Cygnus

This block sees plenty of foot traffic on weekdays. The Orient, Penn Station, and Izzy's all do a strong lunch. Weekends are a different story...

Interesting trivia tidbit from yesterday's Reds/Cubs game: It was the first time in major league history that both starters were celebrating a birthday, according to information provided by the Reds, citing the Elias Sports Bureau. Both pitchers signed baseballs for the Hall of Fame.

So about the Lager House... what is going on with carry-out window and the Event Lawn's alcohol rules? When the lawn opened St. Patrick's day weekend, one was able to purchase a beer from the window and roam the lawn. Other beer vendors were also set-up around the lawn. A couple weeks ago I was there for a Reds game and suddenly you couldn't take a carry-out beer over to the Event Lawn, instead you were confined to a small space by the window and over to the Moerlein hops garden. Again, beer vendors were set-up around the lawn. Yesterday there was a metal barrier set-up in the middle of the lawn so you could roam half of the lawn but not not the area by the stage and Walnut Street fountain. Any thoughts?

The place needed serious renovations. Always had a strong lunch crowd. Doesn't seem like a sound business decesion with all that's happening in the area.

Japanese Restaurant Coming To OTR Coming soon to Over the Rhine… a Japanese GastroPub and sushi bar that combines three venues into one: a contemporary dining room, a hip bar/lounge, and a year-round, landscaped beer garden. The latest kid on the block of the Gateway Quarter’s bustling restaurant scene is set to open in mid to late fall. The place will be co-owned and operated by Jon Zipperstein and Hideki Harada. Zipperstein is probably best known as the restaurateur of Embers, one of the top dining establishments in the city, and Harada, a native Cincinnatian and Sycamore High alum, will play dual roles as owner/chef. (BTW, Jon Zipperstein is related to the founder of iSPYCINCY). The restaurant concept is Japanese Izakaya. The food will be savory, salty, and go well with alcohol. “We’re taking American favorites into the Japanese style,” said Harada, whose parents are from Japan. “I want to gather all types of food palettes and don’t want to leave anyone behind. Most of the exotic stuff will come out of the sushi bar.” Cont

Tarbell scooped up property near streetcar It seems former Cincinnati City Councilman and “Mr. Cincinnati” Jim Tarbell still keeps tabs on what the city is up to. Hamilton County property records show he recently spent $255,000 for two Jackson Street buildings — right near one of the proposed streetcar stops. Tarbell bought 1209 Jackson St. on Sept. 29, 2011 for $165,000 and 1211 Jackson St. for $90,000 on Feb. 3, the records show. Cont

Just got this message from the city: “Sixth Street between Vine and Race is closed and will remain closed until 9pm tonight. The reason for the closure is due to the heavy winds, which are causing debris to fall from upper levels of the Terrace Building. Please consider alternate routes for your evening commute.” Yet to find any coverage of it on local news sites.

Moved the Freedom Center discussion here: Cincinnati: Downtown - National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

The Second St. sidewalk widening project won't go to bid until Spring of 2013. Wonder if that's to coincide with Streetcar construction in the area?

First-time council members speaking up, getting out there In their first 100 days in office, they have taken on towing companies and lenders, pushed back at internal politics, pushed for domestic-partner benefits, put the brake on quick deals, proposed advisory groups, testified in Columbus, cleared trash, given speeches and had a cocktail named in their honor. Chris Seelbach, Yvette Simpson and P.G. Sittenfeld may be among the youngest members ever to serve on Cincinnati City Council, but it’s clear that they feel at home in City Hall. They are, Sittenfeld says, “having a blast.” Their election last fall was a game-changer in city politics. The three 30-something Democrats replaced more conservative veteran council members, and part of their confidence and comfort clearly stems from coming into office together. Cont

My bad, the Tapatalk app doesn't upload pics very well. I've updated the post with a larger version.

You're welcome! One more today with all fountains now on:

Only rumors... walked by there today and nothing is going on.

right behind the stage on the Schmidlap event lawn Oh wow! That was not there (or I just didn't see it) a couple weeks ago when I walked through that area! The progress down there is quick! Today was the first that I've seen it on, so unless you knew it was there it'd be easy to miss. For reference, to the right of this picture is the elevator head house.

Pics from yesterday and today:

Cincinnati's rejected streetcar bids Business Courier by Lucy May Everybody knows you can’t have a winner without, well, losers. That’s life, and that’s business. So in the spirit of good, old-fashioned American competition, we here at the Business Courier present you with some images of the streetcars that the city of Cincinnati didn’t pick for the first phase of its $110 million streetcar project. We got the images through an Open Records request filed in February. We received the final batch of records on the day of Mayor Mark Mallory’s State of the City address, during which, coincidentally, the mayor announced the winning vendor. (See previous line re: that’s life, and that’s business.) Cont (includes 7 photos)

Cafe De Wheels standard Cheeseburger and Fries is $8. Follow them on Twitter and you'll find they regularly offer $1 off orders if you know their word/phrase of the day.

Let's get Cincinnati 100 votes by April 21, so that our fair city can get on the final ballot for the first time ever! Nominate your city for BeerCity USA 2012 ballot [Posted April 15] Right now is the time to get your city listed on the ballot. Vote now, April 15-21.The final polling for fourth annual BeerCity USA (2012) award will be open May 1-13. If your favorite BeerCity received 100 or more votes in the 2011 final polling – Relax and don’t worry for the time being, they are already on the ballot that will be live May 1-13, beginning at 9 a.m. Mountain Time. Based on last year’s votes, the cities that already qualify for this year’s ballot are: Asheville, NC Bend, OR Boston, MA Boulder, CO Chicago, IL Denver, CO Fort Collins, CO Milwaukee, WI Philadelphia, PA Portland, ME Portland, OR San Diego, CA San Francisco/Oakland/Bay Area, CA Seattle, WA St. Louis, MO Cities who qualify through this year’s nominating poll will be added to the May 1-13 final ballot and poll. Cont.

Evans Landscaping is prepping Main St. (Joe Nuxhall Way) & Mehring Way sidewalks by the Lager House for trees installation. Also, the first set of trees have been installed at the Main St. Fountain.

That hasn't stopped someone, judging by the latest results. You ain't kidding. Now over 62,000 votes...

Letter to the Editor: Cap Fort Washington Way to eliminate barrier Baseball 2012 is now upon us. The Banks are already alive and exciting with both fans and residents, more of both to come in the very near future! The Phyllis W. Smale Riverfront Park is well underway. As I walk daily around downtown and to The Banks I constantly pass over Fort Washington Way. I believe this is still somewhat a psychological barrier for many Cincinnatians. To traverse these few blocks from our city center to any of the exciting Riverfront attractions seems miles rather than just the few blocks it really measures. Cont

Nothing was mentioned.

Crave construction is well under way though. I'd expect them to be the next to open.

Wow... I had no idea that Showcase had pulled out of Ohio (sans Springdale). They were all I knew in the Dayton area during my teens. I still find it hard to believe people still go to movie theaters, let alone new ones being built!

21c names Cincinnati general manager 21c Museum Hotels has named Gerry Link, a 25-year hotel industry veteran, as general manager of the 156-room downtown Cincinnati hotel opening later this year. Link leaves Pyramid Hotel Group in San Francisco, where he managed properties like The Claremont Resort and Spa and the Hilton Fisherman’s Wharf in the Bay Area. Previously, he spent 13 years at Hilton. Link and his wife Nancy are relocating from Portland, Oregon. It was just across the Columbia River from Portland, in Vancouver, Washington, that Link accomplished his most notable feat. In 2005, he oversaw the pre-opening and opening of a full-service, boutique-style Hilton, a property that has since ranked in the top five of Hilton hotels for customer service. Under Link’s leadership, the hotel also earned “Ecohotel of the Year” from Travel + Leisure magazine. Cont