Former Ohio State All-American scores in commercial real estate market

Just days after being cut from the Cincinnati Bengals and retiring from the NFL in 2009, former Ohio State University All-American Mike Doss was at a crossroads. At 28, Doss had no clear direction as to what life would look like outside the game of football.

While some remember him as a standout Buckeye defensive player and a key member of the 2002 National Championship team, Doss was burdened with the pressure many athletes face upon retirement: how to redefine their identity.

"I basically put my hands up and was like, 'Man, I'm burnt out,'" Doss said in a recent interview. "This thing is stressful, just not knowing your next paycheck or your next move and being able to provide for my family. The economy was down and everything was down.”

For nearly nine months, Doss tried to map out what the next phase of his life would look like. Instead of training throughout the summer to prepare for a grueling 16-game regular pro season, Doss sought out opportunities that aligned with his passions, finally settling on marketing and sales.

The Canton native returned to Columbus and took up jobs in medical sales, where he sold medical implants and assisted surgeons with operational equipment for Zimmer Biomet and worked for Johnson & Johnson as a product manager.

While he enjoyed working in sales, Doss said he always had an affinity for real estate. The 39-year-old had rented out subsidized and Section 8 housing, but was often restricted from bigger deals due to his scattered work schedule.

In the fall of 2019, Doss decided to make the transition to real estate full-time after meeting Bob Weiler and his son, Skip, who head the commercial real estate giant The Robert Weiler Company. 

"I was getting to a place where I wanted to make a larger investment, and then, once I crossed a certain threshold, it would become my lifestyle," he said. 

Set to graduate with a master's degree from OSU's Business of Operational Excellence program in December 2019, Doss shadowed Skip Weiler for months to gain more insight into the corporate real estate market.

Doss received his real estate license and began working for the Robert Weiler Company in March, where he's quickly become a bright spot in the office.

"The important things is he wants to learn and has experience selling," Bob Weiler said. "I said if you can sell to doctors, you can certainly sell to entrepreneurs."

Weiler said Doss has added a "calm and gentle approach" to the office and is already closing deals and generating high-profile leads.

"He's fit in beautifully with the rest of us," he said.

Following a quarterback's example

Former OSU and NFL quarterback Bob Hoying made a similar transition to commercial real estate. After six seasons in the league, he partnered with Brent Crawford to form Crawford Hoying in Dublin, where he guides the company's $750 million in new development business.

Like Doss, the former third-round pick was thinking about life after football following his final season in the NFL in 2000.

He began investing in properties during his playing days, setting the ground for a second career that's spanned 20-plus years. Still, Hoying said he was saddened by the thought of leaving the game he loved and having to start a new career. 

"Even though I had an avenue, there's a point where you realize your football career is over with," he said. "You go through mild depression and then it's all over; you're still trying to find what's next in life."

Having had the same experience, Hoying said he's proud of the strides Doss has made and is confident he will be successful in his new role. 

Family rules

Since working under the Weiler family, Doss says he's embraced the importance of growing in true business and expanding his brand to establish a legacy outside the game of football, one he can pass on to his wife, Jasmine, and three daughters Cadence, 3, Jordan, 6, and Mariah, 8 and younger brother, Anthony Kirk Jr., 18.

"It afforded me a good lifestyle, but I wanted more time with my family ... I decided to go all in, so that was it," Doss said.

Doss said he's looking forward to the challenges that come with commercial real estate, especially with him being one of the few minorities in the business. But knowing there's a family atmosphere at the Weiler Company, there hasn't been overwhelming pressure to learn on his own.

"Having that team around me has made a world of difference, versus being an individual agent trying to find my way," he said.

But Doss said the initial move to real estate wasn't without its struggles. He and others have faced the same challenges surrounding COVID-19, which has gravely affected the economy and prompted local businesses to shut down their offices and shift to virtual work spaces.

Still, Weiler said the three-time All-American has had early success due to his past experience in sales and connections as a local fixture among residents and die-hand Buckeye fans. 

Like former OSU football player and two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin, Weiler said Doss' name garners the same attention from prospective buyers.

"I hope and pray that added value is that I'm a local," Doss said. "One of my good friends calls me the small-town celebrity.'

Doss credits his wife for supporting him through the various obstacles and shifts he's made in his life and career.

"She held it down and gave me the support to search for something I liked," he said of Jasmine. "The opportunity to look hard and soul search and pray spiritually so God can point me in the right direction.

"She was the rock even when she didn't want to be." 

Jasmine, 39, who's known Doss since they were both 12, said she's remained by his side in the face of adversity. During times of uncertainty, she gives him positive reinforcement and challenges him to further pursue his passions. And while the real estate industry is a large undertaking, she's confident her husband will continue flourishing in the new role. 

"Where we come from, you're always behind the 8 ball," Jasmine Doss said. "The first expectation is that you're not going to make it, that you won't be successful and if you do anything other than that it's a surprise. I think that's always going to be a driving factor behind everything he does."

As he transitions to another phase in his personal life, Doss said he's focused on building a legacy so his daughters and brother won't have to struggle like he did. 

"I'm just going to continue climbing that ladder of hard work, education and perseverance to really build something for myself and my family, so hopefully my daughters won't have a need."

– The Columbus Dispatch

Changing of the Guard: Camelot Cellars undergoes a rebrand that mirrors the community it serves.

When Renard Green took over as owner of Camelot Cellars in early March, he knew a change was fitting for the 15-year-old wine bar. Nestled inside Olde Towne East, Camelot has now become a thriving urban château, a far cry from its previous look and feel.  

Before Green acquired the local spot, Camelot was known for its deep-rooted Italian influence, even winning 41 medals in national and international wine competitions. Through numerous ownership changes, Camelot largely took up the same décor and style, offering classic Italian dishes to pair with its stockpile of imported wines.  

But the new owner wanted to veer away from the stylings of conventional wineries. Instead, Green swapped out charcuterie boards and chandelier-filled ceilings for vibrant lights, a blaring hip-hop and R&B playlist and a menu filled with Southern comfort favorites such as collard greens, gumbo, po’boys and sweet potato cake. 

“People are looking for places that are culturally different and give them a chance to experience that culture,” Green says. “And I think that’s what we’ve tried to do with Camelot that’s very specific to us.”  

The drink menu also features a number of variations, favoring a list of fruit-forward and semi-sweet white wines and dry reds.  

The Exotic Fruit White Zinfandel is a blend of passion fruit and fresh ripe berries, making for a unique pairing with smoked chicken wings. The New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, filled with aromas of gooseberry, herbs, pink grapefruit, lime leaf and other tropical flavors, aims to satisfy your taste for ocean-deep seafood, while the Chocolate Raspberry Port serves as a bold dessert wine.

Wines continue to be made on premises, but Camelot now offers a make-your-own-wine program good for groups looking to mark down bottles under their own custom label. And with the insertion of a full-scale liquor bar with tropical cocktails and domestic and craft beer options, the winery has become a more well-rounded late night social space. Fan favorite, the Blacker the Berry, is made with fresh blackberry juice, rosemary simple syrup and a dash of blood orange bitters.

Patron Tyler Armstrong, who’s lived in the Olde Towne East area for seven years, says walking in the rebranded winery was a completely new experience. “It’s very innovative,” he says. “It’s a nice twist on a traditional winery, and it may be what more wineries look like in the future.” 

Green, who’s worked as a business consultant for 13 years, took up the ownership role from previous owner Janine Aquino, whom he helped advise while she ran the long-standing winery.  

He wanted to create an environment that reflected his interests and truly felt like a Black-owned business, prompting the official switch to Camelot Cellars Urban Winery.  

He also recognized the potential for additional revenue streams. Green stepped in with a new mission in mind: making it four businesses in one. Instead of solely relying on in-store sales, the new owner has focused on distribution, high quality service and making the venue a backdrop for events. The winery now hosts Wine Down Wednesdays, Fish Fridays and live musical performances throughout the week. “There’s a lot that can be maximized, and until I maximize all of it, then I’ll think we aren’t making any money. We got a bunch of different stuff we can do there,” Green says. 

But just weeks after he acquired the long-standing bar from Aquino, the business faced restrictions due to the COVID-19 outbreak, forcing Green to rely on carryout and wine sales for nearly five months. When they weren’t taking in orders from Postmates, Green and his girlfriend made deliveries with “two bottles of wine and some hope” to keep the business afloat. 

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, the winery resumed dine-in on Aug. 29. Green says the reopening speaks to his hustle, a mindset that’s desperately needed during these times. “In COVID, you have to have 35 hustles,” he says.  

Outside the effects of the coronavirus, Green says the biggest transition has been adjusting expectations. Camelot’s rebrand has been met with criticism from longtime patrons, many who still favor the more traditional set up. Coupled with state-mandated limitations in occupancy, access to funding and drops in revenue, the winery has yet to reach its true potential due to these unprecedented times, Green says. “We’re still in the middle of a pandemic, let's be clear. What you’re seeing from my business is only 40 percent of what we could do, so think about how that changes revenue.” 

While receiving pushback from former customers, Marlon Platt and other area business owners have embraced Camelot’s new direction. Platt, co-owner of Our Bar & Lounge, which sits across Oak Street from the urban winery, met with Green to help ease his transition into the historic neighborhood. After the two men connected, they held a collaborative brunch event as a part of their growing partnership. “I’m all about community support,” Platt  says. “The fact that their business is in the same neighborhood as mine, I kind of already know the stuff that he’s going through with trying to grow and develop the business as a Black business owner.”  

Platt says Camelot stands out because it mirrors the people that frequent the area’s latest developments. The winery joins Our Bar and Lifestyle Café as the three Black-owned businesses on the corner of Oak and South 18th streets. “It’s a natural synergy, so it’s truly like a Black-owned corner,” Platt says. 

To strengthen the support of Black-owned businesses in the area, Green joined the Olde Towne East Neighborhood Association to ensure he can oversee some of the potential changes being made, encouraging Platt and others to do the same. “I definitely want to have more of an intentional relationship, because we are a unique place,” Green says. “We need to strategize about how we can be more instrumental in some of the decisions that are happening.”  

– Columbus Monthly