A piece of downtown Hilliard history has new owners. The Westwood Collective, along with local residents Josh and Angie Smith, has purchased the Main Street building dating to 1875 at 4009-4013 Main Street for $625,000, and they're now fielding leasing inquiries for one of its two storefronts while planning renovations to the aging structure.
The building's other storefront is already occupied by Bee Bubbly, a locally owned drink and dessert shop specializing in juice and bubble tea, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV. The empty storefront spans more than 1,000 square feet and most recently served as a temporary home for Main Street Barbershop. Before that, the space housed Antonio Violins, a violin sales and repair shop, the station reports.
The new owners plan to renovate the property, with work ranging from replacing windows and gutters to updating the interior, per the same report. Westwood expects the building's one-bedroom apartment to be ready before the end of the year, while commercial work on the storefront will begin once a lease is signed.
A Downtown Vision Rooted in Local Ties
Westwood founder Andy Warnock, a Delaware native who now lives in Hilliard and named his company for the street where he grew up, framed the purchase as part of a broader push to shape downtown's future. He said the project is about preserving the character of the downtown while making thoughtful improvements that attract businesses, residents, and visitors, according to the station's report. Warnock also said Josh and Angie Smith share that same enthusiasm for the community, the outlet notes.
Westwood, which is headquartered in Hilliard, already has a growing footprint downtown and in the Old Hilliard area. The company's properties include Ketchum's Garage, a former Chevrolet dealership being repurposed for a local bakery and a local bike shop, and The Shoppes by Westwood, which houses Dragonfly Bookshop, the station's report states. The newly purchased Main Street building sits near Station Park, the site of the former railroad station and the city's original town square, per the same account.
Bigger Plans Taking Shape Nearby
Westwood's ambitions extend beyond this single building. Working with Around The Clock Hospitality, the company plans to convert the vault at the former bank at Main and Norwich streets into a wine cellar as part of a larger redevelopment that calls for 11 apartments along with retail and office space, the station reports. That project includes Lira Italian Kitchen, with the restaurant targeting an early 2028 opening.
Elsewhere in Westwood's pipeline, Harvest Pizzeria is expected to open in the former Legacy Smokehouse building in early 2027, according to the same NBC4 report. The company's track record includes the Junction, an 8,200-square-foot small-business incubator at 5460 Franklin St. in Old Hilliard, where The Columbus Dispatch reported Westwood invested more than $250,000 to renovate a building last occupied by Master Lighting Service and vacated in mid-2020. That project was fully leased, with 15 of its 16 tenants operating, per the Dispatch's report.
For now, the focus returns to Main Street, where the fate of the vacant 1,000-square-foot storefront remains open. Westwood says it is actively taking leasing inquiries, leaving downtown Hilliard watchers to wonder which business might move into the space next to Bee Bubbly inside a building that has stood for a century and a half.
