^ I am rooting for them and I will be supporting them with my money. As a potential condo buyer, it is not the 'best case scenario'!

it is better than an empty storefront

^ If crime happens (like in the very recent past), it is far worse.

I don't think they are going to attract a high violent crime crowd, the kids might pee in the street

The area should try to 'lay low' and avoid any kind of negative press, especially visible crime on Main St. which has happed too often in the past.

 

You say the area hasn't reached a critical mass yet, but at the same time you want the area to "lay low."  I'm not sure how the area is ever supposed to take off and reach that critical mass if it just continues to "lay low."  I don't think it is a bad thing to continually dream big and have high ambitions...I think it would be a bad thing if that wasn't the case actually.

^ You can sell units in the Gateway Quarter and beyond by playing to the new restaurants and retail on Vine St.  When the streetcar construction begins, that will be a major selling point.  City Link (agree or disagree with it) will disperse social services away from Washington Park area.  Time is on the side of neighborhood re-development.  The only thing that can undermine OTR gentrification is high crime, or the continued perception of high crime.

 

I don't see how these bars help.. Hopefully, I am wrong!

The only thing that can undermine OTR gentrification is high crime, or the continued perception of high crime.

 

I don't see how these bars help.. Hopefully, I am wrong!

 

They put more eyes on the street after dark by filling empty storefronts.  Ask people on Vine Street about empty storefronts, and what the elimination of them has done for the area that is now the Q.

If experienced owners could not make it in the district when there was as much momentum, why are we giving twenty one year olds the chance? 

 

It is a free market, but discretion should be used for the good of the neighborhood.  The owners of Club Red were blamed for the most recent shooting.  While their business model was not totally on the 'up and up', what makes you think that these kids escape the same fate?  They are rich kids from Miami... lets see what happens when they meet the element that exists in those clubs... 

 

Um, just because people go to Miami doesn't mean they're rich, and if they are, well isn't that a damn good sign that young, rich, formerly suburban adults are investing in OTR.  Young people provide energy and ideas and a freshness that should be fostered in OTR.  I really don't see your opposition, I mean it's not club Ritz.

.  should we give these crazy twenty year olds a chance on a website called google?

 

Or YouTube (which was later bought buy Google for over a billion dollars).

^ Great comparison... A bar on Main St. Vs. Startup Internet companies.. give me a break..

^ Great comparison... A bar on Main St. Vs. Startup Internet companies.. give me a break..

 

The fact of the matter is that while age/experience plays a role...it is not the only role, nor would I argue that it is the most important.  One's drive and desire to make a place successful is what's truly important.  If these guys start out and realize x, y or z aren't working out...it will be important that they take the necessary steps to correct those issues and make the place better.  This does not require age or experience...just the desire to be successful.

 

While I may have poked fun at the whole thing at first (regarding how they got the money to do this)...I just don't understand the sentiment I often hear from older people.  Are older people threatened by young entrepreneurs?  Is it that they're moving in on their perceived turf...or is it the ever popular sentiment of not having 'paid their dues' yet?

 

We've got two young enthusiastic guys wanting to invest in the inner-city...we should be excited for them and our city.  It will be a great day when it becomes second nature to hear that young people are coming and investing in our urban core/city.  We need more individuals like this imo.

Are older people threatened by young entrepreneurs?

 

It was the previous generations that abandoned the cities all across this country.   

 

The times, they are a changing!!!!!!    And your not going to change many of their minds!

Jesse,

 

I think you and I are seeing two very different Main Streets and perhaps two very different OTR's, and that is ok, this lends to a perception issue that we must overcome.  So let me lay out for you what I see, day in and day out from a very inside perspective.

The gateway quarter is a great idea, but it has yet to catch fire

My wife, Holly Redmond, along with Jim Mole are the two reps on this project.  I can tell you, with absolute certainty, it has caught fire.  Builders resources has doubled their sales expectation in year 1, the commercial sales by Kathleen Norris has blown all expectations out of the water.  The Q also just made it into the best of edition of Cinti Mag, see what they have to say about it.

Much of the housing in the main st. disctirct is in an unmarketable condition (pathetically rehabbed in the late seventies or early eighties)

.

We need to go on a tour one of these days.  I can show you places on Main Street that will absolutely make your heart stop.  Are there buildings that still need to be rehabbed?  Sure, but some/most have already been bought by the developers.

 

The area should try to 'lay low' and avoid any kind of negative press,

Thats almost like saying do not try, you may fail.  If Main "lays low" then you will be stuck with the same Main we have had for the past decade, a silent Main is a dead Main.  Do you not believe that it is better to do something worthy of positive press?

 

If experienced owners could not make it in the district when there was as much momentum, why are we giving twenty one year olds the chance?

Everyone seems focused on the age of Mark and Joe, but last night I was at the opening party and saw the product, and it is that product that is superior to what we have seen before.  Those 21 year olds are surrounding themselves with the right people, the people that get things done and have proven themeselves beyond some of those previous "experienced" owners of the past.

 

Bottom line, we may fail.  It could be a bad idea, perhaps Main, or even OTR is not worth our time or effort--but that is a chance we are willing to take.

one more thing,

 

Measure them on their product, go into the Cue, see Speakeasy and then tell me that they should not be "allowed to operate on Main".  If enough people feel that the product is good, then their age will not matter much.

 

The owners of the Main St. buildings have a reputation for being greedy

People who have failed, and I am not going to mention Nick by name, are the ones who are quick to say it is because of that greedy landlord, always wanting their rent.  I know Bob Schneider, I have negotiated with him.  I know Mike Stough and I am working on a project with him right now that is the absolute polar opposite of greed.  I have sat in Bob's office and watched him turn down one after another that wanted to lease his bars and for what reason?  He wants to have someone running the bars that he feels can operate successfully enough to.....pay rent.  Now I would believe that Bob probably has done some research, and something told him that this is doable--have you?

 

No one will buy condos in OTR if people are murdered on Main St.

Then you take out the criminal element, not the commercial element!  To equate a bar with murders is not going to get you very far.  Why do we see murders on E. Clifton? Washington Park? Vine? Republic?  Is it because of the bars over there?  Why do we not see them on 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th, they all have bars and clubs as well?  It is the criminals who will commit the crime, with or without a bar or club, lets try and remove them first.

 

The fact of the matter is that while age/experience plays a role.

In some cases, especially in OTR, those without the "age/experience" do not know what they can't do.  And in many cases down here, that is very valuable.  They have not been tainted by the years of negativity and defeatism that has defined all of downtown.  I am more willing to give an eager, young person a chance than a beaten down "experienced" one.

^ The Q is something people need to see in person before they judge it. I was blown away when I took a tour of a few units. The interior finishes are high quality and I love the exposed brick. From what I heard, some of the units are already worth much more than what they bought them for.

^ The Q is something people need to see in person before they judge it. I was blown away when I took a tour of a few units. The interior finishes are high quality and I love the exposed brick. From what I heard, some of the units are already worth much more than what they bought them for.

 

Amen, however I was actually refering to CUE, the new club on Main and 12th, an OTR club for the Q, but quite separate.

Oops!

 

Ill check that out as well.

Main Street in flux

Once trendy, it's struggling

BY JOE WESSELS | CINCINNATI POST

December 13, 2007

 

OVER-THE-RHINE - Over-the-Rhine's Main Street entertainment district is in transition.

 

Which way that transition is going is open to debate, and a recent spate of bar and restaurant closings and another one opening seems to be adding to the confusion.

I'm not sure how I feel about this article...while I agree Main Street seems confusing at times and even in constant change, I do not also agree with the fact that it is "struggling."  The district is in a period of change...I don't think it is necessarily fair to judge it at this point.  We should probably wait and see how the number of new places (ie Cue, Speakeasy, Mixx Ultralounge) opening up end up doing.

I made a comment in another post stating that amount of "shady" looking people just hanging around on the corners on main st.  It doesn't look to inviting when you've got groups of riffraff hanging on the corners.

It will be interesting to watch.

Tiffany agrees the neighborhood is in transition. It's no longer the bar and band hotspot that it was in the late 1990s and is trying to find its identity. But development of 30 new condos is expected to begin soon on Main Street and he expects that to spawn new restaurants, fashion stores and other businesses. "I think this is a unique time for Over-the-Rhine," he said. "It's a unique time for Main Street."

 

Main Street is in transition, but not as it sounds in this article.  This oversimplified the realities on the ground here.  The old Main is struggling but a new Main is on the verge of taking over.  New restraunts, new bars, new condos and the old stuff, if it does not change to meet these new realities, will struggle.  Everyone ask yourself, is Main Street better now, is there more activity then this same time last year? Are there more or less bars announcing on Main, are there more or less galleries on Main, are Final Fridays better or worse attended than a year ago?  Look back on this thread from 1 year ago and see what everyone was saying, it wasn't Main is struggling, it was Main is dead.

 

"Within the last couple of months, I have noticed a bunch more riffraff hanging around," Thompson said. "It seems like some of that stuff that was on Vine Street (near the Gateway Quarter) was pushed over on to us and I think they are just realizing this."

 

This is one of those statements that is blurted out with any real thought.  Crime is down throughout all of OTR and this is directly attributable to developments such as the Q.  I am the Captain of the Main Street Safety Sector and I can tell you, with reports in hand, crime is also down on Main. We have had problem venues, and we took care of them- we now have a problem location (hotspot) in front of Kaldis and we are taking action on that as well.  Main Street will have problems along the way, all redevelopment does but to say "once trendy, now struggling" simply suggest that they have not been paying attention for the past decade.

I drove down Main St. saturday night at around 12 o'clock and Cue seemed to be hoppin. I plan to check it out soon maybe friday or sat of this week.

 

I just got back in town this weekend from school and was looking for something fun for my gf and me to do and i was thinking wouldnt it be great if there was a comedy club on Main St. It just has all the making of a diverse entertainment scene and i would love to see that type of venue there.

all you would need to do is get a liquor liscence (sic) for inktank and they could be a comedy club during the nightime.

I would agree, I good comedy club on Main St. would be a great place for a comedy club downtown.

all you would need to do is get a liquor liscence (sic) for inktank and they could be a comedy club during the nightime.

license

Comedy Club is something different than (another) bar!   

I think that a large variety of bars and restaurants is what makes an entertainment district. Not to hate on 6th/7th street movement, but they are essentially all the same bar with slightly different decor. Main St. could really be something special, but it needs to have more than just appeal to a select group of people. This type of entertainment district is what would attract YP's to downtown, otherwise they will keep trying to afford living in Hyde Park and moving out of the region.

I would love to see a hookah bar either on Main Street or downtown.  This is of course harder to accomplish because of the damn smoking ban...

I would love to see a hookah bar either on Main Street or downtown.  This is of course harder to accomplish because of the damn smoking ban...

 

Not really, if the majority of your business is derived from smoking (ie a hookah lounge) then you are perfectly able to get a permit.  The smoking ban actually seems to encourage the opening of these types of establishments.  People are looking for a place to smoke and can no longer do so in a bar or restaurant.

I would love to see a hookah bar either on Main Street or downtown.  This is of course harder to accomplish because of the damn smoking ban...

 

 

That would be cool too!

I would love to see a hookah bar either on Main Street or downtown.  This is of course harder to accomplish because of the damn smoking ban...

It would work...for example their is a hoohah lounge right on UC's campus across and up the street from where BW3's is.

I think a hookah lounge would do well on Main street, just curious as to what kind of people it would initially attract.  The smoking of weed would have to be heavily monitored.

I've been to the place you mentioned, the Gypsy Cafe.  It's a cool spot, but, other than Andy's I think that is the only place you can get hookah in Cincy.  While the ban allows hookah bars to exist, they can't sell alcohol or food because they have to make up a very high percentage of their income from tobacco sales, and I think there is some rule that the building can't be directly touching another building.  Don't know about that last part for sure...

 

Of the hookah places I have been to in Cincinnati (Andy's, Gypsy, and the now closed Mejana), as well as a multitude of places here in DC, there has never once been a problem with people trying to smoke weed.

I think a hoohah lounge sounds like fun, too.

 

 

Are the hookah's cheap at the Gypsy Cafe, or are they free?

I was out in the Main Street area on New Years Eve and Cue looked like THE place to be.  There were tons of people and they were dressed to impress from the looks of it.  I didn't try to go in because I was certainly not dressed appropriately.  Unfortunately there are still the places like Ocho Rios that continue to plague this district.  The crowd that was attracted to Ocho Rios on NYE ended up being part of the city's first homicide of 2008.

Ya that sucks about Ocho Rios, something needs to change if that's the kind of crowd it attracts.  Get new owners, new policies, something new.

OTR's Main Street has new plan

BY STEPFANIE ROMINE AND LISA BERNARD | [email protected]; [email protected]

 

Two years ago, if someone wanted to open a business on Main Street, a pulse would have been sufficient, says Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce president Brian Tiffany.

 

Today, Tiffany says, the group can afford to be more discerning.

 

Linky

What's coming to Main St.

By summer, Main Street will be home to at least four new bars and restaurants.

 

They will join Kaldi’s Coffeehouse at 1202-1204 Main St. and Courtyard Café at 1211 Main St., which already serve food.

 

--Harry’s Pizza at 1207 Main St. will open this spring as a casual restaurant and bar, said Paul Yankie, an Over-the-Rhine resident for a decade and a member of the Maven Group, which operates other venues along Main Street.

 

Link

Great new and a positive story for once in the enquirer.  It would be cool if somehow one of those stories that's in the enquirer posted a link to this message board......On a side note: I hope Marino's bar isn't Pittsburgh themed like the bar in Corryville is.

WHO DEY!

^

Yeah that really pisses me off. I went there once and will never again. We are in CINCINNATI home of the BENGAL's not the pittsburgh cheaters. Someone needs to send a message, that stuff might fly in another city but not in CINCY.

 

On a brighter note I'm glad to see more stuff opening on Main St. I love that area and think it has great potential. Good to see other people love it too.

Paul Yankie is a great American.

^

Yeah that really pisses me off. I went there once and will never again. We are in CINCINNATI home of the BENGAL's not the pittsburgh cheaters. Someone needs to send a message, that stuff might fly in another city but not in CINCY.

 

On a brighter note I'm glad to see more stuff opening on Main St. I love that area and think it has great potential. Good to see other people love it too.

 

They have Primanti style hamburgers though; at least they're bringing in some Pittsburgh culture. If it's no more upscale than the one in Corryville, I think they're going to get a lot of riff-raff on some nights.

I love Martino's food.  The french fries on the salads . . YUM.  The owners are from Pittsburgh, hence the Pittsburgh theme.

Main Street hopes to hop again

Club scene in downturn, but openings, condos and Vine St. are raising expectations

BY STEPFANIE ROMINE & LISA BERNARD-KUHN | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

January 11, 2008

 

OVER-THE-RHINE - Bars and music and nightlife - plus empty storefronts. That's the answer you'll get when you ask many Cincinnatians about the image they conjure when they hear the words Main Street.

 

The area has been known in recent years as a transitory entertainment district - full of businesses and activity in good times, then suffering in bad times when bars and other businesses close. Yet in the future, the vision is for Main Street to become a real neighborhood with people living, working, shopping and sleeping there.

 

• Click through a map of the Main Street businesses.

• Photos: Main Street

Michael, or anyone else ... when is Mixx Ultra Lounge opening up?

 

That place looks really freakin sweet!

I like those interactive maps that appear occasionally in new stories.

Michael, or anyone else ... when is Mixx Ultra Lounge opening up?

Officially, I do not believe so but I will try and get a date.  They were open for New Years and so was Speakeasy (which is where I was) and they were packed.  I hope that everyone here will go down and see Cue, help support Paul and prove to him, and everyone else that Main Street is the right choice.

is what is Cue's vibe like?  Is it loud or is it more chill?  Am I going to be forced to dance if I go?  I love dancing, but not every night. 

Cue is much more of a lounge type atmosphere, not so much a dance club and speakeasy will be even more laid back.  the two are connected in the back so you can go from one to the other.

so speakeasy is open?  If so, they need to work on the signage out front, make it more appealing like Cue