Mezcla, the buzzy Italian Village restaurant that launched in April 2025, is finally firing the burners back up. After months of repairs triggered by a January car crash that ripped into its front wall, the neighborhood favorite is set to reopen on June 5. The owner and crew spent the spring rebuilding the entrance and reworking parts of the dining room, and regulars from Short North and Italian Village can now start locking in reservations.
Crash and response
The collision hit the corner of Mezcla’s building on the morning of Jan. 23, chewing up the storefront and the interior near the entry. Columbus police arrived around 9:44 a.m., and one person was taken to the hospital in stable condition, according to WCMH (NBC4). Staff later shared photos and video of the wrecked doorway, and the restaurant announced it would close while the structure was repaired.
Reopening plans
Mezcla's site now features a clear message: "REOPENING June 5th, 2026" alongside a note that reservations are live. Owner and executive chef Garrett Talmage told Columbus Monthly that hunting down certain materials, especially a replacement door, stretched the construction timeline. He added that the team used the downtime to make a few modest layout tweaks in the dining room. Talmage has also been developing a nearby cocktail-focused concept called Coldbar while the main restaurant was on pause.
Community support
In the weeks after the crash, Mezcla launched a GoFundMe with a $50,000 goal to help cover staff support and recovery costs, local reporting noted. Community events and online donations helped carry the team through the closure; coverage estimates that the drive and related fundraisers brought in roughly $15,000 for employees, according to Columbus Navigator. Service Bar hosted one of the benefit weekends, giving Mezcla’s staff a financial boost while the doors stayed shut.
Broader pattern
The crash at Mezcla is far from an isolated incident. It is one of a series of vehicle-into-building collisions around Columbus in recent years, a streak that local journalists and TV outlets have been tracking closely. One culture reporter tallied dozens of such crashes in 2025 alone, sparking renewed questions about safety along busy commercial stretches. WCMH (NBC4) and other local outlets have documented both the incidents and the debates that followed.
As for Mezcla, the plan is to pick up where things left off. The restaurant says it will return with its familiar small-plate Latin menu and a few subtle layout changes. In a recent social announcement, the team wrote, "We will officially reopen June 5th, and we're ready to welcome everyone back," local outlets reported. Reservations are now available through the restaurant’s website and its regular booking link.
