Resident Feature – Stephanie and Craig Dougherty

February 5, 2013 0 Comments

Craig and Stephanie Dougherty

1. What is your full name and its origin, or how was it given to you? Are you named after anyone? Do you have any nicknames?

Stephanie Dougherty (Maiden name Cole) and Craig Dougherty. No real nicknames for either of us, or fun stories about the origin of our names!

2. How old are you?

We will both be turning the big 3-0 this year!

3. Where do you live in Harrison West? Do you own your house or rent?

We own our house on Michigan Ave. and 3rd Ave… right by the Caffe Apropos and Rainbow Cleaners.

4. If you own your house have you done any significant renovations to it? Please describe.

The house was in very good shape with many modern updates when we got it, so we changed some light fixtures and repainted to suit our taste when we first moved in. We are currently in the process of redoing our downstairs full bath. We updated the appliances in the kitchen right after we purchased it and plan to complete a full kitchen renovation in the spring. We also took out our back deck and had a paver patio and cabana installed; we hope to add a fire-pit soon. We also know that there is a fireplace that has been dry-walled over in the living room so we are trying to work up the courage to take that wall down and see what it looks like back there!

5. How long have you lived in Harrison West?

Since March 2010, when we purchased this house.

6. What brought you here (HW) and where did you live before?

We met in Athens, OH at OU and moved to Tampa, FL together after graduation because Craig was offered a job down there (and of course Stephanie said she’d come along to Florida!). We moved from Tampa to Columbus after we got engaged in 2008 to be closer to family; we both had jobs that allowed us to work from home so it made it very easy to relocate. Even though Stephanie grew up in Dublin, she wasn’t familiar at all with the downtown area, but at the suggestion of many friends, we focused on the Short North. We rented at the Jeffrey Metal Works building in Italian Village and then a house in Victorian Village before buying our home in Harrison West.

7. Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Stephanie was born near Los Angeles, CA and grew up in Dublin, OH. Craig was born and raised in Mentor, OH (near Cleveland).

8. How did you end up in Columbus if you are not from here?

When we got engaged, we decided to move back to Ohio from Tampa, and Stephanie convinced Craig that Columbus is the best city to live in (and Craig says Stephanie’s not tough enough for Cleveland anyway).

9. Did you go to college? If so, where and what did you study?

We both went to Ohio University. Stephanie studied Communication with a track in PR and Advertising and Craig studied Business with focus on Information Systems and Finance.

10. What do you do for a living? How did you end up in that occupation?

Stephanie is the VP of Contingent Staffing for Wilson HR, which is headquartered in Tampa, FL. She was offered a recruiter role with Wilson in 2006 after moving to Tampa and fell in love with the industry and has been in various different roles with the same amazing company ever since!

Craig is an Associate at JPMorgan. He is responsible for the overseeing a CRM system and several mobile applications used for the sale of JPMorgan mutual funds. Craig has always worked in roles where he can apply his mix of Information Systems and Finance experience, so when we moved to Columbus, he was excited to be offered that exact type of role with one of Central Ohio’s largest employers.

11. What do you like to do for fun?

We love being outside.. taking walks, riding bikes, going on hikes, and hanging out at all the nearby parks like Goodale and Columbus Commons. Anytime there is a neighborhood/downtown festival or event like ComFest or The Italian Festival, we’re there! We love to travel- anything from weekend road trips to nearby destinations (Athens, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Nashville) to big trips like the one we took to Germany, Italy and France back in October (our photo was taken at Oktoberfest in Munich). We also love Vegas and went there twice last year. Stephanie has an entire room dedicated to crafting– mostly paper crafts like cards and party decorations.. and speaking of parties, we love having friends over for theme parties so that Stephanie can go crazy decorating and making fun food and drink (Cinco De Mayo and Pumpkin Carving are some of our favorites we’ve had). Craig and his brother (who lives in Grandview) spend free time brewing beer together, which Craig can proudly offer to guests from his kegerator. Craig is also on a bowling league. We are also almost always doing some sort of home improvement or redecorating project!

12. Do you have any pets? If so what are they and what are their names?

Yes, we have two rescue dogs, Athena (Jack Russel mix) and Hunter (Black Lab).

13. What do you like about living in Harrison West?

We love Harrison West’s proximity to other great neighborhoods. The walkability is awesome– we never have to drive anywhere, and can walk to all the best restaurants, bars, galleries and shops in the city! We love the fact that there is a neighborhood and community feel yet we are practically right downtown.

14. What are your favorite places to go out? Do you frequent any of the neighborhood businesses?

Stephanie works from home so she goes next door to Caffe Apropos for coffee quite frequently! We also love pizza & a pint night there. We love breakfast from Katalina’s, we play pool at Harrison’s and we absolutely love late night dance parties at Zeno’s on the weekends (Craig’s Cleveland friends will tell you that Zeno’s is their favorite spot in Columbus!). Outside of HW, we love the food at Surly Girl, Basi Italia, Elevator, SideBar 122 and brunch at Lindey’s. On the weekend nights you can probably find us at any of those places along with Mac’s, Woodlands, or the Short North Tavern. We also love exploring The North Market. As you can see we take full advantage of all of the wonderful businesses here!