at the corner of SR 161 and High Street.
- Wednesday, December 2, 6 to 9 p.m. Worthington Illuminated Shopping, with retailer promotions and sidewalk sales.
Four of these events start at 5:30 p.m. or later, after Vernacular and Joya's close for the day. On those nights The Whispering Page gives the block a warm room to stop in between the sidewalk vendors and the walk home. Holidays on High and Illuminated Shopping both rely on merchants staying open past their normal hours. The bookstore's normal weekday close of 8 p.m. already covers most of either event.
The Sunday events are the exception. The Whispering Page closes at 6 p.m. on Sundays, so on November 29 there is a short window between the 5:30 tree lighting and closing time to stop in. After that, Old Bag of Nails next door is open until 9.
What the bookstore's calendar adds
The Whispering Page says on its website that it hosts author signings, book clubs and special events most weeks. Themed Mystery and Fiction clubs are planned, with start dates still to come. Its October lineup drew partners from beyond High Street. A Dungeon Crawler Carl night ran with Land-Grant Brewing, and an ACOTAR midnight release party sold out, running from 10 p.m. on October 26 to midnight.
That 10 p.m. start runs later than any hours posted by the building's other storefronts this fall. If Joya's dinner room opens with the hours it was approved for, two storefronts in the building will serve until 8 p.m. or later Wednesday through Saturday. After the release party, the next date on the store's event calendar is Book Bingo on November 4.
If you have lived near High Street for years and want to talk about how the storefront changes around you affect your home's place in this market, or if you are thinking about a move within Worthington, the Dedra Lucas Group would be glad to walk the block with you. Let's Connect.
