Author: Jenny Kessler

Jenny is a local designer who has a passion for people and for Cincinnati. She began writing for UrbanCincy in September 2009, and served as the website's operation manager until March 2012. Jenny currently works for ArtsWave and manages the OTR Urban Kickball League.

Categories
Business Development News

Yoga Row creating new business unions along Main Street

A visit to Main Street between 8th and Liberty streets nowadays reveals a neighborhood not only on the mend, but on the rise.

“There are a few signs that keen-eyed observers of urban areas look for that an area is changing,” says Main Street business owner Nancy Willman. “The increased use of bicycles, people walking pets, a new hardware store or successful bakery, and another is the growth of yoga studios. Main Street shows all these signs — especially now with four yoga studios equally spaced along eight blocks of Main Street.”

The owners of Main Street Yoga, Yoga Bar, You Do Yoga, and the Joyful Life Yoga Center have collaborated together to form a new project, nicknamed “Yoga Row.”

“While competition may be the norm in American business it has no place in yoga,” explains Yoga Bar owner Rachel Roberts. “The word ‘yoga’ translates to union, and that is the spirit in which the four Main Street studios have come together with our yogi friend and green grocer, Dan Korman of Park+Vine. We want to foster community, to reach more people and to help students find their style or blend of styles and their teachers.”

The four studios offer a wide variety of teaching styles and yoga classes, and it can seem overwhelming to those who might be looking to begin or continue their practice. Yoga Row collaborators have created the solution to this problem through the Yoga Row Passport.  Available for purchase at Park+Vine, this $20 pass renders the owner eligible to take one class of their choosing at each studio, for free.

“By offering this Yoga Row Passport, students can try four distinct schools of yoga and a variety of teachers at a very affordable cost, giving them the time and experience needed to cultivate a sustainable practice,” said Roberts. “After they have visited all four studios they can use their passport for 20 percent off a yoga mat or any other item at Park+Vine.”

Photo Credit: Rachel Roberts

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Autumn Air Art Fair brings emerging artists to Clifton

The second annual Autumn Air Art Fair will be 11am to 5pm Saturday, November 6 at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center in the historic Clifton Gaslight District.

With over 40 local artists displaying their craft in painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewelry, fiber art, glass and graphics, the juried show will prove to be a fun time for artists and purveyors alike.

Four local artists will be judging the show, including Kay Hurley, a nationally recognized pastel artist; Terri Kern, a nationally recognized ceramist; Tamera Muente, Curator of Keystone Contemporary Gallery at the Taft Museum; and Sylvia Rhombis, owner of the Malton Gallery.

Local artist and organizer Pam Irvin is excited about two unique aspects of this show. “This year we will be featuring an ’emerging artist’ area, which will be displaying works from students ages 5-18 for sale,” Irvin explained. “Proceeds from selling the art goes towards the Autumn Air Art Fair Scholarship Fund, a scholarship available for art education students up to age 24.”

The show is free to the public with free parking on the street and at Cincinnati Recreation Center adjacent to the Clifton Cultural Arts Center – 3711 Clifton Avenue.

For more information on the event and scholarship fund and to sign up to volunteer email info@autumnairartfair.org.

Categories
Business News

Sushi Bears a new vegan option at Findlay Market

[This story was originally published in the Cincinnati Business Courier print edition on October 22, 2010. Visit the original story for more comments, thoughts and opinions on Sushi Bear’s entrance to Findlay Market – Jennifer.]


A new vegan and vegetarian focused Japanese food stand has opened at Findlay Market.

Sushi Bears is a food concept run by chef Dan Wells and his business partner Steve Hauck. Wells attended culinary school at Great Oaks vocational school in 1998, and since then has worked at nine restaurants throughout Cincinnati including Palomino’s, Ambar India, and Mecklenborg Gardens.

Wells and Hauck are the  sole investors and signed a two-year lease on the 160 square-foot booth so that they could fulfill a desire to create an attainable, healthy dining option in the area.

“When I was looking to open an eatery, I wanted to keep the focus on health and nutrition. Sushi allows for exactly that with smaller portions and fresh ingredients,” Wells explained.  “We bring really affordable lunch options with stir fry and rolls as low as $4-6 bucks and beverages as low as $1.50.”

According to Wells, the customer demographic was among many reasons for opening Sushi Bears in Findlay Market.

“We looked around town at other possible locations, but the reason that Findlay stood out in our minds is because we know the crowds that go there are often there for the fresh produce and farmers markets – there were already a lot of health conscious or vegetarian customers at the Market. When you walk around the Market you wonder where all of these veggie eaters are going to get a bite to eat. There is a surplus of health conscious eaters who frequent the market, but only a few options for healthy ready to eat vegetarian food. Sushi Bears fills that niche. ”

After discussing several naming options, Wells and his team decided on Sushi Bears, drawing inspiration from the bamboo-eating panda bear that has since become the mascot and logo for the company.

Chef Wells is currently serving Japanese inspired stir-fry and drinks including mango chill, bubble tea and hot green tea. There are plans to expand to vegetarian maki-style sushi rolls by mid-November when they expect to complete construction in the new space.

The partners did say that they intend on sourcing a majority of their produce and spices through other Findlay Market vendors, in an effort to help boost the local economy and provide inspiration for new sushi creations.

Taste of Belgium neighbor Jean-Francois Fletchet believes a difficult journey might be ahead for the entrepreneurs selling a niche product.

“I wish them [Sushi Bears] luck but it’s going to be a bumpy road,” Fletchet says. “Although traffic during the week has improved most people downtown do not realize that Findlay Market is open for lunch during the week.”

To help avoid such a lull, Wells plans on supplementing the lunch crowd with unique catering options and  sushi classes.

Sushi Bears is located in the center of Findlay Market, across from Taste of Belgium and Bean Haus booths. The Japanese style stir-fry, drink and sushi booth is open Tuesday through Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to 6pm, and Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Categories
Business News

Park+Vine to celebrate new location, expanded business operations

Park+Vine, Cincinnati’s first green general store has moved from its namesake location to 1202 Main Street in historic Over-the-Rhine. After more than three years of operation at the corner of Central Parkway and Vine Street, owner and proprietor Dan Korman decided it was time for a change.

“We had really outgrown the [former] space, and wanted to expand in a more diverse way,” Korman explained after stating he had signed a ten-year lease on the space. “The extra room allows for an expanded grocery area including frozen food and a bulk food section; a drink bar with seating area; a designated classroom space; and an outdoor patio.”

The 2,760 square-foot location previously occupied by Kaldi’s coffeeshop and bookstore will also have expanded hours and employees. Korman has added six new employees to his five person staff, and has increased the store’s hours of operation by 37 percent over the course of the week.

Korman also says that sales per-hour at the new location are slightly higher than its previous location in the first three weeks even before the office opening of the store’s drink bar.

“Being open more hours allows for residents to utilize the space as more of an everyday shopping experience, be it grabbing an early morning coffee or stopping by in the evening to pick up dinner ingredients or a suddenly needed roll of recycled content toilet paper.”

Beyond the business opportunities, the new Main Street location also offers an opportunity to more successfully integrate with the Over-the-Rhine community.

“Park + Vine is simply tapping into renewed interest and investment along Main Street. We’re seeing a lot of cross-over from neighboring businesses and far more evening traffic from people who live along Main Street and in Prospect Hill,” Korman explained. “The Shift from Vine to Main appears to be relatively easy for most people. They are excited about the renewed energy of Main Street and how businesses, organizations and residents are committed to supporting one another, as well as other areas of the neighborhood.”

The new location has been open now for several weeks, but the store is celebrating with a Grand Reopening Party this Friday, October 29, from 6pm to 10pm, to coincide with many other neighborhood events kicking off the Halloween weekend. Korman says that the celebration includes food from local vegan-friendly spots, drinks from Market Wines, music by Josh Eagle and Liz Bowater, and guest baristas demonstrating Park+Vine’s Hario coffee drip machine.

Park+Vine artist, Angie Unger, will also unveil her paintings and chandeliers using re-purposed materials from Zero-Landfill Cincinnati Project. Nearby, Share Some Sugar will be hosting a Halloween Costume Swap, and MOTR will throw an after-party. Five percent of every purchase at the Grand Reopening Party will be donated to ArtWorks.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment News

Know Theatre’s ‘Skin Tight’ offers passionate look at love

Know Theater Skin Tight

Know Theater Skin Tight Cincinnati’s best off-off-Broadway playhouse, the Know Theatre, opens its 13th season with the intimate, advant-garde play, Skin Tight. Written by New Zealand playwright Gary Henderson and directed by Drew Fracher, the show runs through October 30, 2010.

Skin Tight tells the story of a rural New Zealand couple, Tom and Elizabeth, who relive their love story on stage. From its opening moments, Skin Tight grabs the audience and leads them through a frenzied, passionate dance that refuses to let go. The performance is a heady mix of touching, romantic prose spoken by the duo, coupled with bouts of physical activity: fighting, wrestling, dancing, and loving gestures. The show toes the line between the reality of the couple’s situation and the way they see and view each other.

Director Drew Fracher says, “A friend gave me Skin Tight, knowing my penchant for action and stage combat and suggest that I might like the play. I felt that the Know was the only place in town that fit the style and content best. Thankfully, producing artistic director Eric [Vosmeier] felt the same way. I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to work on such an amazing, theatrical piece.”

Veteran Equity actor Jens Rasmussen (Tom) and local theatre starlet Beth Harris (Elizabeth) commandeer their audience’s attention from the get go. With believable accents and even more convincing love and care for each other, these two actors reveal the inner workings of a relationship that has stood the test of time. From juvenile taunts to real fears and honest wounds, the chemistry between the two on stage draws the viewer in and invites them to experience the same feelings. Their raw, emotional portrayal of a very real, intimate relationship – the combination of trust, pain, passion, laughter, anger, fear, hope – reduced many in the audience to tears by the end of the show.

The sets and lighting, designed by Andrew Hungerford, are simple yet effective, drawing the viewer into rural farmland without distracting from the action. Sound design by Doug Borntrager helps to illustrate the emotions being played out on stage.

This is not an easy show to attend. There is nudity, there is fighting, and it moves at a jarringly quick pace. Basic plot and character development unfolds very slowly, and even at the end the audience may have questions that were not answered.

The experience of this show, however, is completely worth every question and plot twist. In the end, love is a confusing and tricky thing. The heart and soul of Skin Tight is the bond between two ordinary people…people with just enough detail left out to be any one of us.

Let go of your expectations and come along for the ride. Experience the realities of a life well lived and fiercely loved.

Skin Tight plays at the Know Theatre (map) now through October 30.  All tickets can be purchased online, at the Know Theater box office, or by calling (513) 300-5669 for $12 in advance and $15 the week of the performance.  Flexible subscriptions are also available for $48.

Skin Tight Production Dates:
8pm performances: October 9, 14-16, 21- 23, 28-30
3pm performances: October 24 & 30