City Cellars is easy to miss a you travel south down Race Street, and while it’s not large in stature, it is quite well done and an important player in our community. Nestled at the NE corner of 9th and Race streets in the heart of downtown, a gigantic mural nearly overshadows the set-back storefront. Before walking into the store, you just might walk past Jim Tarbell or General Manager Brian Hymel enjoying a glass of beer or wine on the front porch of the establishment.
There’s always something going on at City Cellars as evidenced by their busy weekend coming up. There is a Cellar Party this weekend with 20% off everything in the cellar and free pizza! It runs from 5pm to 7pm on Saturday and you must RSVP by 2pm on Friday by sending an email to citycellars@citycellars.biz. On Sunday City Cellars will be hosting a tailgate party for the Bengals game. Bryan plans on staying open this week & every other week for the Bengals games which include a tailgate for home games & viewing party for all games just as long as the the Bengals are on TV. We recommend calling ahead to check the schedule at 513-621-9463.
City Cellars photography by David Ben
In addition to the events going on this weekend, City Cellars offers a wine tasting event each Tuesday called TGIT, or “Thank Grapes it’s Tuesday! ” A wine representative is on hand every Tuesday to provide detailed information about each wine, the region it comes from, and how to purchase a bottle. Tastings are between 5:30pm and 7:30pm each Tuesday, but guests are encouraged to come at any point over the two hours. At just $8 for four (generous) pours, it’s a fantastic way to unwind after work.
If hunger strikes while sipping a Syrah or Grenache, try one of their incredible brick-oven pizzas available for purchase. Or, of you’d like something just a bit lighter, sample the cheeses and crackers offered at no charge. And as if there aren’t enough reasons to love City Cellars, they are also huge fans of the Cincinnati Streetcar. See some of the reasons why they like it here.
Dave Rolfes also contributed to this article.