Nick Spencer

Yeah, of course you are. I know of a great building in Northside that's about to go on the market, a very nice investment in a neighborhood that's getting cooler by the day. The building has a successful paying tenant that can more than cover your mortgage costs. That right, 3929 Spring Grove Ave. in Northside, the property that is home to alchemize, is entertaining offers. This does not mean anything is happening to alchemize-- we're not closing or anything like that. We're only looking for a property buyer that will keep alchemize on as a tenant. We're willing to pay a very generous rent, and can secure our lease. The previous property owner is moving out of state, and is therefore looking to sell their investments here in town. Just message me if you're into that sort of thing, or could be. I'll fill you in on the rest of the details. This is a truly great investment, lots of money has been put into the place over the last year, and its been appraised very high. So get on this, all you real estate buyers! Oh, and hey-- check out this amazing front fold story in today's Enquirer about alchemize and Girls & Boys: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070320/LIFE/703200313/1086

Brutus: Wow... that is a really good point. Seriously, that hadn't occurred to me. Great legal advice. We'll likely go non-smoking at the start of the next business week. Northside Tavern and The Comet went non-smoking, so that takes a lot of the pressure off of us. So, all you smokers, come on out tonight, this will be your last chance.

As a bar owner who voted for the ban and can't wait for it to go into effect, let me tell you this.. We're not enforcing it until they enforce it. And I expect most bars will do the same. Otherwise, customers are going to get angry, because they now know they are no penalties. It sucks, and its only going to make the new start date even harder. That having been say, this thing will be a lot easier to enforce in May, when its not freezing outside the first weekend you can't smoke indoors.

Yeah, I guess all of us bar owners down there were terribly inept. Or maybe its just me, right? Whatever. The fact is, you're a realtor, and its basically your job to gloss this stuff over and put a happy face on it. You were on here months ago saying the exact same things, and nothing happened. I think the places that serve food won't be going anywhere (Cooper's, Courtyard, Kaldi's). But Neon's is up for sale and they want out bad. No one knows how much longer Bob will be in Pitiful's, that's been up in the air for over a year now-- though I think the right kind of bar can do well in that spot, just because its a nicer, safer stretch. BTW, The Lab really brought the WIZ crowd down to Main in the first place. Urban Cocktails and all... And are freakin kidding about The Exchange?!! Wow, those bullet holes in the door glass don't tip anyone off, do they? And we all know that Ghetto Bar moving into Purgatory is gonna make things even tougher. Reggaeton is a bad, bad, bad idea down there. Its not that I'm bitter, like you're trying to infer. I mean, things worked out really well for me. I think its funny how you try to spin my complaints as somehow related to my 'failure', when I'm the one who got to move up. Here's the problem: you're trying to just get another wave of optimistic suckers to take a chance on that district. And I'm telling you that's a sure fire way to lose a lot of people's money. The general populace of even the city are terrified to hang out down there. Between the panhandlers, car burglars, and gangster patrons of Exchange/Dream, its an absolutely terrible place to hang out on a given Saturday night. Weedrose, I think North Main is a great success story. As for what used to be the entertainment district, I think its better if it mostly vanishes at this point. A good example of why is the Phat Tuesday shooting. A fight breaks out at Japps, guys start shooting at each other. They end up over at 13th and Clay, shooting it out next to a bunch of condos. You're only going to see more of that. The neighborhood should be cleaned up a LOT more before nightclubs get back in the mix. Because right now, the average bar customer has completely written off that district in favor of Newport, Mt. Adams, or Northside, depending on their tastes. So the owner will be looking at losing money or bringing in a different crowd, and we've seen what that means. Let it sit for a few years, really put the hurt on Schneider, Stough, and Lenhart. Maybe they'll put the buildings up for sale. And Michael, I love that you think, after how many people he's burned, that you're gonna be the guy that outsmarts Bob on this stuff. Two points for confidence, I guess.

What's best for this city isn't another generation of bar owners losing their asses on Main Street. The Purgatory space is being filled, that's true. By a bar that is coming out of the gate looking to attract that same crowd that Bob Schneider was complaining about. That new tenant will result in more fights, shootings, violence, and disruption in the district. Count on it. Its kind of like saying its good news that Jump has a potential tenant, Club Ritz. As for the others: haven't we been in final lease negotiations on those spaces for months? That's all I ever hear. You talk to me when doors are opening. Probably ain't gonna happen, and if it does, I'll guarantee you they signed a lease that starts low, but through option and phases, will eventually screw them. That's what these guys do, they're far too greedy. If we're going to get new bars in this city, I'd prefer for them to be in places where they can succeed and grow, not where they shut down every couple years because they're getting hit from both ends-- crime and violence driving away customers, and landlords bleeding them dry for money. Look at the turnover in Mt. Adams or Northside. There just isn't much. There's a reason for that. So please, spare me the 'final lease negotiations' and 'potential tenants'. I'll throw them right on the list with Mercer Commons, the fifth and race high rise, The Banks, and The Next Hotel. No nightclub on Main that refused to go gangster is still around. So this isn't about not working out for me. Hell, it worked great for me, actually. I got to move my business and start seeing real numbers, which is a much better situations than most of the others. And still the question remains: why would any business owner decide to put a bar on Main Street, when they can go elsewhere and pay less to make more?

Just to make the point a bit more succinct: why would anyone in their right mind own a bar on Main Street when they can own a bar pretty much anywhere else in the city, and pay less to make more? The only reason is civic interest and a desire to improve that neighborhood. But most folks can only stand to lose money for so long.

Sigh. Michael, I'd recommend getting your information on JHall from somebody other than Bob Schneider. JHall is paying slightly more when you look at rent plus common space charges. Their business, last I heard, was up around 400 percent. That's nothing short of spectacular. If you're trying to argue that those bar spaces are anything less than ridiculously overpriced at 10 a square, well, good luck to you. I think the number of vacancies speaks for itself. And I don't even get your argument: if the Levee did give Tony a cheaper deal, what would THAT say about Schneider & Company's greed? Its great to say that Bob reduced JHall's rent by 1k. However, clearly none of the bars were making enough in revenue to pay their bills, that's a fact. The property owners' greed shut the district down, and now a place like Purgatory (never exactly my scene, but...) is being replaced by the umpteenth gangster/ gangster wannabe bar. You keep saying these spaces are filling, all this new stuff is coming, but I never see it. I get that's your job, but come on. Here's my personal example. My rent is less than half what it was in OTR, and my revenue is up about 40 percent. You do the math.

Just take the steps up. Its very walkable.

Its really embarassing when its hard to get to two of the Midpoint venues because there's a SWAT team lined up around the block due to a murder next door. Its downright humiliating, actually. People can try to diminish it all they want, but crime in this town is way out of hand. Its not just about numbers-- its about people's day to day experience. A friend of mine just got mgged at gunpoint in Northside last week, then a pizza driver had the same thing happen a few minutes away. MPMF was still plagued by the same crackheads and troublemakers it always has, bothering anyone in sight. Most depressing realization of the weekend: even the cabbies have given up on the entertainment district. Sad.

See, I never had a negative experience at any of the three. I really liked Bella, I'm not really in Simone's part of town much, and Redfish had some good happy hour stuff. But, to each their own, I guess...

Yeah, it kills me when people are like "just pay the bills." Well, they're probably not paying them because they don't have it. In the case of Bella at least, that likely has to do with lack of consistent business. People always think these businesses run surpluses, when most of them never make a dime and burn through their investments then close. Downtown is a very tough environment for a bar or restaurant right now, like it or not. The foot traffic just isn't there, and the residential base isn't big enough yet. The area needs a big time shot in the arm, something that changes perceptions of the area, and draws people back down. Louisville did that with Fourth Street Live, at least sort of. Obviously, the stadiums are in the wrong place, not even having a chance at a casino hurts... there's just not enough reasons to make the trip down there right now. And safety obviously, while real crime isn't that high down in the CBD, there are a lot of people hanging out down there who seem to not know how to act in public. Most people don't want to spend their free time around that nonsense.

That's wierd... I could swear there's an editorial in CityBeat this week that says I'm too POSITIVE about Cincinnati. The time of moderates is most definitely not now, I guess. I think the strange thing to do is talk about "baggage." The City screwed us, plain and simple. Don't blame the event for calling attention to it, blame the city for being so freakin' inept. City Hall is the albatross around the neck of an otherwise good community. Its sad but true. They are so spectacularly incompetent, they make it hard on anyone trying to do most anything, including, ironically enough, Scribble Jam, who have certainly complained about the city in the past. To me, its just misdirected aggression. Activist after activist, business owner after business owner, make the same complaint about the city. Blaming THEM, instead of the city, seems strange to me.

Monte: Not to brag or anything, but there aren't many events in Cincy that have generated the kind of positive national media attention Des got, especially from younger skewing outlets like Rolling Stone, Mtv, Spin, and Pitchfork. Soooo... I think, like a lot of Cincinnatians, you may not be getting what a 'major coup' Desdemona was. I think it said it all that day Rolling Stone wrote up Des AND the T.I. shooting in the same article. Its was a very nice contrast.

Ha ha... you know, I had never really looked at that way, but I'll put it a bit differently: When we begged for police to handle issues like drug dealing, shootings, car break-ins, and prostitution in the city's most dangerous neighborhood, we are told they can't assign police to the area and that they are terribly short-staffed. But when we do a GATED, admission-fee event on the riverfront, we suddenly have 16 OFFICERS to spare, to stand around bored. Apparently, indie kids are a serious safety risk and must be monitored closely. Hmmmm... I guess the issue isn't staffing, its who pays for it. Typical City Hall.

Just to keep everyone in the loop over here... alchemize: The BIG Announcement First off, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came out to the big alchemize Farewell Party, and especially to Puck for doing such a great job organizing it. The support many of you have shown for alchemize is really moving, and its something I know I'll personally never forget. Now, as everyone probably knows by now, alchemize has been looking for a new home for months, and especially these last few weeks since the doors were closed in Over-the-Rhine. Well, I am thrilled to announcement that we have, OFFICIALLY, found that new home. The space is in an amazing location that I know will make many of you very, very happy. Its a building loaded with potential that will just keep growing over time. I could not be more excited about where we've ended up, and I really hope you'll love it as much as I already do. So where is it? We'll be officially revealing the new location and opening date this Thursday at the Of Montreal show at The Madison Theatre-- so do not miss it! I can't wait to tell you all... I promise, this news will not disappoint. But I didn't want to wait to tell you that we do in fact have the deal done, because I know plenty of people have been paying close attention to what happens. Thank you again for all your support during this time of change. The rumors were flying like crazy and stuff was changing daily, but you stuck by us. The new alchemize will continue to offer that special experience you can't find anywhere else, with the same heart and energy we've been blessed to have from the start. Its a new beginning for us, and I hope you'll come along. See you Thursday for the big announcement!! For more info on Thursday's Of Montreal show, click here: http://woxy.com/boards/showthread.php?t=39850