Gay Street will be dug up a block at a time through the end of 2027, but Downtown Columbus Inc., the nonprofit behind the Capital Line, would like to encourage you to keep eating and shopping there anyway. Downtown Columbus Inc. and Experience Columbus has launched the free Downtown Discovery Pass. It covers 20 businesses in the Gay Street District, and it runs through September 30th, 2027.
The Capital Line is a two-mile walking and biking path that will eventually run through downtown, and Gay Street is the stretch being built now. Construction moves block to block, so at any given time one stretch is open and the next one is fenced off. Sidewalk access to the storefronts will stay open during all construction.
How the rewards work
Sign up at experiencecolumbus.com/discovery-pass and check in on the pass each time you visit a participating business. Check in at least once in a month and you’re entered in that month’s drawing for a $50 gift card to one of the businesses. Beyond that, the rewards come at two milestones:
- Eight check-ins earn a $25 gift card to a Gay Street business plus an 11-by-17 art print.
- Twelve check-ins earn a tote bag.
The print and the tote both carry a watercolor of downtown by Columbus artist Fiona Miller. Prizes are picked up at the new Columbus Welcome Center at 625 N. High St.
The 20 businesses
Restaurants make up the biggest group: Aracri Pizzeria, Barroluco Argentine Comfort Food, Chouette, Cinco, Hank’s Low Country Seafood, Lexi’s on Third, The Ringside Cafe and Three Bites Bakery. Accent Wine and The Citizens Trust are places to grab a drink. Chaos Contemporary Craft, Hammond Harkins Galleries and Yao Cheng Design are the galleries. The shops are GlamazonJayne Fashion & Footwear, The Peanut Shoppe, Restalgic and zerOz. Magic Escape Room, Le Masseur & Co. and Juvly Aesthetics fill out the list.
What the street will look like for the next year
The schedule on the Capital Line site has the Front-to-High block reopening in December 2026. High to Pearl is under construction from November 2026 to March 2027, Pearl to Third from March to July 2027, and Third to Fourth from July to November 2027. Each block reopens as it’s finished, which means the last one comes back about two months after the pass ends.
When it comes to parking, the Fourth & Elm garage at 78 N. Fourth St. runs $1 an hour for up to three hours with validation, but only businesses that signed up for the validation program can stamp your ticket, so ask before you pay.
“Small, local businesses are at the heart of Downtown, and supporting them is especially important as we move through the construction phase of the Capital Line,” Downtown Columbus Inc. president Amy Taylor said in the announcement.
One more detail worth knowing: the monthly $50 drawing only needs one check-in, so a single lunch on Gay Street gets you into that month’s drawing.
