Two new businesses are coming to Athens
Fry’d and Bubbles. Photos by Nolan Cramer.
Two new businesses — FRY’D and Bubbles Tea & Juice Company — are scheduled to open in Uptown Athens this semester, both on Court Street.
FRY’D is a new concept restaurant located at 5 N. Court St. centered on fried foods. The goal is to serve the late-night crowd. Cutler said the idea came from a family vacation to Amsterdam.
“These fry restaurants are on every corner and all had lines out the door,” said FRY’D founder and Ohio University student, Myles Cutler. “For this reason, I figured a 70s-themed fry concept would work great in a college town.”
The planned grand opening for FRY’D is Jan. 24.
Bubbles Tea & Juice Company is a Columbus-based company serving smoothies, bubble teas, cold-pressed juice and protein bars that will set up shop at 18 S. Court St.
The Athens location will be the eighth Bubbles Tea & Juice in Ohio. The others are located in the central part of the state. Bubbles scheduled to open this spring.
In the past few years, many other businesses closed on Court Street, including Franco’s Pizza Place, Lady B’s, LOTSA Stone Fired Pizza, Cornwell Jeweler and most recently, Follett’s University Bookstore.
However, this does not concern Cutler.
“I am not sure why other businesses failed, but we are not concerned of a lack of business, nor did it affect our decision in deciding to open in Athens,” Cutler said when asked about other business closures in Athens.
Cutler also added that he plans for the restaurant to have limited hours when the university is on break.
Mollie Fitzgerald, assistant director for the Athens County Economic Development Council (ACEDC), said the ACEDC is excited about new businesses.
“We are always excited to learn of new businesses opening on Court Street, especially given concerns over lower enrollment’s impact on uptown business,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald also noted that the ACEDC does not yet know the impact the new businesses will have on the economy.
“Given that these are population-driven businesses, we don’t have much to comment on since their impact on the local economy will be determined by the number of patrons they have,” she said.
