Yes, this is one of those trendy boutique bowling places, similar to the one that went into Newport on the Levee. Four lanes does seem awfully small, but bowling is almost just the background activity at a place like that.

If you read the quotes from the owner, they state that they don't intend to attract the "serious" bowler - it's mainly for someone to go and hang out after work and kill time, socialize or whatever.

 

This is awesome and pretty trendy in nyc. It'll be cool and like someone else said, that font ... ???

At least it's not Comic Sans. 

 

'Pizza theater' planned for Downtown

Shauna Steigerwald, [email protected] 5:10 p.m. EDT September 30, 2014

Downtown Cincinnati is getting a "pizza theater," Bowdeya Tweh reports:

 

A new Domino's Pizza concept will occupy one of three street-level retail spaces as part of a new 775-space Downtown Cincinnati parking garage development.

 

The Mabley Place parking garage at Fourth and Race streets opens Wednesday, but the tenant announcement came Tuesday during a grand opening ceremony involving the city and developers.

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/newintown/2014/09/30/pizza-theater-planned-for-downtown/16497847/

^ While it's hard to get excited about a Domino's, I am encouraged that another chain is interested in opening a Downtown Cincinnati location.

^ While it's hard to get excited about a Domino's, I am encouraged that another chain is interested in opening a Downtown Cincinnati location.

 

Chain's existing help local businesses get financing.  Banks see a chain nearby and say, well clearly their market research showed this was a good investment.  A Starbucks in OTR would lead to a significant increase in capital access for local businesses.

A Starbucks in OTR would lead to a significant increase in capital access for local businesses.

 

I'm shocked there isn't one yet.

A Starbucks in OTR would lead to a significant increase in capital access for local businesses.

 

I'm shocked there isn't one yet.

 

Nearly all development to date has been by 3CDC, who is explicitly anti-chain.  I've been hoping for a Starbucks at Court and Vine for a bit though.

Gah! I personally can't stand Starbuck's coffee, so I was always glad there wasn't one around OTR. Gives more business to Coffee Emporium and Kitty's Coffee on Court St. My partner loves starbucks so it's what we always get on road trips though. I have to get the blonde roast and load it with splenda and half and half so I can't taste the bitterness so much.

If we're on the topic of chain coffee places, there is a Dunkin Donuts on Court Street. They do $1 any size iced coffee from 2-6PM and it's everything you'd ever hope it would be. The large is literally like a Big Gulp of coffee. If I had to pick one, I'd say I actually prefer Dunkin to Starbucks, taste wise, but I'm usually scoffed at for that view. Unlike Starbucks, which are all corporate owned, Dunkin Donuts are franchises so there is at least some semblance of local ownership.

If I had to pick one, I'd say I actually prefer Dunkin to Starbucks, taste wise, but I'm usually scoffed at for that view.

 

I'm with you on that, but if I had to kill twenty minutes or meet up with someone, I'd pick Starbucks over DD every time.

A Starbucks in OTR would lead to a significant increase in capital access for local businesses.

 

I'm shocked there isn't one yet.

 

^Well there is one in the Casino (technically CBD) and there was going to be one in the AC Hotel at the SCPA (Pendleton).

If I had to pick one, I'd say I actually prefer Dunkin to Starbucks, taste wise, but I'm usually scoffed at for that view.

 

I'm with you on that, but if I had to kill twenty minutes or meet up with someone, I'd pick Starbucks over DD every time.

 

Though if in OTR Iris Book Cafe's courtyard KILLS anything that Starbucks could offer ;)

A Starbucks in OTR would lead to a significant increase in capital access for local businesses.

 

I'm shocked there isn't one yet.

 

^Well there is one in the Casino (technically CBD) and there was going to be one in the AC Hotel at the SCPA (Pendleton).

 

 

No longer hotel. Apartments.

 

Beercade coming to Northside

 

 

The owners of a Forest Fair video game arcade plan on opening a new concept in the old Alchemize spot in Northside that combines beer and video games.

 

Arcade Legacy at the Cincinnati Mall has more than 60 arcade games and pinball machines. Arcade Legacy: Bar Edition in Northside will open early next year with 40 arcade games and five pinball machines, owner Jesse Baker told me. He’s been visiting other beercades around the Midwest to see how the concept works.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/10/09/exclusive-beercade-coming-to-northside.html

Pi Pizzeria opens Downtown Monday

 

Pi Pizzeria will open its Downtown Cincinnati restaurant, located at Sixth and Main streets in the AT580 building, at 11 a.m. Monday.

 

More: Cincinnati: Downtown: 580 Building

Best line of the day "The owners of a Forest Fair video game arcade"

 

 

Cincinnati chef Jean-Robert to open new restaurant

 

 

Cincinnati restaurateur Jean-Robert de Cavel is opening his third restaurant, a French neo-bistro, in East Walnut Hills.

 

Le Bar a Boeuf will open in early November in the Edgecliff building at 2200 Victory Parkway. The restaurant will serve dinner, lunch and brunch.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/10/23/cincinnati-chef-jean-robert-to-open-new-restaurant.html

Walnut Hills is definitely picking up steam.

Take a look inside OTR's newest restaurant, The Mercer: PHOTOS

 

 

The Mercer Over-the-Rhine – the new concept from Kaze co-owner Jon Zipperstein – opened on Nov. 4, and we got a look inside.

 

The Mercer is a 100-seat Italian- and European-themed restaurant on the ground floor of Mercer Commons.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/06/take-a-look-inside-otrs-newest-restaurant-the.html

Drew and Nick Lachey set opening date for OTR bar

 

 

Lachey's Bar in Over-the-Rhine will open three months before the famous brothers' new A&E reality series is on air, the Enquirer reports.

 

Nick and Drew Lachey plan to open their new bar at Walnut and 12th streets in mid-December, and the show following its launch is expected to premiere in March.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2014/11/drew-and-nick-lachey-set-opening-date-for-otr-bar.html

Here’s where Cincinnati’s next brewery is set to open

 

A new brewer on Cincinnati's West Side is preparing to opento the public in 2015, WCPO reports.

 

James Gunnarson and his wife plan to open Bridgetown Brew Works in the former Wullenweber Motors location at 3044 Harrison Ave. in Westwood. The brewery, which is already under construction, will occupy 2,200 square feet of the 12,000-square-foot building and open the rest to local vendors.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2014/11/here-s-where-cincinnati-s-next-brewery-is-set-to.html

O’Malley’s in the Alley owner to open new Prohibition-themed bar

 

 

The owner of O'Malley's in the Alley is opening a new Prohibition-themed bar within spitting distance of his current one downtown.

 

The Blind Pig has a target open date of Dec. 4 at 24 W. Third St. downtown, right behind O'Malley's, owner Juan Imeroni told me.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/10/exclusive-o-malley-s-in-the-alley-owner-to-open.html

This Cincinnati shop is opening its second Over-the-Rhine location

 

 

Sweet Petit Desserts is opening a second Over-the-Rhine location on Tuesday.

 

Owner Taren Kinebrew, who already operates a storefront at 1426 Race St., will open a location at 1407 Vine St. at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11 (11 a.m. on 11/11). The day is also special to Kinebrew because she is a veteran who spent seven years in the Army National Guard.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/10/this-cincinnati-shop-is-opening-its-second-over.html

^Good for them, but can they really support two stores within a few blocks of each other?

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/newintown/2014/11/13/locals-sports-bar-grill-closed-downtown/18986119/

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/newintown/2014/11/13/locals-sports-bar-grill-closed-downtown/18986119/

 

Does this open the door for a downtown B-Dubs?

All you can drink brunches in NYC - I've always wondered how $15-$20 in NYC can get you an all you can drink brunch, but there's nothing in Cincinnati remotely similar. There's very little in the way of brunch here.

I wish we had more brunch places. That's definitely a trend I could get on board with coming to Cincy. I love me some brunch and the options currently are quite limited.

A couple years ago Japp's did all you can drink brunches. Probably around 2012.

http://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/local-a-e/beer/search-for-new-brew-team-takes-tafts-ale-house-head-brewer-across-nation-ends-in-his-own-back-yard

As predicted Tafts Ale house's opening will be pushed back.  Article says it should soft open by Jan.  I had a feeling it couldn't open by Sept/October, though I was hoping on checking it out by Midpoint Music Festival (which was wildly optimistic IMO).

 

Looks like they've still got some work to do...

 

It's definitely coming along quickly, but the interior work is still pretty rudimentary. The painted exterior and new windows are looking awesome though. The building is beginning to appear like it is a functioning building again which is exciting.

 

I know some people at Drawing Department. Maybe I'll ask them if they have any insider updates on when things are scheduled to be happening.

 

I should take a photo when I get home since I live across the street from it. It has come a long way in the last couple weeks. Everyday when I get home from work there seem to be more finished exterior details. They recently put in two of the finished doors and were painting them this morning. These were in the lower level which I'm assuming is all back-of-house stuff but were still fairly nice doors.

 

I'm honestly mostly excited to see the finished front entry and what the front door will look like. That whole entry sequence is going to be quite grand for visitors. Walk up a few steps, open a couple massive doors, walk up a flight of stairs that directs your eyes upwards towards the gorgeous plasterwork on the ceiling and the centerpiece at the far end of the space where the altar originally was. It's definitely a cool lesson in adaptive reuse.

Maybe it has been said somewhere, but I heard rumblings that Grayscale's renovations of the Jackson Brewery are put on indefinite hold due to financial issues. Is this accurate? That site mentions that it's a long process and they're dedicated but I can't figure out if they're just saying it's going to take a long time to meet their goals at that site or if they're very politely saying "we got way in over our heads and going somewhere else" essentially.

 

I think this is the new website from those guys... nothing really on it yet.

 

http://www.artifactbeer.com/

Yup.

 

http://www.artifactbeer.com/author/scothandgmail-com/

Dewey’s Pizza to anchor new retail development

 

 

Dewey's Pizza, the Cincinnati-based chain of neighborhood pizzeria joints, is opening a new restaurant in Anderson Township.

 

The new, nearly 3,600-square-foot restaurant will anchor a new retail development project from Core Resources Inc. In addition to the standalone Dewey's, the $3 million redevelopment will include a nearly 7,000-square-foot multi-tenant retail building. Core Resources is redeveloping the two-acre site along Beechmont Avenue at Witt Road.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/18/exclusive-dewey-s-pizza-to-anchor-new-retail.html

Juice bar opens its doors in OTR

 

An Over-the-Rhine juice bar specializing in pressed juices made from pounds of fresh produce is now open after months of delays.

 

Off the Vine Cincy Juice Bar at 1218 Vine St. opened on Nov. 17. The shop sells fresh juice and smoothies and uses up to three pounds of produce for 16 ounces of juice.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/18/juice-bar-opens-its-doors-in-otr.html

West Chester development on the hunt for restaurant tenants

 

Development in West Chester Township is booming, and one land owner is looking for restaurants to join the party.

 

Scott Street Partners owns about 10 acres next to the existing Streets of West Chester development at Interstate 75 and Union Centre Boulevard. The land, which is visible from I-75, is being marketed to sit-down, casual restaurants and fast-casual concepts.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/18/west-chester-development-on-the-hunt-for.html

4EG adding another bar in Over-the-Rhine

 

 

Four Entertainment Group is working on its third bar in Over-the-Rhine.

 

In addition to the Lackman and the under-construction Lachey's sports bar, 4EG is building a new neighborhood bar that will be located about a block from Washington Park.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/20/4eg-adding-another-bar-in-over-the-rhine.html

Shuttered Northside bar to reopen

 

 

A shuttered bar in Northside's taco corridor is back in business and planning a grand re-opening Thanksgiving weekend.

 

Barrio Tequileria, at 3937 Spring Grove Ave., has been quietly getting back into the groove of business in the last two weeks and is hosting a grand re-opening on Nov. 28 and 29.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/11/20/shuttered-northside-bar-to-reopen.html

Tom+Chee is closing their first store on Ct. Street in a ceremony tonight @5pm per a facebook post.

Their new and larger location opens right nextdoor in the old Cincinnati Post Building sometime next week.

 

De Cavel to open restaurant in Western & Southern building

Polly Campbell

December 2, 2014

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/12/02/jean-robert-de-cavel-richard-brown/19799987/

 

Jean-Robert de Cavel is teaming up with maitre d' Richard Brown to open a French fine-dining restaurant in Western & Southern's Queen City Square. De Cavel promises a restaurant that will be "elegant and very special."

...

It occupies 7,400 square feet on the 4th Street level of the W&S building at 400 Broadway, accessed from the grand lobby. It has large windows with views to the south and west, including the Great American Ball Park (and its fireworks.)

 

 

 

De Cavel to open restaurant in Western & Southern building

Polly Campbell

December 2, 2014

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/12/02/jean-robert-de-cavel-richard-brown/19799987/

 

Jean-Robert de Cavel is teaming up with maitre d' Richard Brown to open a French fine-dining restaurant in Western & Southern's Queen City Square. De Cavel promises a restaurant that will be "elegant and very special."

...

It occupies 7,400 square feet on the 4th Street level of the W&S building at 400 Broadway, accessed from the grand lobby. It has large windows with views to the south and west, including the Great American Ball Park (and its fireworks.)

 

 

 

 

Which will close first, this one or Le Bar a Boeuf?

Downtown barbecue joint opening second location

 

Downtown Asian-inspired craft barbecue restaurant Huit is opening a second location in Corryville with a slightly different emphasis.

 

Huit will open on Short Vine next to Taste of Belgium in the first quarter of 2015, owner Tobias Harris told me. It will maintain its current location at 29 E. Court St. as well.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/12/04/exclusive-downtown-barbecue-joint-opening-second.html

Zula owner opening new concept in Over-the-Rhine

 

 

The owner of Zula Restaurant and Wine Bar in Over-the-Rhine is planning a new restaurant down the street from his current one.

 

Tsvika "Vik" Silberberg plans to open ZBGB Gourmet Burger and Bar at 1438 Race St. as early as late spring of next year.

 

"It is going to be a gourmet burger place, but with a spin on the classical American burger," Silberberg told me. "Some of the flavors are going to be revealed when we are ready to open, but it is a combination of gourmet burger and bar."

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/12/11/exclusive-zula-owner-opening-new-concept-in-over.html

This corner is going to quickly become a hot spot. Taft's Ale House, this burger place, whatever becomes of that corner in the 15th and Race project. Only the one corner isn't seeing any signs of progress but I can't imagine that will last long.

I wish they would stop calling everything new a "concept." It's a restaurant that serves pretty much what someone else has already come up with. Not that it won't be great, as I suspect it will be, but it's not groundbreaking. Especially a burger.

The stuff going in on Race Street seems really fancy.  Makes me wonder what will happen when the development gets up to the corner of Liberty St. and Alabama's Fish Market.  I really like Alabama's and would hate to see it get gentrified out.

 

 

I wish they would stop calling everything new a "concept." It's a restaurant that serves pretty much what someone else has already come up with. Not that it won't be great, as I suspect it will be, but it's not groundbreaking. Especially a burger.

The word "concept" is used in the restaurant industry somewhat interchangeably with "brand". The ZBGB is an entirely new brand, so that's why it's considered a new concept. I agree it's a bit confusing and ambiguous, but it doesn't mean they think the restaurant is establishing a new category.

I wish they would stop calling everything new a "concept." It's a restaurant that serves pretty much what someone else has already come up with. Not that it won't be great, as I suspect it will be, but it's not groundbreaking. Especially a burger.

 

Agreed, they're going to serve beer and burgers, one of the most common "concepts" there is. If they serve really good burgers, that's great, but it's not any more of a new concept than serving hot dogs and burgers like that other concept a couple blocks away.

 

The stuff going in on Race Street seems really fancy.  Makes me wonder what will happen when the development gets up to the corner of Liberty St. and Alabama's Fish Market.  I really like Alabama's and would hate to see it get gentrified out.

 

 

I, too, love that place and hope 3CDC doesn't burn it down ask it to relocate. It does really good business, and has a line down the street on Friday's, especially during Lent. Plus, it's cash only so I'm sure they make enough money. It's one of only a few places in OTR where you can spend $8 and have more than enough food. The building it's in seems to be owned by the City of Cincinnati.

The term "concept" has been used in the restaurant industry for decades.  I think it started as a way to describe new restaurant chains to prospective franchisees.  The menus and setups at franchises are designed around different types of hypothetical franchise owners, ranging from husband/wife to big-time investors who build all of the franchises in a chain for a particular city and hire a few GM's to run all of them.  Sub chains especially are designed around very simple set-ups which allow them to fit into small storefronts and require minimal prep and tear-down each day.  There is no exhaust system and there is very little waste.  This is why sub chains specifically are good for mom/pop franchisees.  Meanwhile full dine-in restaurants like a Ruby Tuesdays or whatever are exponentially more expensive to setup and run.  The walk-in coolers and exhaust systems are huge, and there is a lot of wasted food and beverages. 

 

What's going on in OTR is that these new restaurants are having to adapt their menus to the very small spaces since they often can't economically put in sort of ventilation or walk-in cooler necessary to prepare and store certain kinds of food.