May 15, 20187 yr The team behind Collective Espresso opens The Takeaway, a new sandwich stop and grocer in Over-the-Rhine The Main Street deli offers fresh produce, pantry staples, beer, wine and an eclectic menu of fresh sandwiches https://www.citybeat.com/food-drink/media-gallery/21005018/the-takeaway-on-main-street-is-a-retail-grocer-and-deli-with-very-tasty-sandwiches I have grabbed lunch here a handful of times now and I'm really impressed. The sandwiches are exactly what you want them to be.
May 15, 20187 yr ^Looks like a cool place with decent prices. Those are the types of places that really help with a growing office crowd. When I lived in OTR I really wanted more of this type of place since there really weren't many quick takeout options. I loved Gomez as much as the next guy, but sometimes when I didn't want a taco I craved a really quick, affordable sandwich. Picnic and Pantry that used to be at 14th and Republic had some good options but the price point was a little higher. Same with Happy Belly (and their hours stunk). Good to see.
May 15, 20187 yr I have heard a lot of great things about the new Chipotle-style Indian food place that replaced Picnic and Pantry. It sounds like another quick and affordable option for neighborhood residents.
May 15, 20187 yr This is old news but Gomez bought Halfcut. They might change the format and name at some point.
May 15, 20187 yr Thanks for clearing that up. I suspected that was what happened due to the changes at HalfCut. Hopefully they just make the space into a dine-in restaurant that also serves alcohol, like their Walnut Hills location.
May 15, 20187 yr I have heard a lot of great things about the new Chipotle-style Indian food place that replaced Picnic and Pantry. It sounds like another quick and affordable option for neighborhood residents. I've tried Injoy ... and I though it was ok, but not anywhere as tasty and satisfying as a more traditional Indian restaurant. I like their setup, but their recipes just seem to be missing something. Hopefully they can tweak the recipes.
May 16, 20187 yr Half Cut used to be one of those "fancy" craft beer places with a good selection including some less common beers, where every beer was served in the correct type of glassware and could be bought in a pint, a sample size, or a growler. There were Ohio and US maps showing where each beer on tap was brewed. Last time I went in there, I think they got rid of most of those aspects and it's sort of just a generic bar now. The main reason I went in was to figure out "is this still HalfCut or is it just Gomez's dining room?" Not that it's bad, but I'm not sure why I would choose to go there over anywhere else. Their best bet would be to make it a full-on Gomez restaurant where you could order food at the bar and then eat inside. Right now, I believe you still have to order and pay at the window outside if you want to eat inside.
May 16, 20187 yr Oh dang, HalfCut was cool, so weird to think about 4 years ago whatever it was one of the cool new bars but now it's sold.
May 16, 20187 yr Half Cut had three owners. Two of the guys stopped talking to each other and that's why they decided to sell. The two who are still friends got out of the bar business and are renovating a house on Dayton St.
May 16, 20187 yr Thanks, taestell[/member]. I was there a couple times when it was still like in your picture. Shame to lose its crafty vibe.
May 17, 20187 yr Restaurant industry veterans leave corporate world to launch food truck A husband and wife team who left their longtime careers in the restaurant industry for the stability of the corporate world when they had twins are getting back into the kitchen, launching a food truck on the streets of Cincinnati. Ryan O'Neil and Ashlee Rose O'Neil launched Stellar Street Eats at the end of April. The duo is now taking their food truck, which specializes in what they call American lunch cafe cuisine, on the road, serving up breakfast and lunch at Fountain Square, Lunken Airport and other locations around Cincinnati. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/17/exclusive-restaurant-industry-veterans-leave.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 18, 20187 yr Wurst Bar closing, to be replaced by gastropub in Mount Lookout The Wurst Bar in Mount Lookout has shut its doors, but a new gastropub will open in its place, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/18/wurst-bar-closing-to-be-replaced-by-gastropub-in.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 21, 20187 yr New restaurant and sports bar coming to Greater Cincinnati A new sports bar appears headed to a vacant restaurant property in Greater Cincinnati. Records from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control show Reid's Sports Bar & Grill LLC submitted an application for a liquor permit at 549 E. Main St. in Lebanon last week. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/21/new-restaurant-and-sports-bar-coming-to-greater.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 21, 20187 yr Here's when Maplewood's second location will open Thunderdome Restaurant Group originated Maplewood Kitchen and Bar downtown in the 84.51 building in 2016, and now it's getting ready to bring that experience to Cincinnati's suburbs mid-summer this year. Maplewood is coming to 5065 Deerfield Blvd. at the Deerfield Towne Center, expected to open in early July, Thunderdome co-founder Joe Lanni told me. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/21/heres-when-maplewoods-second-location-will-open.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 21, 20187 yr I hate how chained a lot of the places downtown and in OTR have gotten. Really takes away the originality of the places when you can go to another location in the burbs or in another city.
May 21, 20187 yr ^I've been saying this for a while now. I know some folks in Indianapolis who thought Bakersfield was an Indy-exclusive restaurant until I told them otherwise. I get it, and good for them for having a successful business model, but it definitely creates the impression of "OTR has all the same stuff as everywhere else". But I personally think it was pretty clear from the get-go that building a restaurant empire was the end game for a lot of these companies in OTR. Their branding was all too slick for just one-off establishments. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
May 21, 20187 yr It's not even a lot of companies. The main one is Thunderdome Group. Maplewood, Eagle, Bakersfield, possibly others (Kreuger's?) have spread from OTR (or CBD in the case of Maplewood) under the Thunderdome umbrella. Taste of Belgium wasn't obvious to me, at all, that the intention was to spread like wildfire. I don't think it's a smart business move for that concept, but then what do I know about the restaurant biz. Senate wasn't obvious that it would spread, either, especially since it was one of the early restaurants to open in the "Gateway Quarter." Lavomatic didn't spread, and basically had the same appearance at first.
May 21, 20187 yr To be fair, Lavomatic was run by a couple that, from everything I've heard from those that worked with them, more or less hated each other and wound up getting a divorce and closing their restaurants. That and it just wasn't all that interesting or unique. Their menu changed too many times. Although I will say that in its last iteration that I really enjoyed their goetta sliders on their brunch menu.
May 22, 20187 yr ^I've been saying this for a while now. I know some folks in Indianapolis who thought Bakersfield was an Indy-exclusive restaurant until I told them otherwise. I get it, and good for them for having a successful business model, but it definitely creates the impression of "OTR has all the same stuff as everywhere else". But I personally think it was pretty clear from the get-go that building a restaurant empire was the end game for a lot of these companies in OTR. Their branding was all too slick for just one-off establishments. I always assumed this stemmed from the P&G influence of creating 'brands' over products. Several of these restaurant guys got their start at P&G, so they see brand expansion as a natural next step, after the initial proof of concept has proved successful. I know Jean Francois and the Macaron Bar guys got are ex-P&Gers, but not so sure about the others. I don't have a problem with these restaurants expanding to other markets, but I wish they would advertise their Cincinnati roots more. Or at least do things to make the OTR locations feel like the original/flagship spots. It'd be a cool selling point if people in Cleveland, Columbus, Indy, etc. knew that Bakersfield (for example) was a Cincy product.
May 22, 20187 yr I guess the question becomes, how do you go about doing that? I feel like it's hard unless it's specifically baked into the branding in every single way. I doubt most people know Wendy's is a Columbus thing, but everyone knows In-N-Out is a Los Angeles thing. Or alternatively, everyone knows that Skyline is a Cincy thing because their whole identity is about being a Cincy thing. Which in that particular case probably hurts it a little bit in terms of trying to outsource its popularity to new locations. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
May 22, 20187 yr Not sure how you let people know a restaurant named after Bakersfield, California is actually from Cincinnati.
May 22, 20187 yr Yeah, it's a tough sell. Like their "tacos." "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 22, 20187 yr It's really cool right now to be a "ghost chain" (with one location per market max) rather than a regular chain. If you play up your original location which is in another city you lose that. I remember living around the corner from a Trattoria Roma in Grandview; then my roommate lived around the corner from another Trattoria Roma... in Istanbul.
May 22, 20187 yr It's really cool right now to be a "ghost chain" (with one location per market max) rather than a regular chain. If you play up your original location which is in another city you lose that. I remember living around the corner from a Trattoria Roma in Grandview; then my roommate lived around the corner from another Trattoria Roma... in Istanbul. It's like the Olde Spaghetti Factory, except instead of eating in an old trolley you arrive by pedal wagon.
May 22, 20187 yr Not sure how you let people know a restaurant named after Bakersfield, California is actually from Cincinnati. Touché.
May 22, 20187 yr Yeah, it's a tough sell. Like their "tacos." Is that a criticism of their food? My wife is from Mexico and Bakersfield is one of her favorite spots for tacos in Cincinnati... for whatever it's worth.
May 22, 20187 yr Bakersfield's taco tortillas: Bakersfield makes their tortillas in house by hand. It's fine if you don't like them (to each their own), but there aren't many restaurants in town that make their own tortillas. I'm glad Bakersfield hand makes their tortillas, as I much prefer the flavor of fresh tortillas.
May 22, 20187 yr I'm perfectly fine with smallish tacos if they're good. And Bakersfield has good tacos. And also really great guacamole. And that smokey salsa they have I could drink straight from the bottle. I miss Bakersfield...
May 22, 20187 yr Yeah, it's a tough sell. Like their "tacos." Is that a criticism of their food? My wife is from Mexico and Bakersfield is one of her favorite spots for tacos in Cincinnati... for whatever it's worth. Didn't care for it. ColDay just wants his Doritos Locos Tacos! I'd rather eat...**shudders** Taco Bueno than that Taco Bell mess. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 22, 20187 yr So apparently Danny Wahlberg was in town for Wahlberger's this past weekend and this girl went up and asked him to sign his name. He signed it on her forearm. Then she had the tattoo guy at Hybrid simply trace it. I was told this by a guy I work with who was up there at the time getting a tattoo of what appeared to be a White Zombie-type head.
May 24, 20187 yr Over-the-Rhine Lebanese eatery opens this week Over-the-Rhine's first Lebanese eatery, an expansion of a popular chain in Cincinnati, is set to open its doors to diners this week. Aladdin's Eatery + Lounge OTR will open at 1203 Main St. on May 25. It's the third Aladdin's in the region, behind the original in West Chester and one in Hyde Park. Aladdin's is a Lebanese-American eatery. It originated in Cleveland, where Cincinnati co-owner Carla Chalkley and her brother, Steve Ibrahim, worked their way up from servers to general managers to the corporate office before moving to Cincinnati and partnering with Larry and Patty Sabino to bring the concept here. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/24/over-the-rhine-lebanese-eatery-opens-this-week.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 29, 20187 yr New restaurant coming to former Max & Erma's space at Rookwood Commons A California-based brewery and its restaurant brand is coming to Rookwood Commons in the now-demolished space that formerly housed Max & Erma's. BJ's Restaurant Brewhouse is coming to the former Max & Erma's space at 2631 Edmondson Road in Norwood. Demolition of the space wrapped up mid-May and the BJ's is now under construction with no specified opening date. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/29/exclusive-new-restaurant-coming-to-former-max.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 30, 20187 yr I think currently Vietnamese restaurants are just trendier, which is why you see a lot in downtown/OTR and not many Chinese restaurants. Thai is trendier as a whole, though Ohio weirdly missed out on that. There are more thai places in NYC and Chicago than Chinese now...
May 30, 20187 yr I'm perfectly fine with smallish tacos if they're good. And Bakersfield has good tacos. And also really great guacamole. And that smokey salsa they have I could drink straight from the bottle. I miss Bakersfield... The smallish tacos are more authentic too.
May 30, 20187 yr OTR's new Lebanese restaurant, Aladdin's Eatery + Lounge, opens Aladdin's Eatery + Lounge, a new Lebanese restaurant in Over-the-Rhine, opened over the weekend. We have your first look inside. The restaurant opened at 1203 Main St. on May 25. It's the third Aladdin's in the region behind the original in West Chester and one in Hyde Park. Flip through the photos for a look inside. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/30/otrs-new-lebanese-restaurant-aladdins-eatery.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 30, 20187 yr Prominent East Walnut Hills building ready to become restaurant A prominent building abutting De Sales Corner in East Walnut Hills is ready to become a restaurant after sitting vacant for years. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/30/exclusive-prominent-east-walnut-hills-building.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 31, 20187 yr Here's when the Banks' Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant plans to open The newest restaurant at the Banks along the Ohio River downtown will specialize in Nashville-style hot chicken, and plans to open next month. Joella's Hot Chicken, which is taking over the former Santo Graal space at 180 Freedom Way, plans to open by the end of June. The Louisville-based chain opened a second Greater Cincinnati location in Crescent Springs in 2016. A representative of Schulte Hospitality Group, which recently became the owner of Joella's Hot Chicken, said the target date at the Banks is June 20, though that could change based on construction. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/31/heres-when-the-banks-nashville-style-hot-chicken.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 31, 20187 yr Louisville Nashville Hot Chicken in Cincinnati. BTW we've been over this before but "Nashville Hot Chicken" is not real. The term didn't even exist until around 2013. It's a fake regional food.
May 31, 20187 yr ^Just looked at Wikipedia, and the article was created in 2009 with mention of "Nashville Hot Chicken"
May 31, 20187 yr Why is it not real just because it hasn't been around a long time? When did Cincinnati style chili become real? 20 years? 30 years?
May 31, 20187 yr BTW we've been over this before but "Nashville Hot Chicken" is not real. The term didn't even exist until around 2013. It's a fake regional food. It's just spicy fried chicken. I don't get the hype. I had Joella's once and I'll take Richie's spicy chicken over that any day. The "Nashville" style spicy chicken is too sweet for my liking - it always tastes like it has too much brown sugar. It reminds me of chicken and waffles, but there's no waffle. Aside from the slightly sweet breading I don't think there's anything unique about the dish, as opposed to regional dishes like Cincinnati Chili, Poutine, and the Rochester Garbage Plate - all of which are rather unique creations, not just a recipe tweak.
May 31, 20187 yr Why is it not real just because it hasn't been around a long time? When did Cincinnati style chili become real? 20 years? 30 years? Like 60-70 years ago. It's a food that locals eat regularly. Like 30-50 times per year. There are chains. There are independents. People make it at home. Schools serve it in the cafeteria. The actual history of hot chicken in Nashville is that 2-3 very small black-owned restaurants have served a "hot chicken" or "hot fish" variant for a long time. It didn't cross over to white people until the 2010s, when it was hijacked by the convention and visitor's bureau and called "NASHVILLE hot chicken". It was a way to get the word NASHVILLE out there. Many people who grew up in Nashville had not heard of it until 2013~ when the rest of the country did. I went to the University of Tennessee in the 90s and never heard the phrase mentioned.
May 31, 20187 yr I'll take Richie's I haven't been there since 2001 or so. I pass the place every day. Maybe tonight will be the night to give it another try. The best spicy/hot chicken I ever had was in Houston, almost 20 years ago, at one of those places with a lot of memorabilia on the walls and a line out the door. If they had the marketers that Nashville has we might have had a "Houston Hot Chicken" wave in the 2000s.
May 31, 20187 yr Look at Google's search history for "Nashville Hot Chicken": https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=nashville%20hot%20chicken No interest at all until its circa-2014 invention.
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