December 4, 200618 yr 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.
December 4, 200618 yr Nick, I am not trying to convince you, I realize you have moved on and am happy you are doing well. Lets just agree to disagree and if you are ever on Main again, I will buy you a drink at a bar of your choosing (so long as it is Pitifuls).
December 5, 200618 yr Essentially, Main is in transition some people envision it returning to its former entertainment district glory within the next few years but others feel that the entertainment district shouldn't readily come back and still others would like residential (with restaurant retail) to continue to march south.
December 5, 200618 yr Weedrose, I believe in a mix of entertainment/restraunts and retail, each storefronts is different in that some are better suited for specific uses than others. If a restraunt wants to go into one of the existing bar spaces, I do not think this is a conflict whatsoever. Monte, How much do I owe you for the plug? Thank you.
December 29, 200618 yr Gallery for disabled artists set PEGGY KREIMER / CINCINNATI POST December 29, 2006 CINCINNATI - A gallery for artists with disabilities is one of the newest neighbors in a growing condominium neighborhood on Main Street in Over the Rhine. The Center for Independent Living Options, a nonprofit agency that helps people with disabilities live independently, bought the storefront condo at 1410 Main Street and will open its Art Beyond Boundaries gallery there with a reception Feb. 1. http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061229/NEWS01/612290372
December 29, 200618 yr A great way to fill an empty storefront and a welcome addition to the Main St. gallery scene!
February 6, 200718 yr Nick, stop posting here. Your doing great in Northside. Fantastic. Stay on that subject on some other thread.
February 7, 200718 yr I can't believe no one has posted this yet...certainly great news New Stage planting roots, growing tall With an extended season and ambitious lineup, nomadic production company readies its new home in Over-the-Rhine BY JACKIE DEMALINE | [email protected] New Stage Collective moves to its first permanent home in April and the 1140 Main Street address makes it the first performing arts presence on the Over-the-Rhine strip that's long been trying to find its definition as an entertainment district. This is the third theater company to land along a short length of 12th Street that is starting to look like Theatre Row: Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati is on Vine, Know Theatre is on Jackson and New Stage is the new tenant in the former Jekyll & Hyde's at the southeast corner of Main and 12th.
February 7, 200718 yr I concur. We need more independent theatres in cincinnati. Our main competitive advantage is the arts. We also have diversity, but the suburbanites avoid that like the plague in favor of their own segregationist agenda. They aren't too crazy about the arts, but thats our advantage and we have to press it to the best of our ability.
February 7, 200718 yr Nick, stop posting here. Your doing great in Northside. Fantastic. Stay on that subject on some other thread. Dude, WTF are you talking about? I've certainly disagreed with Nick sometimes, but his insights and opinions have made this thread one of the most interesting and productive we've had so far. I don't think someone whose only post thus far have been to call out ColDayMan and bitch about alchemize is really in a position to tell folks what to discuss here...but maybe that's just me...I mean, your opinions are welcome and encouraged - but telling another poster to "stop posting here" is kinda out of place, don't you think?
February 7, 200718 yr Either way, Nick hasn't posted in this thread for over 2 months, there's no need to get his knickers in a twist.
February 19, 200718 yr Main St. makeover envisioned By Joe Wessels Post contributor With keys already in hand and a lease signed, the owners of Over-the-Rhine's Vinyl restaurant plan to transform not only the old Jump Café into an upscale sushi bar - they'd like to give that whole section of the neighborhood an image makeover. Michael Spalding, who co-owns restaurant Vinyl on Sycamore Street with Roula David, finalized a deal on the 7,300-square-foot Jump space near the corner of 12th and Main streets and plans to have it open by spring or early summer. He, along with help from a silent partner, plan to invest $375,000 into renovations and call it "Mixx Ultra Lounge." The second floor will be a private membership-only space called the "X-rated Lounge," which will have $200 to $500 monthly membership fees and be open for corporate special events, he said. http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070219/NEWS01/702190364
February 19, 200718 yr Why call it mid-city or the mainstreet entertainment district? If someone's ears have been exposed to the sweet sound of the Gateway Urban Living Quarter, anything else sounds like a terrible, discordant cacophony.
February 19, 200718 yr This could be the Gateway Urban Living Quarter Nearby Entertainment Area...GULQNEA...catchy, eh?
February 19, 200718 yr I like that people are coming forward with fresh ideas for Main Street. The area is as close to a blank canvas as you're likely to find in an established neighborhood. There are lots of empty storefronts that can be transformed into running businesses in a manner of days, weeks, and months, meaning that new ideas and investment can come to fruition very quickly.
February 19, 200718 yr yeah, if they pick streetcar routing #2, which seems unlikely, main street will benefit route #1 MCMICKEN | | elm race | | BANKS route #2 MCMICKEN | | elm race | | CENTRAL PARKWAY--- | | main sycamore | | THIRD
February 19, 200718 yr From the sounds of it, this isn't happening on Main, but does anyone know anything about this? Park + Vine is a green general store that provides the people of Cincinnati with a compelling shopping solution to the uninspired nature of national chain stores in the city’s historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Park + Vine offers the highest quality merchandise that satisfies basic needs and improves quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and animal products. Click here to take our online customer survey. It's simple. Tell us what products you want to buy locally, but can't currently find in Cincinnati. Let us know when you're most likely to visit the store. Share with us what kind of in-store programming interests you most. In return, we'll give you 10-percent off your first purchase. The information is posted at http://www.myspace.com/parkandvine
February 19, 200718 yr From the sounds of it, this isn't happening on Main, but does anyone know anything about this? Park + Vine is a green general store that provides the people of Cincinnati with a compelling shopping solution to the uninspired nature of national chain stores in the city’s historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Park + Vine offers the highest quality merchandise that satisfies basic needs and improves quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and animal products. Click here to take our online customer survey. It's simple. Tell us what products you want to buy locally, but can't currently find in Cincinnati. Let us know when you're most likely to visit the store. Share with us what kind of in-store programming interests you most. In return, we'll give you 10-percent off your first purchase. The information is posted at http://www.myspace.com/parkandvine I believe it's going in on Vine, just north of Central Parkway. Julie Fay mentioned it last week.
February 20, 200718 yr Anybody else find it strange that Joe Wessels apparently thinks Vine street is one block away from Main?
February 20, 200718 yr Jump becoming ritzy lounge Owner to reopen club as sushi restaurant BY JOHN ECKBERG | [email protected] Michael Spalding, co-owner of Vinyl - the reopened, tony diner on Sycamore Street in Over-the-Rhine - plans to bring a sushi restaurant and champagne/cognac lounge to the former Jump Café on Main Street near 12th Street. Spalding has a lease through the spring of 2012 for Jump - at one time the epicenter of a thriving club scene north of Central Parkway. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070220/BIZ01/702200331/1076/BIZ
February 20, 200718 yr Here is the BizJournals story: For Vinyl owner, fish are jumping in OTR CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER February 20, 2007 CINCINNATI - The co-owner of Vinyl diner in Over-the-Rhine has signed a lease at the former Jump Café and plans to open a sushi bar at the site, a sign of more encouraging developments in the hard-luck neighborhood. Michael Spalding, a disc jockey, opened Vinyl with partner Roula David in the summer of 2006. He now wants to help transform that area of the district and has had informal discussions about it with Brian Tiffany, president of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce. http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/02/19/daily16.html
March 16, 200718 yr Main St. stalwart closes Neon's had sparked OTR renaissance By Rick Bird Post staff reporter Neon's, the club whose success sparked an entertainment renaissance along Main Street in Over-the-Rhine, has closed its doors. The club and its liquor license will be sold at auction March 29 in what sources say is a move by the owner to head off foreclosure. The business' contents - bar equipment, tables, chairs and other items - are for sale in an on-line auction. http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070316/NEWS01/703160345 Investors have plan for area By Rick Bird Post staff reporter Even as auctioneers ready Neon's for sale later this month, a group of investors says it will soon announce plans for an ambitious makeover and rebranding of the Over-the-Rhine area that will involve taking over as many as seven clubs. "There are letters of intent out on up to seven venues and there could be up to three more involved," said Paul Yankie, owner of a Main Street club, The Exchange, and the leader of the investment effort. http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070316/NEWS01/703160346
March 26, 200718 yr Main Street Coming and Going BY STEPHANIE DUNLAP | [email protected] March 26, 2007 The morning after finds me creeping down the entryway. For the first time since I moved to Over-the-Rhine, I'm scared to see the street beyond my apartment building. The security gate's curling design sections a gleaming hood into paisleys, so at least the car is still there. http://www.citybeat.com/current/therebut.shtml
March 28, 200718 yr Maybe I haven't been around long enough, but no one can convince me that Main Street is either coming or going; any conviction either way strikes me as more political than empirical. Is each new business a sign of renaissance or each successive closing more evidence of irreversible decline? Who knows? Every so often a wave of idealistic entrepreneurs moves through this area wielding fancy branding initiatives. ("Hey, idea: If we called it 'The Loop' instead of 'Main Street Entertainment District,' we could really market this place." there is more two this than what has been discussed by Paul in the articles, this is more than just another wave of idealistic entrepreneurs working on this (and forget the Loop, that was a Mike Spalding thing) and it envolves some of the largest property owners on the street with people working on this as far away as Dayton. Do not discount this just yet, no one more than 15 people even have the real information, just wait a bit longer before it is judged.
March 29, 200718 yr Main Street neighborhood to get wine and tapas bar March 29, 2007 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER OVER-THE-RHINE - Two Over-the-Rhine business owners have joined forces to introduce a new dining concept in the Main Street area. Neon's operating partner Maureen Godshall, and Vinyl owners Michael Spalding and Roula David said Thursday that they'll convert the Neon's nightclub into Jardin Wine and Tapas Bar. Neon's will close April 21 and reopen with the new concept on Memorial Day weekend. http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/03/26/daily51.html
March 30, 200718 yr Anyone want to go back a couple pages to my discussion with Nick Spencer. "The greatest change occurs at the edge of chaos" Now where are we today? (I will use old names to help identify locations) Alchamize at 12th and Walnut-Reopening Vinyl-still open Neons-Reopening Red Cheatah-Reopening Purgatory-Reopening Jump-Reopening Club Dream-Still Open Exchange-Still Open and there may be a few more announcements about two other very big bars before we are done. But after reading all of this, keep in mind that the powers that be also understand that Main still has issues that needs to be resolved otherwise we will find ourselves repeating the same cycle again. So for the past several months, a group has been formed to come up with financing ways to solve some of these problems internally, without relying on just the city. You will hear more about this over the summer.
March 30, 200718 yr So basically would you say the plan for Main is to make it more "upscale"? What are Red Cheetah, Purgatory, and old Alchemized being reopened as?
March 30, 200718 yr Great! A taste of Barcelona on Main Street. :clap: Neon's becoming tapas bar Style change in Over-the-Rhine BY LAUREN BISHOP | [email protected] Three Over-the-Rhine business owners plan to turn Neon's, the 20-year-old bar that pioneered the entertainment district around Main Street, into a wine and tapas bar. Roula David and Michael Spalding, owners of the 7-month-old Vinyl restaurant at 12th and Sycamore streets, and Neon's operating partner Maureen Odioso Godshall said Thursday they will spend $75,000 to renovate Neon's, 208 E. 12th St. http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/ENT04/703300348/0/CINCI
March 30, 200718 yr So basically would you say the plan for Main is to make it more "upscale"? What are Red Cheetah, Purgatory, and old Alchemized being reopened as? Oh my God, I forgot Pitifuls, still open and Bob is doing well. Alchemize is being reopened by Nigel Cotterill has left his partnership at Universal Grille (formerly Hamburger Mary's) to open his own place. He has taken over the old Alchemize space at 12th and Walnut and will be opening up a new bar concept for Cincinnati. Designed to fit into the neighborhood and welcome the local residents, the arts and theater groups, and people of all walks of life. This is great news as it will offer one more place to help build "community" in the Gateway Quarter........I believe he is calling the new place "Below Zero" but don't quote me on that. Purgatory will be Ocho Rio and Red Cheatah, I am not sure what the working name is just yet. Upscale? yes, but beyond this. Before anyone will return to stay on Main we have some safe and clean issues as well as branding. With Overall crime in OTR being down over 80%, that message needs to get out but the fact remains that there are some "quality of life" issues that need to be addressed as well. That being said, there will be a price tag associated with turning the street around, the question was, how do we pay the bill. Without getting into any specifics, lets just say the street has been paying the cost of crime, of business loss, and negative publicity for a very long time in lost revenue, lost rent, and lost property values. Main Street will be more than bars and nightclubs. This does not mean we will not continue to be the entertainment district but entertainment alone should not be descriptor for the street. Despite what you may have read, the naming or rebranding has not been worked out and we have many things to do before we will concern ourselves with the details.
March 30, 200718 yr It seems that Main Street has taken the Short North approach and infused "trendy" restaurants, youthful bars, and nightclubs with everyday residents. Perhaps public art along the sidewalks can be in store next? "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 30, 200718 yr Perhaps public art along the sidewalks can be in store next? I personally have always thought that Main should spill into the streets, not simply be confined by the glass of the storefront. Second Sundays is a step in the right direction but we need to add to this on a more permanment basis with outdoor dining, entertainment that is actually on the street. Now this involves street closure but this is easy enough to do on Thurs, Fri, and or Sat nights. However before anything, we have to make sure that the people who want to come down to enjoy whatever we put on Main both feel safe and are safe. This is not going to be an easy task but a doable one. Much of what will make Main a better and safer is the redevelopment off Main. It has proven to be an impossible task with criminals that are only a block away. Gateway, and the countless other projects that are taking place all around Main Street is what is bringing us back, but it will be a comprehensive approach that will keep it going this time.
March 30, 200718 yr I love to hear about all of these new restaurant projects being implemented on Main Street. My ONLY concern is there better be some killer marketing involved because you can have the best food, a trendy atmosphere, but if the patrons aren't there, it will fold. A good example of marketing is Sully's. Since they have opened it has been "in your face" this is what we are doing. I get emails from them a few times a week, see advertisements for them in local publications, and read about them a lot in local emails by DRC, Citybeat, etc. I bet they have the numbers to prove how well they are doing because of these efforts. I think for these places to survive it is going to take more than just the downtowners visiting them. The suburbanites will have to hear enough about the new places and make an EFFORT to check them out.
March 30, 200718 yr I think that this was a big part of our problem originally. It is wonderful that Main grew so organically during the 90's but in doing this none of the lessons were learned early enough to provide sustainability. Marketing is a must, and there will be a cost, a substantial cost. This is what we are trying to provide a solution for now.
March 31, 200718 yr I personally have always thought that Main should spill into the streets, not simply be confined by the glass of the storefront. Second Sundays is a step in the right direction but we need to add to this on a more permanment basis with outdoor dining, entertainment that is actually on the street. Now this involves street closure but this is easy enough to do on Thurs, Fri, and or Sat nights. I don't neccisarily think that it has to go all the way onto the street, but definitely fill or almost fill the sidewalk with activity. This is what excited me most about the Jean Robert restaurant announcement on Vine...there will be outdoor seating on the sidewalk! That is very key. It will not only offer the ever popular 'eyes on the street', but it will also put a different group of people out on the street that you normally don't see along Vine. I know what scares people most is groups of people loitering around. If you can replace this with people dining and what not...or even balance out the number of people loitering to people actually engaging in social activity, then you can DRASTICALLY improve the image of Cincinnati's most infamous street. This can happen on Main too! Get people out and about, and it makes a big difference! I was driving through downtown earlier and was driving along 4th Street. It looks wonderful to have people dining outside. I'm specifically speaking of the Piano Lounge just down from Pigall's. It looked wonderful to have people outside dining and enjoying themselves. Not to mention this was on a street corner...thus preventing/discouraging others from loitering and hence intimidating people.
March 31, 200718 yr I just want Over-the-Rhine to be a solid neighborhood, not an entertainment/thug district. I think downtown should be the hub of Cincinnati entertainment and leave Over-the-Rhine to the locals, artists & hipsters. The suburban ignoramus need not apply.
March 31, 200718 yr The neighborhood is not ready for sidewalk dining. Maybe in the future, and maybe for special events, but you will be hitup for money every few minutes now.
March 31, 200718 yr That is certainly a risk, but with good patrols and a good people presence you will turn the intimidation around and keep those people away.....hopefully.
April 25, 200718 yr New Stage Collective makes new location home BY NICOLE HAMILTON | [email protected] The Downtowner OVER-THE-RHINE - After years of being a nomadic theater company, New Stage Collective has finally found a home. The group moved into the former Jekyll & Hyde (and Westminsters Billiard Club) space at 1140 Main St. in Over-the-Rhine in early February with big plans.
May 25, 200718 yr Art with a message comes to Final Friday on Main BY NICOLE HAMILTON | DOWNTOWNER OVER-THE-RHINE - At the upcoming Save Our Souls (S.O.S) art event at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, attendees will be hard pressed to find paintings of flowers and landscapes, unless they carry a sociopolitical message. Started by physician and artist Saad Ghosn, S.O.S. is an "art event of sociopolitical expression for peace and justice," says Ghosn, who started the annual effort with a show at Brighton's Mockbee Building in 2003.
May 26, 200718 yr >>After the riots in Cincinnati and then the events of September 11, 2001, he wondered why themes of peace and justice were not more prevalent in the works of the artists he knew. Maybe because art is a lousy way to express specific political opinions and nobody really cares about art so it's kind of like shouting in the middle of the desert. >>"I've always been interested in art as a vehicle for social change," says Saad. "I saw the need to create an event where people who are really interested in social issues, could connect." And by "social issues" he means liberal causes. >"The purpose of this event is to provide a venue and use art to educate, inform, and challenge," says Ghosn, a U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon. "So many artists have been waiting for an event like this." Dude. This stuff's been going on in the way it's being talked about here for at least 100 years. In the Modern era it was called Instrumentalism. If this guy had actually studied art he'd know Abstraction, Surrealism, and a whole bunch of what was going on in Europe prior to WWII was acting a much higher level than what he's talking about, and much of it has since been debunked by critics. I love these articles where neither the person being interviewed and the writer know what the heck they're talking about.
May 26, 200718 yr and by "social issues" he means liberal causes. I'ts possible to have conservative political art. The old fascists where quite good at this...they were very attuned to visual culture...and it didn't have to be trad art (sort of like the German fascist art as sort of a Teutonic Norman Rockwell thing, but modern too, as with the Italians). In the US in the same time period there was the "American Scene", which sometimes had an implied conservative/patriotic cultural content (though this art was promoted by CPUSA "popular front" ideology, too). Yet in the US it has been the left that has made the most political art, or better yet, political graphic design/branding, as with ACT-UP (and they supposedly had input from the NYC ad/graphic design community). I think there is room for conservative topical or "message" art and desing.
May 26, 200718 yr Maybe because art is a lousy way to express specific political opinions and nobody really cares about art so it's kind of like shouting in the middle of the desert. Artists can have an tremendous effect on social change, though it might not always be apparent. Think about all of the musicians, painters, writers, and filmmakers throughout history. The freethinkers are the people that put the most dread into the establishment, and they are some of the first people sent to the gulags or silenced by repressive means. And like many other people, I care about art.
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