Projects take shape along Route 250 between Cadiz and New Philadelphia

The roughly 20-mile stretch of Route 250 from Cadiz to the turn toward New Philadelphia is beginning to take on a more businesslike appearance. Among the newer additions is the Lakeside Store on Cadiz-Dennison Road, which opened three years ago and is now thriving. Owners Kodi and Lawton Brock also launched the Lakeside Resort soon after, offering 16 rental cabins with one more nearing completion.

Kodi Brock said plans are underway to expand the store with a lodge-style dining area, bar and outdoor patio. She said the bar will have a sports-bar atmosphere and operate with a full liquor license, including Sundays. The new dining and bar area will be open seven days a week with hours matching the store. Groundwork is already underway, and Brock said they hope to have the expansion completed by spring, along with new additions to the cabin offerings.

Closer to Cadiz, the former Coultrap’s building has been demolished and the property is under development for a future project, owner Josh McConnell said. He noted it could become another Jefferson Landmark store, but no final decision has been made. For now, construction is focused on a gas station and truck stop. The exterior of the convenience store building is complete, and interior work remains.

“The new-looking building there is the building that’s going to be used for the convenience store and gas station-truck stop,” McConnell said. “And then that building on the far part of the property was the old Easy Top building. We bought it as well.”

McConnell said the second building may eventually house another Landmark-related business, but “there’s no immediate plans for it at this time.” He expects the gas station and truck stop to be operational by the end of the year or early 2026. He also emphasized that the Landmark store on East Market Street in Cadiz will remain open.

“They’ll both co-exist together,” he said.

McConnell said the company handles some lawn mower and tractor repairs and may eventually relocate some of that work to the Route 250 site.

“Obviously, the location is appealing because of the traffic that’s on 250 and the fact that there isn’t anything there between Uhrichsville and Cadiz,” he said.

McConnell purchased the Route 250 property in 2020. When asked why development took several years to begin, he chalked it up to bureaucracy.

“Red tape,” he said. “Anytime you try to build something from scratch it takes time, obviously, especially when it’s something you don’t do every day. And going through the proper channels with the state or governments usually takes time as well.”