The exterior of Fox in the Snow’s Italian Village location, which was named best cafe in The Lantern’s 2025 Best of OSU special edition. Credit: Helena Hennessy | Arts & Life Senior Writer
Inside a warmly lit cafe, covered in vibrant greenery and rustic furnishings, resides a staff that feels more like family.
Fox in the Snow — a bakery and coffee shop located at 1031 N. Fourth St. — was voted best cafe by 518 Ohio State students and community members for The Lantern’s 2025 Best of OSU special edition.
While the shop has five locations around the greater Columbus region, the Italian Village location was the first. According to its website, Lauren Culley and Jeff Excell opened their doors in 2014. The business partners focused their brand on baked goods made in-house, sun-lit spaces and a tone of authenticity.
In the decade that has passed since those simpler times, Fox in the Snow has only grown — both as a business and a staple within the local community.
Gabriel Morales, assistant general manager of the Italian Village location, said the environment has consistently evolved over the past seven years he has worked at Fox in the Snow.
“I started as a barista, and then I got a promotion to be — at that time, it was a ‘shift lead’ — and we have since reconstructed,” Morales said.
In one word, Morales said the best way to describe the cafe’s environment is “fast-paced.”
“We have a really good combination of everyday regulars in our neighborhood, as well as a huge amount of customers that it’s their first time coming in,” Morales said. “During the week, our main business, I feel like, is either students or everyday regulars.”
Morales said Fox in the Snow’s consistent quality of its coffee and baked goods and reliability through their patronage is what makes it a staple in the campus area.
For example, Morales said the shop does not label their pastries. This move is intended to spark deeper conversation between staff and customers — forming relationships one transaction at a time.
Morales said his favorite part of his daily work life is getting to work alongside the rest of the staff.
“We have a lot of people that — kind of like myself — have worked here for a very long time [and] can do a really good job of having a good relationship with our regulars,” Morales said. “[The staff is] also [good at] being really welcoming and educational for people that haven’t been out before.”
Morales said though many staff members at Fox in the Snow pride themselves on being veterans of the business, new hires also contribute to the shop’s ever-changing environment.
Savanna Armstrong, a barista who has been working at the Italian Village location for a little over a month, said she and her partner recently moved to Columbus, and Fox in the Snow stood out to her amidst her job search.
“I managed a coffee shop back home, so I was kind of just scouting the local coffee shops,” Armstrong said. “I heard like, a million good things about [Fox in the Snow].”
Armstrong said she was drawn to the cafe in particular because of its earthy yet rustic aesthetic, the quality of their beverages and the work environment.
“I’m a big plant person,” Armstrong said. “That really helps. The coffee’s good. I enjoy matcha too — their matcha’s good — and just the people, everyone is so friendly here.”
Armstrong said the shop sees a lot of college-aged clientele, and she believes the inviting atmosphere is what keeps them coming back.
“Even when I started, everyone was so welcoming, so nice and just so friendly,” Armstrong said. “I think that really helps, especially with the engagement of customers.”
In house, Armstrong said the shop succeeds in maintaining the happiness of their employees.
“Having a good retention for employees is important, and from what I’ve understood [by] getting to know everyone here, I’m the newest employee as of a year-and-a-half,” Armstrong said. “That spoke really well to me, because that says a lot about a business — how long the employees stay.”
In reflecting on what it means for Fox in the Snow to receive the honor of “best cafe,” Armstrong went back to the people, as well as the quality of their coffee.
“When coming here to work, I really was trying to find a place that strives on the product that they’re sending out and the care that goes into it,” Armstrong said.
Morales echoed this sentiment, and said he feels grateful that Fox in the Snow is a hallmark of the Columbus local business community.
“I’m glad that the students and people of [Ohio State] like coming here, because they’re such a big part of our business,” Morales said.
