After posting it on UrbanUp a while back (last year before I reset the site), I got an e-mail and message from the owner of CdW. He apologized and offered to give me his take on it - which wasn't much different than the official take. Good to see he went back and apologized.

 

For what it's worth, I saw him on last Thursday's ride! I wish CdW was out there sponsoring though :)

Finally some movement again at this prime Walnut & 7th corner location.

 

 

Downtown Cincinnati to get upscale sports lounge this fall

Premium content from Business Courier - by Tom Demeropolis , Staff Reporter

Date: Friday, July 29, 2011, 6:00am EDT

 

One of the former owners of Bang Nightclub has set an October opening for a new high-end sports bar and lounge downtown.

 

The as-of-yet unnamed operation will join a number of establishments along downtown’s Walnut Street across from the Aronoff Center for the Arts, an area known as the Backstage District. Nick Grammas, who will be the sole owner, said he will spend between $600,000 and $700,000 transforming the former Eye Tech Optical space at Seventh and Walnut streets.

 

Brian Graham, broker with Colliers International, represented the building landlord, Diamond PropertiesbizWatch , in the lease. He did not disclose the terms of the lease but said it was a long-term deal.

 

“We’re going to cater to the late-night crowd,” Grammas said.

 

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Grammer's has closed again. This time indefinietly:

 

http://winemedinemecincinnati.com/2011/08/grammers-closed-indefinitely/

Grammer's has closed again. This time indefinietly:

 

http://winemedinemecincinnati.com/2011/08/grammers-closed-indefinitely/

 

I went there quite a bit since I live across the street.  It was always pretty dead, except what seemed like a bit of an after work crowd that died off by about 7:00 each night.  Saying they’re closing because of the robbery is probably just an easy cop-out, they had to have been losing money.

That place was never going to attract a general crowd until they fixed up the parking lot and fence facing Liberty St.  It never even looked open. 

^

Why dont the re-open it as a German restaurant?

 

When I was up in Milwaukee they have two Grammer-esque places, on the edges of their downtown.

 

As it is its a tragedy that this place can't stay open.  If the interior is as I remember it from the 1970s its a great space for gemutlichkeit.  If the interior has been destroyed or heavily altered, well, machts nichts then.

 

 

 

 

Jake is right-- I would drive by and see the big OPEN sign, but the lot would be empty and the gate half closed... I actually never went because I couldn't tell if they were ever open!! They STILL have a giant Open sign up...

Not to mention they were serving heated up food since they didn't have a full kitchen.  There are enough other options in OTR now that re-heated chicken wings are simply not going to cut it.  Grammers should have just stayed a bar for a little longer until the Wade's had a viable plan for this restuarant, as Grammers the night spot was routinely packed and was one of the funnest spots in downtown/OTR.  The way they opened without having a true kitchen or any real draw other than the history of the site, you get the impression the Wades almost wanted Grammers to close.

The only sort-of German restaurant left in Cincinnati is Mecklenburg Gardens.  Like Grammer's it was closed for about 15 years but has remained open since around 2002.  The other tragic loss from this decade was Forest View Gardens in Monfort Heights.  It was a German-themed dinner theater and the entire wait staff was CCM opera students.  I went there maybe 15 times as a kid.  It shut down around 2004 because the owners were getting old. 

 

They had a rear patio where during the winter you could see the Carew Tower through the trees.  I remember they had two dinners per night, probably one at 5:30 and one at 7:30 but I might have those times wrong.  The main room sat maybe 200 at long tables with benches.  By the time the staff took the stage, everyone was drunk and ready to party.     

 

The problems with Grammer's were many.  I remember going there in the 80's when it was a restaurant but can't really remember how it was laid out.  I remember them setting up tents in the parking lot and having food outside.  I think the key for that place long-term would be to turn the parking lot into outdoor dining that meets the street in a friendly way and to turn the area where the other building was before the fire into the parking lot. 

 

 

 

Lenhart's is more or less still a German restaurant.

http://winemedinemecincinnati.com/2011/08/man-vs-food-enters-cincinnati/

I used to love going to Forest View Gardens with my family when I was a kid. It was such a fun place, and whenever my grandparents would come in from Pittsburgh, they always requested to go there. I never knew exactly where it was though.

 

The only sort-of German restaurant left in Cincinnati is Mecklenburg Gardens.  Like Grammer's it was closed for about 15 years but has remained open since around 2002.  The other tragic loss from this decade was Forest View Gardens in Monfort Heights.  It was a German-themed dinner theater and the entire wait staff was CCM opera students.  I went there maybe 15 times as a kid.  It shut down around 2004 because the owners were getting old. 

 

They had a rear patio where during the winter you could see the Carew Tower through the trees.  I remember they had two dinners per night, probably one at 5:30 and one at 7:30 but I might have those times wrong.  The main room sat maybe 200 at long tables with benches.  By the time the staff took the stage, everyone was drunk and ready to party.     

 

The problems with Grammer's were many.  I remember going there in the 80's when it was a restaurant but can't really remember how it was laid out.  I remember them setting up tents in the parking lot and having food outside.  I think the key for that place long-term would be to turn the parking lot into outdoor dining that meets the street in a friendly way and to turn the area where the other building was before the fire into the parking lot. 

 

 

 

The Forest View Gardens (now closed) was located on North Bend Rd., just NE of the junction with Western-Northern Blvd.  In its heyday it was a much-loved "singing restaurant."  The nearest thing to it today might be Vito's over in Ft. Thomas, Ky.  (I'm not even sure if that singing restaurant is still operational...)

The entertainment at Forest View Gardens was a little "hokey" but it was definitely fun.  One of my uncles was a bus boy there in high school and always gets a big smirk on his face talking about it because since it was a bunch of theater people they had a cast party just about every Friday and Saturday night after it closed.  As just about the only straight guy on the staff, even as a high schooler, he got a lot of attention from the girls!

 

But if Forest View was still around, would it have gone hipster by now?!!!

But if Forest View was still around, would it have gone hipster by now?!!!

 

This comment amuses ColDayMan.

 

The sad part is, it probably would have been too passé for the hipsters around now-ish.  They're probably going to open up that bootleg Cracker Barrel @ Liberty and Walnut and return it to hipster-dom.

Next time you're in town we're going to hit up the Anchor Grill in Covington.  It's a hipster's paradise.

Sounds like a blast in a glass!

Yeah, they have a little animatronic band that plays behind glass:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/durbanator/1137899883/#in/photostream/

 

Check out the seascape mural at right, it actually measures about 17 feet long:

http://static.gowalla.com/photos/952830_high_res_320x480.jpg

 

LOL!!! @ the little animatronic band!

Yeah my efforts to coordinate an UrbanCincy west side night with dinner at Maurey's Tiny Cove fell on deaf ears. 

Hey, looks like Grammer's will be reopening!

 

...once they get "improved" security.

If the interior is as I remember it from the 1970s its a great space for gemutlichkeit.  If the interior has been destroyed or heavily altered, well, machts nichts then.

 

I actually thought the same thing after seeing the Minneapolis episode of Man vs. Food. Grammer's would be perfect for gemutlichkeit and an epicenter for celebrating Cincinnati's German heritage.

Did anyone else see that Gilpin's no longer does steam bagel sandwiches but simply sandwiches instead? This is quite disappointing to me, as I thought it was a truly unique and delicious product for late night grub. I see they even opened the upstairs dining area, which I was awaiting for quite some time.

Did anyone else see that Gilpin's no longer does steam bagel sandwiches but simply sandwiches instead? This is quite disappointing to me, as I thought it was a truly unique and delicious product for late night grub. I see they even opened the upstairs dining area, which I was awaiting for quite some time.

 

When did this happen? I had a steamed bagel from them pretty recently.  Do they just not do the steamed sandwiches at night when they are on the 'drunk menu' ?

^Ah, I guess they just branched out and rebranded. They're now known as Gilpin's Steamed Sandwiches, rather than Gilpin's Bagel & Deli. Their website doesn't even have a menu posted, but it seems that other rolls and breads are options now too. I was dissuaded but the name change though.

Anybody know what is going into the old Passage space?  Looks like there is some new signage up.

Anybody know what is going into the old Passage space?  Looks like there is some new signage up.

 

It's called Luxe. See more at this thread: Cincinnati: Nightlife

Boca is moving into the old Maisonette space, and adding a downmarket casual restaurant too :)

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110930/BIZ01/309300018/Boca-move-into-Maisonette-space?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Business?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

 

and

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110930/ENT01/309300117

 

A nice addition to the popped collar er restaurant row in Cincinnati.

In recent weeks in Northside, Northslice pizza & The Grove have both closed. Chameleon has opened in the old 5th Amendment location.

The Boswell Alley property was sold at Sheriff's auction. No idea what's going on there.

Rumors were going on for a while about Northslice, but they had some damn good pizzas. I noticed the paper on the windows when I went by to get a slice yesterday. A shame it closed :(

Apparently Northslice is still around but with a different owner.

Details are sketchy.

http://cincyvoices.com/2011/10/04/northslice-gone/

Of course, if no one cared, there'd be no details at all.

Construction going on inside 309 Sycamore. The property was transferred to the In Between Tavern owners (307 SYCAMORE HOLDING COMPANY LLC) on 03/30/2011. You can see they are constructing a bar on the south side of the building and what could be a dinning room on the north side. Not sure anything is happening on the floors above.

 

Still haven't heard anything about this project but it his appears to be an expansion. Notice the garage door behind the bar that connects to the existing In Between Tavern bar.

Odd as this is (always appears as) the busiest restaurant in the food court...

 

Chick-fil-A to close downtown

 

Chick-fil-A’s only downtown chicken restaurant will close Friday afternoon after nearly 18 years in business.

 

Chick-fil-A operates in the food court of Tower Place Mall. A manager, who declined to share his name, said sales have declined in recent years.  The decision to close was made by the Atlanta company. The downtown location has been corporately-owned for a number of years.

 

Sbarro closed in January after nearly 20 years in operation in the food court.

 

Cont

Pics of the nearly completed Abagail Street next to Senate. looks absolutely awesome!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anadequatenovel/sets/72157627893582220/with/6244482484/

Odd as this is (always appears as) the busiest restaurant in the food court...

 

Chick-fil-A to close downtown

 

Downtown is dead.

Odd as this is (always appears as) the busiest restaurant in the food court...

 

Chick-fil-A to close downtown

 

 

Downtown is dead.

 

well, per the Enquirer, this article would imply so, yes.

Odd as this is (always appears as) the busiest restaurant in the food court...

 

Chick-fil-A to close downtown

 

Downtown is dead.

Shopping malls are dead.

 

Maybe the Enquirer should do an article about major chains being replaced with local businesses downtown. That seems like an easy case to make.

Outsiders always crow when chain establishments close in downtown areas not realizing that urban dwellers don't support chains nearly as much as the general population does.

Bank seeks eviction for Cadillac Ranch

Restaurant late on rent, Fifth Third Bank claims

Premium content from Business Courier

 

Fifth Third Bancorp is seeking a court order to evict the Cadillac Ranch bar from its location near Fountain Square for nonpayment of rent. The bank claims Cadillac Ranch defaulted on its 10-year lease by failing to make payments in full beginning in September 2010. The bank alleges it was owed at least $112,210 as of Oct. 4, the date it filed its complaint in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

 

Fifth Third owns the office tower and retail complex adjacent to Fountain Square along Sixth and Walnut streets. Cadillac Ranch, part of a Dublin, Ohio-based chain, has occupied an 8,000-square-foot ground floor space at the southwest corner of the intersection since 2007. Its monthly payments, including base rent and operating expenses, are more than $16,000, according to the bank’s complaint. A copy of the lease was filed with the court.

 

Fifth Third’s effort to reclaim the space comes less than two months after Cadillac Ranch closed for several hours in mid-August while Internal Revenue Service investigators searched its premises. The restaurant resumed operations later that day and has been open since. There has been no further public disclosure about the matter.

 

Cont

Johnny Rockets leaving Levee

Five Guys will take Johnny Rockets space

 

The new Five Guys Burgers and Fries that’s planned for Newport on the Levee will take over the space that’s currently Johnny Rockets.

 

Johnny Rockets isn’t renewing its lease, which expires in the spring of 2012.

 

“They’re opening at The Banks, and we don’t want to split the market,” Christy Gloyd, marketing director at Newport on the Levee, said of Johnny Rockets’ decision not to renew its space there.

 

Johnny Rockets is set to open at The Banks next Thursday, in a nearly 3,000-square-foot space at 191 E. Freedom Way. The custom-designed space will feature a menu that’s unique to Cincinnati, with choices such as Dusty’s Bacon Burger, in honor of Reds’ manager Dusty Baker, and the Lotta Domata Hamburger, named for Bengals’ defensive tackle Domata Peko.

 

Once the Newport Johnny Rockets closes, Five Guys will remodel before opening at the Levee. An opening date has not yet been set.

 

Cont

Well we knew THAT was going to happen!

Just heard that my favorite restaurant Mayberry is moving to a bigger space in OTR, Main Street.  Very cool.

Cadillac Ranch evicted, sued

 

Less than three months after the Internal Revenue Service closed downtown’s Cadillac Ranch for a daylong investigation, the restaurant and bar faces eviction and a lawsuit from its landlord Fifth Third Bank.

 

The bank claims in an October filing in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas that Cadillac Ranch operators owe it $112,210 in past-due rent, storage fees and late charges accrued since September 2010.

 

And when the restaurant was served with an eviction notice September 27th, it failed to leave the premises. The restaurant remains open at the southwest corner of Sixth and Walnut streets. A hearing will be held November 15th before Magistrate Michael Bachman to determine next steps in the case.

 

Calls to the bank and restaurant and their lawyers haven’t yet been returned.

^ I don't like chicks in pink cowboy hats. Bret Michales apparently didn't go there enough for them to keep the place open.

The old Northslice @ 1609 Chase will reopen 11/12 as Don's Pizza Lounge with the usual fare - Fresh crust pizza, Calzones, Stromboli, Sandwiches, Pastas & Salads. They will keep the late night window on weekends & offer limited delivery.

Also, a "comfy craft beer and wine shop that will evolve into a "rock ‘n roll wine bar,"" called The Listing Loon is set to open on Hamilton Avenue in the old Hoffner Lodge by Valentine’s Day.

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/110811listingloon.aspx

 

Construction going on inside 309 Sycamore. The property was transferred to the In Between Tavern owners (307 SYCAMORE HOLDING COMPANY LLC) on 03/30/2011. You can see they are constructing a bar on the south side of the building and what could be a dinning room on the north side. Not sure anything is happening on the floors above.

 

Still haven't heard anything about this project but it his appears to be an expansion. Notice the garage door behind the bar that connects to the existing In Between Tavern bar.

 

In Between's expansion opened sometime early November...

Silver Ladle coming to Restaurant Row:

Signs are up at US Bank Tower's Walnut St. entrance for a freshii franchise. No opening date yet.

Django Western Taco will be opening sometime in the old Slim's location at the corner of Hamilton & Blue Rock in frenetic Northside.

http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/dining/anotherbite/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10321465

Also, Jimmy G's in some place called Downtown & Eli's BBQ in Columbia Tusculum

Downtown's Cadillac Ranch gets new owners

 

Cadillac Ranch, the bar and restaurant at the corner of Sixth and Walnut streets in downtown Cincinnati, is under new ownership.

 

Restaurant Entertainment of Cincinnati LLC has acquired the assets of Cincinnati FS LLC, which was doing business as Cadillac Ranch, and assumed operations. The new ownership will change the name of the bar and restaurant, as well as make changes to operations. The new owners plan to make upgrades to the bar and launch a new lunch and dinner menu in January, according to a press release.

 

Cont