Welcome to the Table: Westerville’s Potluck

The History Center & Museum at the Westerville Public Library invites you to visit our new local history exhibition: Welcome to the Table: Westerville’s Potluck

In this exhibition, we are exploring how distinctive practices and values surrounding food and drink have coexisted, sometimes peacefully and sometimes with hostility.

We are telling the story of the former Kyoto Tea House & Shrine, with artifacts and photographs. Visitors will cross over a replica of the tea house’s famed red bridge at the entrance of the exhibit.

The exhibit also includes a chance to watch videos with interviews of tea house builders and tour guides, as well as video footage of the former tea house when it was on the site of where Northstar Café is today. It also includes clips from an interview with Dr. Yuko Eguchi Wright who is a Master of Tea Ceremonies. She gives insight in the history and purpose behind tea ceremonies, some of which were performed at the former tea house in Westerville.

We are telling the story of the opening of Thai Grille, as well as Tara Dhungana’s story. Tara is a former Bhutanese refugee who lives in Westerville with his family. He helped open a grocery store in Columbus that offered Bhutanese ingredients not readily available in other grocery stores.

Finally, we are taking visitors back to the 1870s to learn about the Westerville Whiskey Wars. Henry Corbin opened a saloon in 1875 and it was met with mixed feelings as people protested outside the doors of the saloon.

Visitors will have a chance to learn about eight different people from Westerville (1870s through present day) who have varying views about alcohol. See if you can guess what they would be drinking at dinner with a fun interactive!

Hear Tony Cabilovski talk about opening the first brewery in the former “Dry Capital of the World” and the vision behind naming it Temperance Row Brewing Company.

We hope you visit the new exhibit, sign the guestbook, and leave with a souvenir!