sfisher

This area of Walnut wasn't a rowdy bar area until RR moved in. You had the Ruby's/Aronoff crowd, not exactly the loudest patrons you could think of. I had a similar experience on Race when Redfish moved out and Sully's moved in - as business districts expand, the new owners should work to play nice with the surrounding residents (their potential best customers), or, as Sully's did, the business will go under when the sheen wears off.

I wish Lavo was doing this to draw more people to the Gateway, but what I've heard from several people is they are simply trying to run Senate out of businesses before they can start up. The more casual, lower priced, street food concept seems to be exactly what Senate is about. I believe Lavo has even started doing a gourmet hot dog happy hour, which is certainly a direct steal from Senate. If true, I'm incredibly disappointed.

I'm a huge transit proponent, and am as fervently against issue 9 as anyone, but I had somewhat the same reaction to the TV ad. This doesn't mention at all what Issue 9 is, nor confronting why its a bad idea. I understand why it can talk about economic stimulus, and many on this board can, but, if I may borrow a slogan here, simply yelling jobs like so many other groups this election cycle without explaining why doesn't help people connect the dots.

Smaller specialty retailers are, on average, having a tough time this year with the economy in its current state. I think this is going to be a critical holiday time for many of these businesses. If you enjoy the businesses that are down there, be sure to stop in when you do your shopping this year.

Vito's Cafe of all places is starting a small scale brewery. Vito's Cafe Introduces Red Ear Brewing Company http://www.buycincy.com/flavor/2009/08/vitos-cafe-red-ear-brewing.html Greater Cincinnati has a new brewpub - and its not from a place you might expect. Vito's Cafe in Ft. Thomas has just announced their in-house brewery operation, Red Ear Brewing Company. Maybe more well known for their Italian cuisine and singing servers, the restaurant is starting its brewery operation one batch at a time. Brewmaster Matt Wehmeyer, son of owners Mary and Vito Ciepiel's is starting out with Endless Summer Ale, a seasonal beer that will give way in autumn to what Matt describes as "something more bold." In the name of research, we might just have to go and try it. Vito's Cafe 654 Highland Ave. Suite 29 Ft. Thomas, KY 41075 859-442-9444 www.vitoscafe.com

Moerlein needs a brewpub in downtown or OTR - its sad that a city with such great brewing history doesn't have a local brewpub to point to. If Moerlein doesn't do it soon, someone else will.

I hope they get new owners or at least a new chef. I had Pad Thai the first week they opened and it was bad...real bad, which is hard to do with Pad Thai. Which is a shame because the old thai place at that location, while a little greasy, was pretty decent.

^ Living on 7th, I can tell you for a fact that Sully's and Blackfinn do not have their kitchen open all day on Sundays. In fact, last Sunday we tried the 5 closest places we could think of for a sandwich, Diner on Elm, Izzy's, Cafe Martin, Blackfinn, and Sully's and none had their kitchen open at 2:30pm.

^ I hope so. After hearing rumors about several places moving in over the past year, I'll wait to celebrate until ink hits paper.

Have the immense amounts of dry shelters around here helped the homeless? I understand not wanting to concentrate another social service in this area, but the concept itself isn't a bad one to try if the current system is not working.

No way the power for this project comes from anyone but Duke with their existing contribution to the project.

I've never been impressed with Olives. Their food is decent, if a bit overpriced and in 3 times going I have yet to have good service.

^ And an extra $8 is well worth supporting a business that integrates itself into the urban fabric instead of integrating itself into a strip mall.

In order to say he had a large part in revitalizing OTR, he needs to make a permanent investment and bring those brewery jobs back to Cincinnati.

FYI, KoSho is preparing to move to Northside. Hopefully another rumored downtown sushi place moves in. Boss Cox got delayed a bit when one of the owners joined the group opening the Rookwood Restaurant in Mt. Adams. Hopefully they already lined up the financing to finish Boss Cox.

Thought this was hilarious. If streetcar construction will not provide African-Americans with jobs, exactly how is pothole repair and the addition of extra highway lanes going to do so? Oh, and did you realize that rail transit is not infrastructure...learn something new....... Smitherman: no stimulus for streetcars Posted by jessicabrown at 1/30/2009 6:21 PM EST on Cincinnati.com Cincinnati NAACP President Christopher Smitherman wrote a letter to President Barack Obama objecting to any federal stimulus money going to the Cincinnati Streetcar. Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory has requested around $12 million for the project.

If you haven't tried the Mt. Carmel Stout, you haven't lived.

Has anyone been to Mixx? I was super-excited about a new sushi place, but it always seems to be having private events.

If you're going to say that, you need to at least tell us where you found this information or how you know this. I heard the same a few months back from a local journalist.

^I have to disagree. I can hardly ever find clothes at the downtown location, and often find myself being directed to the Kenwood location for items I want. And don't get me started on their lack of decent sneakers.

I would post the whole thing, but its quite long. Anyway, here's some of our Oktoberfest coverage. Otoberfest Zinzinnati '08 http://www.buycincy.com/2008/09/oktoberfest-zinzinnati-08.html Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is celebrating its 33rd year in downtown Cincinnati this weekend. It seems tradition that every year is bigger than the last, and this year's prospective 500,000 visitors, hundreds of kegs, and slew of German food has BuyCincy writers counting down the days (72 hours, or 4,320 minutes, or 259,200 seconds). To alleviate your wait, BuyCincy has brought together a fantastic panel of some of our favorite Oktoberfest patrons. Timothy Holian (author of "Over the Barrel" volumes one and two), Tom Harten (co-owner and operator of Mecklenburg Gardens), Greg Hardman (owner of Christian Moerlein), Michael Osborne (brewmaster of BarrelHouse Brewery), Mike Dewey (brewmaster/owner of Mt. Carmel Brewing Company), and Chuck Boyce (brewer at Cincy's newest craft brewery, Listermann's) will be offering perspectives on Oktoberfest Zinzinnati's past and present, to name a few. Oktoberfest History: Tom Harten and Timothy Holian Oktoberfest began in 1810, when Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (don't worry, Therese will generally suffice). Over the course of several decades the event evolved from an honorary horse race to a festival more like its contemporary American counterpart. This is not to say the two are entirely comparable, as the München festival attracts millions, lasting for several weeks. Cincinnatians seem pretty content with their own "people's fair," (which does carry the title of the largest Oktoberfest in North America) and we at BuyCincy feel that five million downtown for a month would be a bittersweet affair. Oktoberfest Zinzinnati proper began in 1976 as a simple block party with ties to the regional chamber of commerce and Hudepohl, but some assert that its roots in Cincinnati are much older, and a bit grittier. "It's probably been going on since Germans got here," said Tom Harten, co-owner of Mecklenburg Gardens. "Places like Mecklenburg would've had their own Oktoberfests in every neighborhood." Historian Timothy Holian elucidated this history to us both by phone and in two volumes of his book, "Over The Barrel" (both of which we strongly encourage Cincy history buffs to check out). "German immigrants had an appreciation of their own region. Keep in mind that Germany proper was nonexistent. Oktoberfest was a Bavarian holiday," Timothy said. "Lager was not just a celebratory beer, it was also a social beverage. It was an emollient: it helped Germans network, and it was an excuse for people to come together." To both Tom and Timothy, this seems to be force that brought Oktoberfest to America. German clubs like "Kloppenburg" of Mecklenburg Gardens (discussed in this BuyCincy article) or the Donauschwaben used the event not to honor Ludwig and Therese, but to celebrate themselves and their homes, whether they be in Bavaria or Cincinnati. And, as Tim puts it, "You don't need a reason to party."

^I rode one of these in Seattle, and its actually pretty cool. Especially for routes such as the 17 (the turn from McMillan onto W. Clifton is always a nightmare)

^ Also Metronation (and MiCA to an extent) have some of the best men's accessories (watches, cufflinks, etc) in the city.

I don't think the 3 are all that similar. MiCA is much more home accessory oriented, Metronation is very gift oriented and Mahatma is more international jewelry. There is little to no product overlap, and each have a separate, but solid customer base.

voltage is supposedly opening a second store, geared towards lighting, maybe in Duncanson?