North High wins Community Partner award for hosting Westerville Farmers Market

The North High Westerville Taproom stepped up for the Westerville community this year, and the restaurant’s peers noticed.

North High’s Westerville location was honored with the statewide Community Partner of the Year award from the Ohio Restaurant Hospitality & Alliance, during the Alliance’s annual awards banquet held Dec. 8 in north Columbus.

The Community Partner award was for North High and its neighboring COhatch coworking facility, volunteering to host the Westerville Saturday Farmers Market in 2025, when the Westerville City Hall construction project left the Market without a home.

Owners of the 2.3-acre campus that hosts both North High Westerville Taproom, 250 S. State St., and COhatch Westerville, in the fully renovated Westerville Armory building at 240 S. State St., offered their site as a new home for the Market.

Uptown Westerville Inc., the nonprofit coalition that runs the Market, gladly accepted.

North High Westerville Head of Restaurant Operations Brad Guy and Tyra Pouncy, now General Manager of North High Brewing Dublin, attended the Dec. 8 awards banquet to pick up the hardware, at the Villa Milano Banquet & Conference Center.

“Tyra and I attended the awards dinner last night and were excited to accept (the award),” Guy said on Dec. 9.

“This is a significant honor for both North High Brewing and COhatch Westerville. It means so much because it reflects the values we hold closest: community, collaboration, and hospitality.”

Lynn Aventino, Executive Director of Uptown Westerville Inc., congratulated North High on the award.

“North High and COhatch stepped forward at a critical moment for our community, ensuring the Farmers Market could continue without interruption,” Aventino said. “Their willingness to lead with solutions exemplifies the kind of partnership that strengthens Uptown and supports local farmers and small businesses.”

With the City Hall construction project stretching into a second year – and its rear parking lots remaining unavailable to host the Market well into summer 2026 – the Market will remain on the North High-COhatch campus for its 2026 season.

The Westerville Saturday Farmers Market brings Central Ohio grown food and farm products to the Westerville community from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. The 2026 season will take place, rain or shine, from May 16 through Sept. 26.