Everal Barn Closes For Renovations - The Grape Report

Everal Heritage Preserved

Renovation work has begun at the Everal Barn at Heritage Park, with security fencing now installed around the late-19th-century structure, a historic Westerville landmark and event venue.

The Everal Barn and Homestead closed March 1 for the project, and reservations will not be accepted through the winter of 2027, according to the city of Westerville. The city said future availability dates are subject to change.

Planned renovations include adding insulation to the barn’s original interior, which currently has none, along with upgrades to plumbing, HVAC and lighting, new interior finishes, and changes to the ground-floor warming kitchen. The insulation is also expected to help reduce traffic noise from nearby Cleveland Avenue.

The project marks a new phase in preserving one of Westerville’s best-known historic properties. The Everal Barn was built in 1896 as part of the John W. Everal farmstead, which grew out of the success of Everal’s tile-making business in Westerville in the late 19th century.

A Carpenter Gothic-style bank barn, the structure is known for its octagonal tower, with its spiral staircase, and originally had a 1,000-gallon water tank supplied by a windmill. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains an important part of Westerville’s agricultural and industrial history.

The barn underwent a major preservation effort in 1999, when it was moved 40 feet east to make way for the widening and extension of Cleveland Avenue. It was then placed on a new foundation, helping secure the structure for continued use.

The site later became a public venue, and the barn has since hosted weddings, reunions, parties, and other gatherings.

The latest renovation project is intended to preserve the barn’s historic role while improving its function as a community event venue.

The Green Grape Report

Food Review by Gary Gardiner

Walmart - Schrock Road

Price – $1.79 a pound.
PLU Code – 4022

The Review

This is the perfect time of year for South American grapes. They are at their ripest now and well suited for the long trip to Westerville, arriving with the kind of sweetness and snap that make late winter feel a little less dreary.

This week’s grape report found what seemed to be the same type of grapes at every surveyed grocery store. At least on the surface, all of them had PLU code 4022 and were priced at $2.49 a pound or more, except for Walmart. That gave the field an unusually uniform appearance, with little to differentiate one store’s grapes from another by label, look, or price.

Choosing which grapes to buy therefore came down to price. All the grapes appeared to be the same variety, and according to one person who taste-tested them all, they seemed to taste about the same. On that basis, Walmart was the obvious choice, with its $1.97-a-pound price being lower than the others.

Repeating a point from several weeks ago, Walmart’s sweet grapes again carried PLU code 4022 and sold for $1.97 a pound. They also came in a more distinctive bag labeled “Premium Green Grapes - Sweet and Crunchy,” under the brand name Amazz!ng and the tagline “The Extraordinary Taste.” Even so, the week’s conclusion was less about branding than about sameness: when the grapes looked alike, carried the same code, and seemed to taste alike, the lowest price determined the choice.

The Grape Report has also added a new tool to its growing lineup: a fruit sclerometer. That sounds a little like something borrowed from a 19th-century lab, but its job is simple enough. It measures fruit firmness, maturity, and ripeness by testing the force needed to puncture the pulp. In practical terms, that means the report can now provide a more precise statement than “these grapes seemed crisp.” From now on, the grapes will be judged not only by weight, size, and sugar content but also by a measured reading of their crispness, giving the report a clearer understanding of what separates a merely decent grape from a truly excellent one.

Walmart on Schrock Road is part of the Minor Triad of grocery stores, along with Kroger and Marc’s. The Major Triad consists of Meijer, Kroger, and Market District, positioned on the three corners at State, Polaris, and Maxtown. Aldi remains classified as an outlier because it is in Blendon Township and south of I-270. Fresh Thyme is also classified as an outlier because it sits on the other side of Alum Creek, with its backside touching Columbus.

The grapes sold this week probably traveled from Peru to Westerville through a route like this: harvested in Peru, packed and chilled at the source, loaded into refrigerated containers, and shipped by boat to the U.S., then transported by refrigerated truck to Walmart’s regional distribution center in Grove City, Ohio, before making the final trip to Westerville.

In other words, this week’s grape story wasn't about mystery or surprise. It was about abundance, consistency, and a clear deal. The grapes had traveled far, arrived in good shape, and ultimately, the simplest rule applied: when everything else is roughly equal, buy the cheaper grape.

This Week’s Grape Data

● Weight - 8.5 grams from an average of 10 grapes
● Size - 31x25mm, again from the average of 10 grapes
● Sugar - 23.1%
● Crispness - 55 on the sclerometer

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