Lori Beth Henry, owner of
Lori Beth’s Café, began cooking with her grandmother at the age of 6; at 12, she was cooking for events and people at her father’s church. Her love of cooking led her into the catering business and the restaurant world in 2009. Her restaurant moved downtown to the Sawyer Point Building in July.
The first Lori Beth’s was in Dry Ridge, Ky., in a Toyota dealership. When the old 720 Deli space opened up in Cincinnati, Henry jumped at the chance to move in. The 1,000-square-foot space seats about 350 people.
Henry makes everything from scratch, and puts a twist on typical Southern dishes. Customer favorites include the meatloaf sandwich, which consists of a homemade meatloaf with sautéed veggies in it, and topped with homemade BBQ sauce, creamy Swiss, bacon and a homemade jalapeno mayonnaise; the turkey club, which is baked in-house and tastes like Thanksgiving; and desserts.
“My grandmother taught me how to cook on the weekends,” Henry says. “We would go out and milk cows, and do all sorts of things with the milk—make butter, cottage cheese, buttermilk. I loved the whole process of taking the milk from the cow and how you’re able to make so many different things.”
Henry’s whole family works with her—her husband Kenneth quit his job to work beside her, and their daughter Kassidy and son Taylor help out too. Even Henry’s best friend and her son work at Lori Beth’s.
“Lori Beth’s is truly a family thing,” Henry says. “I like to have people get a sense of how I grew up and what I grew up doing. I love when people come in and enjoy the slow-cooked, Southern style food and hospitality. We’re trying to get people to enjoy what they’re doing, what they’re eating and what they’re tasting.”
Lori Beth’s caters company and client meetings of all sizes, both on and offsite; major events, conferences and office parties; rooftop gatherings during and after hours for Sawyer Point tenants; corporate team-building exercises; special occasions; and private and themed dinner parties. The restaurant also makes birthday cakes, desserts, pies, edible arrangements and gift baskets for all occasions.
By Caitlin Koenig
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