Resident Profile – Ryan Gannon, 24

Ryan Gannon

By Mary Martineau

Ryan Gannon lives in one of Harrison West’s plentiful rental units on Perry Street. Ryan grew up in Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland, and graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in creative writing. He came to Columbus to find work after friends assured him that “there is no shortage of low-paying jobs in Columbus.” Indeed, Ryan found gainful employment by walking into the North Market and asking around if anyone needed help. He ended up at the cheese shop, Curds and Whey, where, Ryan says, “Mike was kind enough to give me a job.” He has been helping the North Market’s longtime cheese monger for a year and a half now and has recently taken another part-time position with North Market Spices. You can find him in his signature fedora behind the counter at Curds and Whey or making spice suggestions about five days a week.

When Ryan first came to Columbus, he spent time—as many a college grad has—living in a friend’s basement for a month, saving money and getting the lay of the land. Knowing that it’s a nice neighborhood, he walked around Harrison West when he was ready to get a place of his own. He found an apartment that he could afford with a nice view of the Battelle green space. Ryan finds Harrison West to be a very pleasant neighborhood—fairly quiet because it’s removed from High Street, but close enough to the bike path and so many other amenities.

Ryan likes riding, so living right across the street from the bike path suits him well. He is also an avid rock climber. Whenever the mood to scale some vertical surfaces strikes him, he loads up his climbing gear and takes advantage of the “awesome” climbing wall at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, which is due south on the bike path. When posed the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Ryan laughs, “I guess Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is no longer applicable, eh? I guess I’ll go with famous fiction writer. Or maybe traveling folk musician if that doesn’t pan out!” In pursuit of the former (fiction writer, not comic character), Ryan has applied to numerous graduate creative writing programs; he may not be a Harrison West resident much longer if he is accepted at Virginia Tech, Colorado State or the University of Florida. If he needs to fall back on his traveling folk musician option he’ll have to elevate from “diversion” to “serious endeavor” his hobby of strumming the guitar, dabbling in drums and playing the keyboard.

Ryan’s guilty pleasure is “spending too much money on good food,” an inclination that is easily indulged in the Short North, especially for someone who works at the North Market. Ryan’s local favorite restaurants include Basi Italia and L’Antibes, which he describes as “just about perfect.” You can also catch him at Caffe’ Apropos, where all the locals go for Anton’s freshly roasted coffee, to pick up a six pack of beer or a bottle of wine, or to hang out during the seven-day-a-week happy hour. But you won’t recognize him by his hat—that’s strictly work attire! If you would like to read the work of our future famous fiction writer, you can check out a couple of his recently published short stories at http://staccatofiction.com and http://kneejerkmag.com.

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