It's easy to see what makes this Pickerington bowling alley-restaurant-fun center different.
First, it's the name -- Rule (3).
Then, it's the three inverted bowling lanes, with pins and balls, on the ceiling just inside the front doors.
In fact, the center at 650 Windmiller Dr., off Diley Rd. and Rt. 256, is more than the sum of its parts.
� An 18-lane bowling center filled with candy-colored balls, with 14 lanes in the main area and four behind a wall for private parties.
� An area with 40 video games that also contains two party rooms joined by sliding doors for flexibility.
� A Wii lounge, with about a half-dozen small rooms holding Wii and Xbox 360 machines attached to giant flat-screen televisions, as well as two adult-size adjoining party rooms.
� A separate mini-bowling room with six lanes -- not candle or duck pins, but miniaturized bowling lanes.
� An 80-seat bar with a wall of flat-screen TVs.
� A well-appointed yard, holding three volleyball courts, a patio that can seat more than 50, a fire pit and a picnic area.
� And a 120-seat restaurant, with Etch-a-Sketches and penny-hockey games on each table, and a menu that features food made from scratch and specials that might include fresh diver scallops or, as it did last week, cioppino.
If wrapping your head around the multifaceted concept is difficult, it might be easier if you consider the building blocks of the concept.
Brand developer Brad Circone of Circone & Associates, calls those building blocks "memes" -- bits of culture handed down through generations almost like genes.
Rule (3) co-owners Brian Stoner and Don Smith knew that the memes they wanted to focus on involved "family" and "community." They wanted a space that "celebrates the family" while doing so in the context of the 21st century, the two said recently.
The center itself is designed to appeal to families, with food and fun for all age groups. The community aspect is reflected in a mural of Pickerington life created by photographer Kent Smith that includes images of local athletes.
"Bowling in itself is a meme," Stoner said. He recalls coming up with the idea for Rule (3) -- though not the name -- while sitting with his son at Eastland Lanes.
He met custom builder Smith through a mutual friend, and eventually they sat with Circone and discussed the building blocks of their enterprise. Their collaboration, along with the work of Jeff Glavan of Glavan Feher Architects, has won Bowling Journal International's award as best new center.
Stoner said that, as they spent their $5 million on branding and construction, they weren't looking for a "giant wow, but for lots of little wows."
The restaurant plays the "wow" idea to the hilt. Chef Geoff Cassidy has filled its bistro-style menu with surprising items including "phreads," which are sandwich ingredients wrapped in a soft dough and deep-fried, such as a bacon cheeseburger phread ($8).
There's also a "world tour of fries" ($9), which starts with three different cuts of fries and offers 15 different ways to load them, presenting 5,000 possible combinations, Stoner said. Add to that classics such as Yankee pot roast ($10) and ketchup-glazed meatloaf ($10), and also cinnamon-dusted pork tenderloin ($16).
The entire center is open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The latest Olive Garden restaurant in central Ohio will open its doors at 4860 N. Hamilton Rd., near the Morse Road intersection, at 4 p.m. Jan. 11. It is intended as a replacement for the first Olive Garden, which opened on E. Dublin-Granville Road more than 21 years ago.
The new Gahanna location covers more than 7,500 square feet and can seat more than 240. It is done in the chain's Tuscan farmhouse style, with a rustic stone exterior, and wood beams and stone and wood accents inside. Angela Hoffman-Cromber will be general manager of the unit, the 695th in the Italian dining chain run by Darden Restaurants.
The restaurant will be open for dinner only for the first week, then will begin serving lunch as well Jan. 18. Hours at that time will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Panera Bread Bakery-Cafes in central Ohio sold more than 30,000 pink bagels during their Pink-Ribbon Bagel campaign throughout October, raising more than $7,500 for breast-cancer charities in this area, said Crystal Bevins, Columbus marketing manager for Panera franchisee Breads of the World.
The group also has collected 175 patches for a collection of quilts that are being put together at the Glass Thimble Quilt Shop on N. High Street and will be given to local cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
As well, Bevins said, Panera has collected squares from celebrities such as Jim Tressel, Jack Nicklaus, Archie Griffin and the members of Rascal Flatts, plus Blue Jackets and Columbus Crew players. From those celebrity-donated squares, a special quilt will be fashioned that will be auctioned on eBay in January. To see it, go to www.panera-ohio.com and click on the link to eBay.
� T.G.I. Friday's, 3861 Park Mill Run in Hilliard, closed after lunch yesterday.
� The Dog Joint, 59 S. State St. in Westerville, has turned off the lights and disconnected the phone.
On Restaurants is a weekly column about the restaurant industry. Send tips, information and news releases to onrestaurants@dispatch.com.