Category: Arts & Entertainment

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

OTR = Food & Drinks

This past week has been a truly remarkable time for our favorite previously neglected neighborhood.

On Tuesday, Lavomatic opened on Vine Street. Jean Robert’s new restaurant opened in an old Laundromat and serves a very rough blend of French and local cuisine. I had the opportunity to try it out and I can say that you will not be disappointed. The space is wonderful. Light colored walls and a completely glass street frontage, makes it a very bright and welcoming space. Upstairs (not quite open yet) the dinning room continues inside and out. The terrace is larger than what I had been expecting. The space is going to be a wonderful place to relax, eat some great food and sip a glass of French wine.

The food was amazing, as expected. I started off with their daily special appetizer, a smoked trout salad. Simply Stunning. My entree and dessert of salmon on a bed of couscous, and crème Brule, were just as spectacular. Also the wine selection was very small, but I was told that they will be expanding it before the weekend. With entrees between 12-24 dollars it is probably the most affordable of Jean Robert’s places. I honestly can’t wait to go back and sit on the terrace.

Today, Grammer’s reopens. A true Cincinnati Gem that I honestly can’t wait to go to. It’s basically going to have my two favorite things. Beer and Bratwursts. It promises to become a staple of Over-the-Rhine once again, especially with some of the redevelopment opportunities that have been recently hitting the presses.

What an exciting time for OTR and the city in general. It is hard not to get wrapped up in the momentum that we are experiencing right now in our neighborhood.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati and Missing Cows

Cincinnati has lot going for it, affordable housing, great restaurants, a vibrant arts scene, and a wonderful park system. Despite this, we seem to be unable to keep track of our livestock. Yet another cow is missing.

I suppose a positive spin on this would be that we have so much green space in the city, cows can evade capture for some time. A negative spin on this would be that we are essentially Mayberry with 2.1 million people.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Clear your calendar on 10/17…at least after 7pm

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will be speaking at the Cincinnati Mercantile Library on Wednesday, October 17th. Mayor Hickenlooper is widely considered one of the main people responsible for the wildly successful LoDo District in Denver. Denver has also experienced a light rail boom over recent years and is seeing a fantastic urban renaissance that any city would be proud to boast.

Stacked, Mercantile Library’s own blog, is offering a free admission to this event if you simply mention the blog’s name. If you miss out on that offer and still want to attend it will set you back $5. It is an informal event and will start at 7pm and last an hour or so. Mayor Hickenlooper will give a little speech and then it will be opened up for Q/A. You can also read more about the event over at Stacked.

If you’re interested simply contact the library at (513) 621-0717 or mercantileinfo@mercantilelibrary.com and be sure to mention Stacked.

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Arts & Entertainment Business Development News

The NEW Downtown Cincinnati

Downtown has managed to turn the corner relatively quickly. People who once used to think of downtown as a tired/boring place are now frequenting the new restaurants, clubs, bars and events. New residents are everywhere and visitors are welcomed by something new almost every other week. It’s just past the half way point in 2007 and Downtown Cincinnati has seen the opening of 4 new bars/clubs, 3 restaurants and more events on Fountain Square than you can count.

It’s wonderful to see everything coming together and this is just the beginning. The majority of the tenants in the redone 5/3 building have yet to open, another few restaurants will be opening shortly, and another couple bars/clubs are on the way. This is all before the ball drops for 2008. If you want to think about 3-4 years down the road, then you’ll really be blown away with what Downtown Cincinnati will be like.

3-4 years puts the streetcar in place and the first phase of The Banks. The Banks will most likely attract tenants like ESPN Zone, Hard Rock Cafe, House of Blues, countless restaurants, bars/clubs. Combine that with the activity that the streetcar system will be shuffling around and you have yourself a VERY strong/vibrant urban core. Thousands of new residents and tons of new attractions. The streetcar system will most likely help give the retail scene downtown a kick in the pants…if that doesn’t do it, the thousands of new residents should.

Check out what’s going on in the NEW Downtown Cincinnati!

Need more to eat… MORE RESTAURANTS!!!
Like to shop… MORE RETAIL!!!
Want to be entertained… MORE ENTERTAINMENT!!!

Some more developments (just to name a few):

Now, downtown hasn’t gotten ‘there’ yet, but it is certainly on its way…and picking up speed.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment Business News

Taste of Cincinnati has some new digs!

The Taste of Cincinnati is this weekend and I personally can not wait! The Taste has always been a great event for the city and for those who attend, but it will be even better this year. You may ask why…well it’s because of the all important move from Central Parkway to Fifth Street. This move presents a whole slew of benefits for the event.

First of all, shadows from the building will help shade the event and offer a slightly cooler atmosphere for everyone. Secondly, it is in the heart of downtown and in the midst of the up-and-coming Fountain Square District. There is shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment all within a stones throw from the event this year. This has to bode well for neighboring businesses, more so than previous events held nearly 6 blocks away.

3CDC has certainly been criticized for the issues with the Fountain Square work. Whether it is warranted or not is another issue, but one thing is for sure…The heart of downtown is looking/feeling stronger than ever. Well done!