PJ’s Grill, located at 15 E. Frambes Ave., closed its location in September. The restaurant was known for its oversized sandwiches and late-night food popular with students. Credit: Jacob Jolliff | Campus Senior Writer
PJ’s Grill, a longtime restaurant near Ohio State’s campus, has closed its location at 15 E. Frambes Ave. as plans for a proposed University District development expand to include the building that housed the restaurant.
The closure follows Texas-based developer RPM Living’s proposal to build a seven-story apartment and retail development near North High Street and East Woodruff Avenue. Earlier plans for the project did not include the buildings housing PJ’s and a neighboring Donatos Pizza, until they were updated..
According to the University Impact District Review Board records, the proposed development calls for 228 units, 866 beds and 4,000 square feet reserved for retail locations, which includes a coffee and juice bar.
For Ohio State students who frequented PJ’s, the closure means losing a familiar dining option near campus. Known for its oversized sandwiches with creative and unconventional names, the restaurant offered combinations of meats, fries, tater tots and other toppings, along with burgers, wings, gyros and wraps.
Jacob Sidorczuk, a third-year in construction management, said he first discovered PJ’s while walking along High Street and later visited the restaurant after nights out.
“I was very upset,” Sidorczuk said of the closure. “It was a spot that me and my fraternity brothers would go after a night out.”
Sidorczuk said he learned about the closure through word of mouth and a TikTok video showing someone taking the PJ’s sign for themselves.
Although he said the closure does not leave any major gaps in the campus food scene because students have other options, Sidorczuk said PJ’s had a distinctive identity. He compared its sandwiches to Dirty Frank’s, a restaurant known for its unconventional combinations of items on hot dogs.?
“I got french fries and tater tots on the same sandwich,” Sidorczuk said. “There’s definitely some interesting stuff. It’s kind of like a Dirty Frank style of a sandwich place.”
Sidorczuk said he was not surprised that the building could be replaced by apartments, describing the redevelopment as part of broader changes taking place around campus. Still, he said PJ’s offered an experience that was difficult to replicate.
“It definitely had its unique take on a sandwich,” Sidorczuk said.
Abbey Gunn, a fourth-year in health sciences, said she visited PJ’s about once a month and regularly ordered the “Fat Bitch,” a sandwich containing buffalo chicken, mozzarella sticks, mac and cheese bites and fries.
“I think it stands out because it’s not a chain restaurant, which I really like,” Gunn said. “It’s kind of just local to OSU.”
The closure has added to Gunn’s concerns about local businesses being replaced by apartments. This March, The Little Bar was demolished and the site was replaced by a multi-story housing development, per prior lantern reporting.
“I understand the need for apartments, but closing down local businesses like that is upsetting to the college crowd and me too,” Gunn said.
Gunn said she expects nearby restaurants, including Sicilia Fine Italian Specialties and Buckeye Donuts, could attract some of PJ’s former customers, but said the restaurant’s absence is still noticeable.
“I walk past it every day when I’m walking to classes and I see the lights off and the chairs still stacked in there,” Gunn said. “So, I definitely think there is a gap in the local campus food scene.”
The closure comes as redevelopment plans for the University District continue to evolve.
In January, the Ohio Staters apartment and nearby Dunkin Donuts, located at 2060 N. High St., were to close as a part of the redevelopment plans. At the time, the plans presented for the project indicated that PJ’s and Donatos would not be affected, per prior lantern reporting.
The updated proposal expands the project’s footprint to include the former PJ’s building, while the building housing Donatos remains outside the demolition area, according to the University Impact District Review Board records.
The city of Columbus lists the project’s certificate of approval application as “continued” in its planning records. This status indicates that consideration of the application has not been finalized. The city record does not by itself establish that the project has received final approval.
The Lantern contacted the project applicants seeking clarification about why the plans expanded to include PJ’s, but they did not respond in time for publication.The Lantern also contacted the owner of PJ’s seeking a comment on the closure but did not receive a response in time for publication.
The reasons for PJ’s closure have not been independently confirmed by The Lantern.
