Tag: retail

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Business News Politics

City’s third Community Entertainment District designated in Price Hill

City and neighborhood leaders gathered in Price Hill yesterday to celebrate the designation of Cincinnati’s third Community Entertainment District (CED). The new CED will cover the Incline District and is expected to facilitate redevelopment efforts ongoing in the neighborhood.

Price Hill was required to go through an application process in order to receive the CED designation which requires that an area include entertainment, retail, sporting, cultural, and/or arts establishments.

Once the designation is in place it allows new restaurants to open with a liquor license thus reducing startup costs by an estimated $30,000. Nine additional liquor licenses will be up for grabs in the new Price Hill CED.


City and neighborhood leaders gather in Price Hill to celebrate the CED designation. Image provided.

“We decided to pursue the CED designation after seeing its potential to free up capital for smaller restaurateurs,” Diana Vakharia, director of operations at Price Hill Will, told UrbanCincy. “The costs of installing a commercial kitchen and other upgrades are burdensome enough.”

Vakharia said that the tools and resources provided with the designation will help Price Hill better compete in the initial years of economic revitalization taking place there.

In addition to the $50 million Incline Square development, a new residential development called The Flats reached 100 percent occupancy in 60 days, and the area is also soon house the region’s second Bayou Fish House location. Price Hill Will officials also say that property owners are in negotiations with another potential restaurant.

In total, the 48-acre Price Hill Community Entertainment District includes more than 70,000 square feet of commercial space available within existing and potential new structures.

In addition to Price Hill, Pleasant Ridge received the CED designation with the help of Cincinnati City Councilmember Laure Quinlivan (D) last December. Two other CED designations exist in downtown Cincinnati along the central riverfront for The Banks.

City officials say that neighborhood leaders in Over-the-Rhine, Northside and Madisonville are also working on applications to receive the coveted designation.

“Helping neighborhoods thrive and grow is my goal,” Councilmember Quinlivan said. “It’s going to be exciting to see what happens in the Incline District now.”

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Talib Kweli to celebrate Record Store Day in Cincinnati this Saturday

Saturday, April 16 is the 2011 version of the national celebration known as Record Store Day. This is the fifth annual day to celebrate all things great about locally owned and independent record stores around the country as there are specific qualifications for a store to participate.

Organizers say that for a shop to be included they must have a primary focus on a physical store location, whose product line consists of at least 50 percent music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70 percent located in the state of operation.

In Cincinnati, that means we have three participating shops including Mole’s Record Exchange uptown, Everybody’s Records in Pleasant Ridge and Shake It Records in Northside. On Saturday, each store will be celebrating music and trying to attract customers to their shops mainly through in-store performances and special limited edition vinyl releases that can only be found at certain stores throughout the country. Therefore record collectors and the curious shopper can find different releases at each store.

The in-store performance fun gets started at Everybody’s Records at noon and runs until 6pm with performances by Cletis T & the Poontingers, Quick Turns, and finally State Song. Uptown meanwhile, Mole’s Record Exchange will be focused primarily on special releases this year.

The biggest party will be at Shake It Records. National hip-hop recording artist Talib Kweli will be on hand at 1pm for an in-store performance and a signing of his newest release. Additionally local rockers Wussy will be playing at 7pm and another Cincy band heading for the big time, Foxy Shazam will play at 9pm.

Ben Harper says, “Independent record stores are much more than the name suggests. They are an international community and platform where music has an outlet and an opportunity to grow over the long term, in a way that sincerely connects with community and culture.”

This is totally true so take the time to get out and support three of Cincinnati’s contributions to this community. And here, we’ll leave you with a cut from Talib Kweli’s new album.

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Business News

UC Farmers Market celebrates growth, kicks off fourth year of operation

The University of Cincinnati seasonal farmers market will begin its fourth year of operation today after being cancelled last Monday due to inclement weather. The market will run from 10am to 3pm and will include offerings from eight to ten vendors.

The 2011 year brings with it continued growth for the UC Farmers Market. Since 2008, the seasonal market has seen its number of vendors increase roughly 33 percent, hours and days of operation expand, and the number of students showing up to the markets grow. According to Shawn Tubb, the seasonal farmers market had humble beginnings.

“A farmers market is something that I and many other students had asked about hosting on campus, as other colleges were having them around the country,” explained Tubb who currently serves as UC’s Sustainability Cooridnator. “It was mostly seen as a one-time event, both to publicize local food and Findlay Market, and also hopefully convince MainStreet that it was something that could be done on a regular basis.”

Following the initial market, Tubb says, MainStreet leaders were impressed with attendance and the popularity of the market. That early success led to the support for future markets.

The UC Farmers Market now operates every Monday and is scheduled to operate until June 6 this spring. A second seasonal market will take place in the fall and continue in the same spirit of promoting local food and many Findlay Market vendors who are otherwise closed on Mondays.

“If we want to sustain our neighborhoods, and seek to improve our communities and reduce crime, it starts with taking down some of these barriers and reaching out to each other,” said Biology and Environmental Studies major Brian Kunkemoeller. “We’ve lost touch with each other, and the real beauty of the farmers market is seeing real people connect in a backyard or corner market kind of way.”

The University of Cincinnati seems to agree with Tubbs and Kunkemoeller about the importance of having the seasonal markets. After discussions began in May 2010, UC’s Office of Sustainability has agreed to operate the markets themselves and pay students to staff general operations.

Students or members of the general public interested in attending one of the weekly UC Farmers Markets this spring can do so by visiting the university’s MainStreet (map) on Mondays between 10am to 3pm. The markets are free and open to the public. Metro bus service provides convenient access to the uptown area.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

New PopShop celebrates Cincinnati crafters in a DIY space

Those passing by 1301 Main Street have noticed cardboard and hot pink ducktape decorating a previously empty storefront. The new space is decked out for this Friday’s PopShop – a new pop up shop coinciding with March’s Final Friday gallery walk that brings visitors into the Pendleton Art Center, down Main Street, and over to Vine via 12th and 13th.

The new space plays host to 11 local entrepreneurs and designers, who will have their handmade and vintage housewares, accessories, clothing, and other assorted intricacies for sale. Selling a wide variety of objects d’art – from bow shaped fanny packs to jewelry designed by women in Over-the-Rhine and everything in between.

The idea for a temporary space that allows pop-culture creativity to bloom was conceived by a trifecta of local women already involved in Over-the-Rhine’s burgeoning arts scene. Jessie Cundiff, a collaborator at MUD studio, Catherine Richards, art director and program manager of the Future Blooms program, and Tamia Stinson, owner and managing editor of StyleSample magazine. After meeting at a Merchants on Main event, the co-founders wanted to open the space as a way for small business owners to try out the Over-the-Rhine location before fully committing to a gallery or retail space.

“This is perfect for us,” said Rosie Kovacs, owner of the Brush Factory. “We want to test the waters down there [OTR].” Combining many retailers into one space, not unlike the popular Holiday Shop on Vine Street in December, decreases the stress of one person paying rent, and makes the new space a one stop shop for visitors to see something new.

The space is still getting some finishing touches, but features window installations, a chandelier made of recycled materials, and furnishings constructed from found objects. The PopShop ladies decided on a deconstructed, Do-it-Yourself theme, emphasizing the pack and go nature of the pop-up shop for the interior of the store. They took inspiration from innovative storefronts like Anthropologie that utilize found and recycled materials to create ethereal, interesting windowscapes.

The PopShop will be open from 5pm to 10pm on Friday, March 25, and features an opening reception with music, treats, and an opportunity for shoppers to get crafty with an interactive DIY area. Saturday, March 26 the PopShop is open from 11am to 6 pm, with vendors on hand demonstrating their art, and a trunk show beginning at 5 pm for Dress for Success from the 4th Street Boutique. All proceeds from the sale of 4th Street Boutique merchandise will go directly to the charitable program that assists low-income women in acquiring appropriate attire for job interviews.

“We’re most excited about the opportunity to collaborate with amazingly creative folks in and around Cincinnati–there’s so much talent that deserves a voice,” said co-founder Tamia Stinson. “Our hope is that PopShop will serve as an introduction between independent entrepreneurs and Over-the-Rhine, and a foot in the door for those wanting to set up their business there.”

The Final Friday PopShop is located at 1301 Main Street and is open on Friday and Saturday, March 25-26. Vendors include Dulcet Design, Hark + Hark, Jessie Cundiff, Carla Rabbit, the Brush Factory, Saint Lexi, Dulcet Design, Katie Ferncez, the Sarah Center, and 4th Street Boutique.

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Business News

Brush Factory reflects on success, prepares for future

To say the past year has been an exciting one for the Brush Factory would be an understatement. Founders Hayes Shanesy and Rosie Kovacs reopened the doors to a historic building in the West End’s Brighton district which now serves as their working studio.

The headquarters in Brighton opened in 2009, and in talking with Rosie Kovacs and Hayes Shanesy it is clear that they have a passion for maintaining the historic building, and perfecting the tradition of handmade goods such as the clothes they sell in their store in Oakley. The store opened last fall and they also have a web presence with their online store. People are also starting to pay attention as the Brush Factory earned the award for Best Tailor Made pants in the region from Cincinnati Magazine.

“The collection of Brush Factory goods are designed, prototyped, engineered and produced in house,” Kovacs stated. “This level of control yields limited quantities, but also creates a collection of objects durable enough to last a lifetime.” In addition to the clothing that Kovacs is responsible for along with recent DAAP graduate Chelsea Cutrell, Hayes Shanesy and his father work upstairs in the Brighton studio designing and building furniture.

The folks at The Brush Factory also want to share their experiences with the world, so they offer classes to help people learn to sew or perfect their practice depending on current skill level. The first class, Vorkus I (deriving from the Bauhaus studies in Germany), is a series of three sessions and features basic sewing skills, getting to know your machine, and pants alterations among other things. Vorkus II is a more advanced series which gets into the design phase based off images that participants bring along. Both require participants to bring their own machine and scissors. 

“The classes offer a unique and meaningful way for people to be introduced to The Brush Factory” said Shanesy. “We also believe that that the more interest people have in making things themselves the more they will appreciate the things around them.  Once you know how something is made whether it be a dress or table you begin to appreciate the object in a new light.”

Without a doubt, one of the best parts about doing work for UrbanCincy is finding businesses and people in Cincinnati that I might have otherwise not known about. One such case is the work being done by the folks at The Brush Factory. Part design, part manufacturing, part retail, and part school this is one of the more intriguing businesses I have come across in my time.

Brush Factory video produced by Rachel Schwarz.