January 4, 201411 yr not sure if anyone is familiar with angels on McMillan, but they never have anything in stock. Rumor on the streets is they're laundering money. Any idea how they're still in business even though they never really sell anything?
January 4, 201411 yr I haven't been into Angels in a while but when I did everything seemed pretty normal. Can you elaborate on what you mean by "never have anything in stock?"
January 6, 201411 yr Newport on the Levee to welcome new restaurant A popular national restaurant chain will be opening its doors at Newport on the Levee, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Dick's Last Resort, the restaurant-tavern known for its tall paper hats with silly slogans, is expected to open this spring. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2014/01/newport-on-the-levee-to-welcome-new.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 6, 201411 yr Looks like this restaurant closed. It had 5 locations. http://itsjustcrepes.com/
January 7, 201411 yr Author Vyrsd Social Room opens Downtown Shauna Steigerwald A new upscale bar and lounge has opened 435 Elm St., Downtown, in the space that was previously Diamond Palace. Vyrsd Social Room — the name is a play on “versed,” as in “well versed,” according to John Tekulve, who owns the bar with Tim Kemper — is a gay-friendly lounge serving cocktails and craft beer. They hope to add food in the future. http://cincinnati.com/blogs/newintown/2014/01/06/vyrsd-social-room-opens-downtown/
January 7, 201411 yr Ugh. Now think about how many of those people make over $100,000 a year. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet your American upper middle class.
January 7, 201411 yr Vyrsd Social Room opens Downtown Shauna Steigerwald A new upscale bar and lounge has opened 435 Elm St., Downtown, in the space that was previously Diamond Palace. Vyrsd Social Room — the name is a play on “versed,” as in “well versed,” according to John Tekulve, who owns the bar with Tim Kemper — is a gay-friendly lounge serving cocktails and craft beer. They hope to add food in the future. http://cincinnati.com/blogs/newintown/2014/01/06/vyrsd-social-room-opens-downtown/ So it's basically the same place that got shut down for nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc. it just has a new, odd name.
January 7, 201411 yr Vyrsd Social Room — the name is a play on “versed,” as in “well versed,” according to John Tekulve, who owns the bar with Tim Kemper — is a gay-friendly lounge serving cocktails and craft beer. They hope to add food in the future. I just figured it was Russian
January 7, 201411 yr So it's basically the same place that got shut down for nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc. it just has a new, odd name. I don't know about that, it actually sounds nothing like Diamond Palace. Diamond Palace was always a train wreck and the former owners are opening a new place in Camp Washington so this new place has no association with them. About the only similarity between this and Diamond Palace is the 'gay friendly' aspect. That being said I don't see this lasting. That space just is not conducive to a fun bar environment. None of the places that have occupied that space have been fun or inviting. I give this place 6 months.
January 7, 201411 yr Vyrsd Social Room opens Downtown Shauna Steigerwald A new upscale bar and lounge has opened 435 Elm St., Downtown, in the space that was previously Diamond Palace. Vyrsd Social Room — the name is a play on “versed,” as in “well versed,” according to John Tekulve, who owns the bar with Tim Kemper — is a gay-friendly lounge serving cocktails and craft beer. They hope to add food in the future. http://cincinnati.com/blogs/newintown/2014/01/06/vyrsd-social-room-opens-downtown/ So it's basically the same place that got shut down for nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc. it just has a new, odd name. Why do you say that? Is it the same owners? It doesn't seem like it. Are you implying all gay-friendly bars have nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc.?
January 7, 201411 yr Certainly sounds like a misunderstanding of what the term 'gay friendly' means. Diamond Palace wasn't actually that gay friendly at the end. The gay crowd stopped going there because it was so awful and it actually had become a hip hop bar. When it was making that transition is when they lost Jessica Dimon who was the only person capable of bringing the gays into that place. Once she went back to The Dock Diamond Palace accelerated its downward slide and all the things they were cited for happened after the gay community had given up on it.
January 7, 201411 yr Maybe I am underestimating the extent to which craft beer has penetrated our culture, but I don't imagine somewhere that hypes their craft beer selection attracting nudity, prostitution, and open drug trade/use. Were the prostitutes at Diamond Palace male?
January 7, 201411 yr Vyrsd Social Room opens Downtown Shauna Steigerwald A new upscale bar and lounge has opened 435 Elm St., Downtown, in the space that was previously Diamond Palace. Vyrsd Social Room — the name is a play on “versed,” as in “well versed,” according to John Tekulve, who owns the bar with Tim Kemper — is a gay-friendly lounge serving cocktails and craft beer. They hope to add food in the future. http://cincinnati.com/blogs/newintown/2014/01/06/vyrsd-social-room-opens-downtown/ So it's basically the same place that got shut down for nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc. it just has a new, odd name. Why do you say that? Is it the same owners? It doesn't seem like it. Are you implying all gay-friendly bars have nudity, prostitution, drugs, etc.? I assumed it was the same owners because of the cheesy name, but it might be different owners. Still, that spot has a reputation for being trashy so it's going to be tough to open anything there that would attract anything but the same crowd that went to the last place that occupied the area. I wasn't taking a stab at gay bars, Diamond Palace was shut down specifically for the things I mentioned. I've had beers at places like Shooters and never ran into that stuff.
January 7, 201411 yr I'm pretty sure all establishments with a liquor license hype their craft beer selection these days even if it is only 5 beers.
January 7, 201411 yr Except the crowd that spot attracted as Diamond Palace was literally completely different than the crowd it attracted as Lunar before it. That spot doesn't just attract the same people. It brings with it different crowds depending on the bar. Was there actually prostitution? I believe that was people making garbage up and the real problems were unsanitary conditions, "nude" female performers which were in actuality just scantily clad drag queens, and a few fights that required the police to come.
January 7, 201411 yr I don't know about that, it actually sounds nothing like Diamond Palace. Diamond Palace was always a train wreck and the former owners are opening a new place in Camp Washington so this new place has no association with them. Where in Camp Washington?
January 7, 201411 yr I'm not sure where the spot is. Jessica Dimon (the former show director at Diamond Palace, now at The Dock if you are unaware of who she is) was talking to me about all the problems and what the owners planned on doing. They're getting a license to have nude performers, or at least are trying, so they can have strip shows. She did say the location they were looking at but it has left my mind where it was since I'm not super familiar with the streets in Camp Washington.
January 7, 201411 yr I'd be fine with that. As long as they don't try to mask it as something better. Diamond Palace was attempting to fill the void left by Adonis closing....but it was a terrible place from the beginning. The owners put $0 into opening that place. It was Lunar's leftovers. I think the owners could be very successful opening a trashy strip club in Camp Washington, but if you're going to have their business model you can't run it in a high profile place like across the street from the convention center. While we're on the topic of bay bars...does anybody know what's up with "the annex" that opened on 9th and Race a few months back? I've heard it's a casual lounge offshoot of Simon Says? I'm lost.
January 7, 201411 yr Yeah, Diamond Palace was set up to fail from the very beginning. The downstairs was devoid of furniture and therefore was pretty much useless. It was just a transition zone between going from upstairs to the smoking area outside. Nobody was ever down there because all the seating that was there when Lunar still existed was sold off and not replaced. Upstairs just wasn't shaped or set up for a drag show and it didn't help that their spot light broke, the cool backlights behind the "stage" burned out, and the sound system stopped working several months in and would, almost every time I was there, lose all bass and therefore be completely unlistenable. It was a shit show really. It may have succeeded if they actually put any effort into it. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. The only gay bar that is still actually decent is Below Zero/Cabaret but they need to figure out a way of incorporating dancing into it better. The moment the drag show is over everyone up and leaves for The Dock to dance until 4 a.m. We've been referring to this mass migration of gays at various bars to the Dock at around 1 a.m. as Dock o'clock. If Below Zero stayed open later and made their dance area larger/better I don't think there would be any reason to go anywhere else.
January 7, 201411 yr I've told them a million times. Flip Cabaret and Below Zero. Upstairs has terrible sight lines for drag but it's a great space for dancing. Downstairs is a better stage for drag and can stay a lounge after drag shows. It would cost nothing and instantly make a better space.
January 7, 201411 yr Looks like this restaurant closed. It had 5 locations. http://itsjustcrepes.com/ That's too bad. It was a unique dining option, inexpensive, and very tasty.
January 8, 201411 yr I have no inside knowledge of "It's Just Crepes" but when they started on Court Street, they were the only dining option in that price range open 7 days a week. We went often on Sundays with the kids and often there was a line. But that was 4 years ago. Times have changed, now there are lots more eating options within walking distance. Also, I never understood why they had 2 locations downtown. Seemed like overkill for a startup.
January 8, 201411 yr I have no inside knowledge of "It's Just Crepes" but when they started on Court Street, they were the only dining option in that price range open 7 days a week. We went often on Sundays with the kids and often there was a line. But that was 4 years ago. Times have changed, now there are lots more eating options within walking distance. Also, I never understood why they had 2 locations downtown. Seemed like overkill for a startup. Some of the Court Street restaurants need to stay open for the OTR late night crowd. Tom+Chee, Skyline, anything.
January 8, 201411 yr Agreed. And sad to see them close. They were a really great (and cheap) place to eat within walking distance of my old apartment.
January 8, 201411 yr Some of the Court Street restaurants need to stay open for the OTR late night crowd. Tom+Chee, Skyline, anything. The Eagle, Bakersfield, and Lucy Blue are all open late night on weekends. So is Joe's Diner I think. I wish a Skyline would stay open til 3am or so, though.
January 8, 201411 yr I wish a Skyline would stay open til 3am or so, though. Do any of the Skylines stay open late? The Chili Company never closed well, till they closed...
January 8, 201411 yr ^The only one I know of is the Clifton Skyline on Ludlow. None of the downtown ones do. I think the one on 6th should since it is close to a lot of bars/clubs.
January 8, 201411 yr I wish a Skyline would stay open til 3am or so, though. Do any of the Skylines stay open late? The Chili Company never closed well, till they closed... The one in Clifton stays open til 2 or 3 most nights... most of the outlying ones (at least the ones I go to on the west side) stay open until midnight on weekdays and 1 on weekends.
January 8, 201411 yr I wish a Skyline would stay open til 3am or so, though. Do any of the Skylines stay open late? The Chili Company never closed well, till they closed... The Oakley location is open til about 2 on weekends, 12 on weekdays. The Blue Ash location is open til 3 on weekends and 12 on weekdays. That one is especially surprising as there really isn't any nightlife around, but I've swung through the drive through coming home from being out before, and there are usually people sitting in the restaurant and in the drive through.
January 8, 201411 yr Author Check out the latest steakhouse in downtown Cincinnati, Prime 47: SLIDESHOW Tom Demeropolis Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier The latest steakhouse in downtown Cincinnati, now known as Prime 47, opened at the end of December. The more than 9,000-square-foot restaurant, located on the corner of Sixth and Walnut streets in AT580, is a new location for the newly branded steakhouse from Indiana. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/01/08/check-out-the-latest-steakhouse-in.html
January 9, 201411 yr Is demand for steakhouses really growing? Personally, I never find myself wanting to go out for a steak more than 1-2 times per year. I would guess that clientele skews much older for steakhouses compared to other genres of food.
January 14, 201411 yr ^ The Frisch's coke thing blows my mind. I recently overheard someone announce in a haughty tone that he would be "bringing his own coke" to Frisch's from now on. If Frisch's had foregone the public announcement and just let customers know via the classic "is pepsi okay?" query would the blowback have been this huge?
January 14, 201411 yr ^Yes. You will pry Coke out of Frisch's customers' cold dead hands. Sneaking it up on them like that would have been a far worse PR move.
January 14, 201411 yr Pepsi has put a lot of effort into trying to conquer Appalachia and rural Ohio because they know the South is out of the question.
January 14, 201411 yr ^ The Frisch's coke thing blows my mind. I recently overheard someone announce in a haughty tone that he would be "bringing his own coke" to Frisch's from now on. If Frisch's had foregone the public announcement and just let customers know via the classic "is pepsi okay?" query would the blowback have been this huge? yes Seriously, if I don't care if it's Coke or Pepsi, why would I care about the sandwich? A big mac is essentially the same thing.
January 18, 201411 yr ^ Frisch's is known adding their own flavoring to Coke, so I think that is why people are making such a big deal over the switch.
February 4, 201411 yr Cafe de Wheels is for sale. https://skydrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=8239AE1EEC5AB5F!297643&cid=08239ae1eec5ab5f&app=Word&wdo=2
February 7, 201411 yr Jeff Ruby's Waterfront restaurant is currently floating down the Ohio River. Again. Clay Wade Bailey Bridge is shut down.
February 7, 201411 yr What a clown. He's blaming the ice. If the "ice" is so formidable, why is his barge and only his barge floating down the river? I worked as a deckhand. The only way barges that are permanently moored get loose is if they're knocked loose by a collision. Yes, I'm very suspicious that this thing was set loose on purpose. Barges are moored by at minimum two cables. Ordinarily barges cables are linked with ratchets. These ratchets are easily kicked loose by moving an O-ring, then kicking the dog with your foot. A permanent mooring places a lock in that spot, preventing the dog from being kicked. Keep in mind, TWO of these links had to have been broken...
February 11, 201411 yr Author New steakhouse, Kiji, opens in former downtown Cincinnati Benihana space: SLIDESHOW Tom Demeropolis Reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier Kiji, a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant, opened last week in downtown Cincinnati at the former home of Benihana. The new restaurant, located at 126 E. Sixth St., is a new concept from Joe Wang, president of Fuji Steak House. Kiji’s menu centers on hibachi dishes, plus other Asian specialties. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/02/10/new-steakhouse-kiji-opens-in-former.html
March 4, 201411 yr Jeff Ruby's Waterfront restaurant is currently floating down the Ohio River. Again. Clay Wade Bailey Bridge is shut down. Since we got off topic on The Banks thread..... Ruby signed a lease with Covington to reopen at Covington Landing in 2015. Despite being pushed nine miles downstream Friday, Jeff Ruby is still planning to reopen his floating Waterfront restaurant in Covington in the spring of 2015. After breaking away from its dock Thursday morning, the restaurant was secured back to shore at a Hebron marina Friday afternoon. Ruby said the old Waterfront barge will be renovated and a second barge has been purchased. The site will include an atrium, boat docks, firepits, outdoor dining and a new bar. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/04/19/jeff-rubys-return-expected-to-bring.html?page=all The last time I went to The Waterfront was probably 2008, still expected to see Tony Montoya in a booth with his nose in a giant bowl of Coke, LOL. I think Covington landing is superior location compared to the old one. Good article http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-shuttered-restaurant-flotilla-of.html
March 4, 201411 yr Josh Campbell -- who was chef/owner of Mayberry, before that closed and he became head chef at Lavomatic -- has left Lavomatic and is now working at Belterra Park Racino. Campbell is quoted as saying, "It’s my dream gig." Anyone buying it? http://winemedinemecincinnati.com/2014/02/lavomatic-adds-new-executive-chef-josh-campbell-moves-to-fine-dining/
March 4, 201411 yr Josh Campbell -- who was chef/owner of Mayberry, before that closed and he became head chef at Lavomatic -- has left Lavomatic and is now working at Belterra Park Racino. Campbell is quoted as saying, "It’s my dream gig." Anyone buying it? http://winemedinemecincinnati.com/2014/02/lavomatic-adds-new-executive-chef-josh-campbell-moves-to-fine-dining/ That place will have 5-6 restaurants. Seems like a really good challenge moving up from a smaller operation. Probably a nice bump in pay.
March 4, 201411 yr If it has a buffet...I'm buying it!!! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
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