2010 was a big year for Terry Vincent. He got married, bought his first house and had his first child. But the year had more in store for him.
After being laid-off last summer, he began a four-month job search that turned up no good leads. Then a friend told him about the old Kay's Diner. Someone had spent two years bringing the place up to code for a Mexican restaurant that never opened, so any new venture would require very little overhead.
Vincent signed a lease on the space and a month later he opened
The Grove, which serves an eclectic menu of sandwiches, soups and salads at 3938 Spring Grove Ave. Slightly more than half of the menu items are vegetarian.
Everything at The Grove is made from scratch, down to the mayonnaise and salad dressings. They offer a $5 lunch and have a few daily soup options and sandwich specials. Freshly cooked, homemade potato chips are served with all sandwiches. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Vincent is always there.
He said he doesn't mind the long hours. He's been in the restaurant business for 20 years and is just glad to have his own place.
"I started when I was 13 at Steak & Shake, washing dishes and bussing tables," he said. "I went from pizza parlors to fine dining to bars, wherever the work was."
Vincent has spent the last five or so years opening and managing restaurants for chains like Dave & Busters and Quizno's, and relishes the opportunity to cook the kind of food he likes to eat, along with some with meat options for those who are so inclined.
"We wanted to do something that the whole neighborhood could enjoy," he said.
Vincent said that residents who frequented the old diner were a bit apprehensive when they saw black bean burgers and raspberry-shallot vinaigrette on the menu, but in the month since The Grove opened traffic has more than tripled.
He plans to launch a joint marketing effort with The Painted Fish, a sushi and steak restaurant that opened across the street in October, and is hopeful that the new ownership next door at
Casablanca Vintage will also drive more traffic to the "South Block."
He plans to eventually stay open until 3 a.m. for the Northside bar crowd and also serve breakfast. By that time each menu option will be named for a famous Cincinnatian. He regretfully pulled the Jerry Springer Open Faced Turkey Sandwich off the menu the other day, because not enough people were ordering it.
Writer: Henry Sweets
Photography by Scott Beseler.
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