Clintonville residents experienced some confusion last month when the word “Harvest” appeared on the facade of an unoccupied building on the east side of North High Street at Crestview Road.

A medical marijuana dispensary by that name is moving into the space, two blocks away from a popular pizzeria by the same name.

Stu Nicholson, who has lived in Clintonville for 33 years, said he first thought the pizzeria was moving. When he found out the upcoming business is a marijuana dispensary, he wondered if they had given any thought to brand confusion.

“Then I thought, ‘who the heck did their market research?’ ” Nicholson said.

Others figured the two must be connected somehow. They aren’t. The restaurant is part of Harvest Bar + Kitchen, a central Ohio chain that's had a Clintonville location for five years. The dispensary is part of Harvest of Ohio, which owns several dispensaries throughout the state, although none have opened yet.

"I don't know if the confusion will continue when (the Harvest dispensary) opens," said Judy Minister, a member of the Clintonville Area Commission.

Ariane Kirkpatrick, Harvest of Ohio’s majority owner and operator, acknowledged: "I don't think we thought about it to tell you the truth.”

Harvest Bar + Kitchen owner Chris Crader said the pizza chain’s Clintonville location has fielded the occasional call from befuddled customers.

“We’ve had people call the store, asking if we’re going to move across the street,” he said.

Crader considers the matter a temporary annoyance. He and Kirkpatrick envision the two businesses making good neighbors once everyone realizes what each business does. Kirkpatrick said once the dispensary opens, it won't be mistaken for a restaurant.

In the meantime, the similar titles are causing some consternation among Clintonville residents.

A pair of posts in Facebook’s Clintonville Discussion Forum garnered dozens of comments. Many found it humorous, others found it strange, still others simply said they preferred the muted grey colors of the Asian market that previously occupied the space over the dispensary's bright yellow.

The Clintonville Area Commission oversees zoning variances, but has no jurisdiction over marijuana dispensaries, Minster said.

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy licenses dispensaries and approves their titles.

“The Board’s only review of name selections is to review if it is in violation of our advertising, marketing, or signage rule,” Ali Simon, the public and policy affairs liaison for the pharmacy board said in an email. There's no board rule prohibiting a dispensary from having a name similar to that of an existing business, he said.

pcooley@dispatch.com

@PatrickACooley