Sundae CIA

The popular Short North-born ice cream shop CRMD has opened a brand new Lewis Center location, with a top-secret speakeasy hidden inside

By Melinda Green / Photos by Aaron Massey / Story Design by Atlas Biro

The Coke machine sits quietly in a corner in a brand-new storefront in Lewis Center. Too quietly, in fact. Like it has something to hide. For a while, nothing happens, and it feels a little weird.

And then the Coke machine swings open, and a couple of guys walk out from behind it. Inside of it, in fact.

“Did ya have a good time?” the young man behind the counter asks.

“Yeah!” they exclaim, and exit the store.

When you venture behind that Coke-machine door at the newest CRMD location, you’re transported back some 25 years, to the height of vibrant 1990s style. The long black hallway is laced with trippy, angular spirals of neon orange and chartreuse. At the other end, you emerge into a small, dark room with lucite bar stools, neon signs, inflatable chairs, and Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” pumping on the big screen behind the bar.

What the Lewis Center location of the popular Columbus-born ice cream brand houses is an entire, neon-laden speakeasy. While speakeasies have been trending in recent years, popping up in greater numbers, this one is special.

This one has ice cream.

“So we originally wanted to kind of do something different than most of our locations,” said owner Ben Stoyka. “When we started our brand, we were already aiming to be different than typical mom and pop ice cream shops. That was our main goal, to step outside of that boundary and change it up a little bit while bringing in things that we've experienced traveling and living in the West Coast and Asia and overseas.

“We wanted to have a speakeasy. And when the developers up here came down to our [Short North] store, around summertime of 2020, we kind of saw the opportunity to take that leap.”

It took almost three years to go from those initial talks to actually opening this location in the rapidlygrowing development of Evans Farms. The area is destined to become a walkable community, with housing developments, apartments, a sports park, retail, dining, and entertainment. CRMD is one of the first businesses to open up shop here.

Despite the fact that Evans Farms is still heavily under construction, CRMD’s business is going great. The bar stays open until guests go home or last call, whichever comes first. There are UFC watch parties, and the speakeasy sometimes has to turn away guests because its admittedly tiny 600-square-foot capacity is at its limit.

“We didn't want to bite off too much at once and have it be too big of a space where it doesn't have a high energy level. A small space doesn't take much to get that. We wanted to test the space and make sure it's going to work before going bigger,” Stoyka explained.

The high energy certainly fits with the bright 90s vibe. “We're 90s kids,” Stoyka said. “So, I mean, we’re doing things that we know and like. We didn't want to do a traditional speakeasy because it just wouldn't work with our branding.”

They found a few key design features that they wanted, like the transparent orange and clear inflatable furniture imported from Switzerland. “It's not cheap for something that's inflatable. In a bar, you want it to be durable,” Stoyka said.

And yes, patrons have jumped on the furniture. It’s frowned upon, but Stoyka has a few backup chairs just in case one springs a leak.

The speakeasy is 21 and older, of course, and adults can buy ice cream at the storefront and bring it back. The real treat, though, is the cocktails made with CRMD’s frozen goodness.

Take the espresso martini (a 90s staple, you know). It’s vodka blended with the shop’s Vietnamese coffee ice cream and, with around 90 mg of caffeine, packs a serious punch— perhaps enough to have you shouting along to “Hollaback Girl” on the big screen. Or the sorbet drop, CRMD seasonal sorbet muddled with vodka and prosecco. Or a twist on a Long Island Iced Tea with that same sorbet.

Not all of the drinks have a frozen component, but the truly unique ones do. Still, the most popular cocktail on the menu is an Old Fashioned.

As they continue to find their footing, the CRMD team is looking forward to having fun at Evans Farm—block parties, farmers’ markets, maybe even cornhole tournaments. In such a community, the possibilities are exciting.

“Adding on the bar side of things was another new step for us,” Stoyka admitted. “We didn't come from any bar background, we didn't come from any ice cream background, so it was a learning process. Granted, we're still learning to this day.

“We definitely want to reach as many people as we can and, you know, create an awesome experience that's a little bit different than normal.”

So step behind that delusive Coke machine and see the awesomeness that awaits.

To learn more, visit getcrmd.com