Old Hilliard Bank Building Becomes Lira Italian Kitchen

Hilliard developer Westwood Collective is converting the former Chase Bank building at 4056 East Main Street into Lira Italian Kitchen, a full-service restaurant from the owners of Clocktower Kitchen and Bar, with a new mixed-use building planned next door that will add ground-floor retail and luxury apartments above.

A Historic Bank Building Gets New Life

Hilliard's Downtown Manager, Angela Zody, and Westwood Collective founder Andy Warnock announced the project through the City of Hilliard on June 5, 2026. The plan keeps the original Chase Bank building intact, repurposing its old vault as a wine cellar for the new restaurant, according to the City of Hilliard. Preserving the building's brick facade and teller-era details, rather than demolishing it, was part of what drew the developer to the site in the first place.

Who Is Behind the New Restaurant

The restaurant is a project of Around the Clock Hospitality, the group behind Clocktower Kitchen and Bar in Plain City, according to 614NOW. Owners Benjamyn Greig, Jenna Fisher, Shane Whitacre and Chelsea Whitacre are planning a menu built around handmade pasta and wood-fired dishes, along with European wines and craft cocktails served from the old vault. "Our goal is Lira to feel like the kind of restaurant that becomes part of the neighborhood," said Greig, one of the owners.

New Apartments Planned Next Door

Westwood Collective also plans a new mixed-use building on the site's adjoining parking lot, with ground-floor dining and retail space and a limited number of luxury apartments above, according to WhatNow. The project is expected to increase parking capacity compared with the current lot, addressing a common complaint about Old Hilliard's compact Main Street district.

When Lira Could Open

WhatNow reports an opening target of 2028, though the City of Hilliard says exact timelines will be announced as plans move forward. Westwood Collective has led several other projects in Hilliard, plus developments in London and Plain City, Ohio, according to WhatNow, giving the firm a track record other Main Street property owners can point to when weighing their own renovation plans.

Why Old Hilliard Keeps Its Landmarks

Downtown Manager Angela Zody called the project "a tremendous investment in the future of Downtown Hilliard," according to the City of Hilliard. The redevelopment follows a broader pattern in Old Hilliard, where developers have reused historic Main Street buildings rather than replacing them, betting that shoppers and diners are drawn to storefronts with visible history rather than new construction.

What It Means for the District

Adding housing above ground-floor retail is also a small step toward the kind of walkable density that Central Ohio suburbs have been slower to build than the urban core. A restaurant that reuses a landmark, paired with new apartments next door, gives Old Hilliard both a dining draw and a few more residents within walking distance of it.

For more on Hilliard's ongoing redevelopment, see CREN's coverage of Hilliard real estate and Central Ohio dining and lifestyle news.