Development News

On National Grilled Cheese Day, April 12, Tom+Chee founders Corey Ward and Trew Quackenbush announced to the public that they will be appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank. The show features entrepreneurs who pitch their ideas to famous and successful business leaders for investment opportunities.
 
Ward and Quackenbush started Tom+Chee with their wives, Jenny and Jenn, in 2009 when they served grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup to ice skaters at Fountain Square. A year later, they opened their first restaurant on Court Street; they opened a Tom+Chee at Newport on the Levee in 2011, and one on Walnut Street in 2012. They’ve also recently opened two locations in Louisville—a third is under construction—but they want to expand their brand beyond the Tri-State area.
 
On the show, Ward and Quackenbush will pitch Tom+Chee to Mark Cuban, media and sports, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks; Barbara Corcoran, real estate; Daymond John, fashion; Kevin O’Leary, educational software; and Robert Herjavec, technology. Their goal is to secure investment and take Tom+Chee global.
 
Tom+Chee has already been featured in an episode of Travel Channel’s Man v. Food Nation and two episodes of Amazing Eats, and its grilled cheese donut was named one of the Best Sandwiches in America by the TODAY show. It was also featured on CBS’s The Chew.
 
Look for Ward and Quackenbush on Shark Tank May 17 at 9 p.m.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Art appraiser and entrepreneur Morgan Cobb has a vision to turn innovation into an art form. What does that look like?

Imagine a sort of startup pitch day held at an art gallery with photo portraits of entrepreneurs overlaid with QR (Quick Response) codes that link viewers virtually to company founders. Imagine the real-time exchange of art, business and support.

That’s the idea behind “Disruptors, QRtifacts by Peiter Griga,” curated by Cobb, which opens April 26 at Covington’s Artisan Enterprise Center.

“The whole event was designed to encourage collaboration, participation and appreciation,” says Cobb, 28, who founded Newport’s Bryson Appraisals four years ago.

The exhibit started with a conversation between Cobb and fellow curator Cate Yellig, who took over as the city of Covington’s art director earlier this year. Yellig, who works at the intersection of economic development and arts programming, was in search of a way to bring together local entrepreneurs and artists, groups she believes have much in common.

“It was really kind of serendipitous,” Yellig says of the exhibit, which features 10 local startups that have a total of 12 founders, including nugg-it, BlackbookHR, Earthineer and GirlDevelopIt.

Cobb, who has degrees in art history and economics, had become engaged in the local startup ecosystem. She welcomed a chance to connect her two passions.

“Entrepreneurs face the same challenge as contemporary artists,” Cobb says. They strive to remain creative, relevant and “hip.” 

The startups featured in 'Disruptors' are in various stages of development. Some, like We Have Become Vikings, have achieved a level of notoriety, while others, like GamiGen, are less known. 

“They haven’t arrived yet, but they have all this potential to be cutting edge,” Cobb says.

In order to fully experience the opening, Cobb urges potential visitors to bring their smartphones. It will also help to visit
'Disruptors' online in advance and to download QR and Twitter apps. The event also includes a projection of a live Twitter feed.

“The Twitter feed is to encourage feedback and to broadcast the event to an audience that can’t be there,” says Cobb, who has invited venture capitalists and angel investors, as well as a DJ and performance artists, to the opening. 

Even as she works to give entrepreneurs a new platform to communicate their ideas, Cobb also incorporates artistic innovations that have already drawn interest from venues in Austin, Texas. Photographer Peiter Griga, a personal friend, started by photographing each of the entrepreneurs the old-fashioned way—on film.

He then prints the images by mixing silver nitrate with organic honey, which is, at the microscopic level, a living thing. The print process then mirrors how technology and life intertwine. “The media was an important component to the concept,” Cobb says. “It’s an artifact, but it’s still a living thing.”

Most of all, Cobb hopes the exhibit helps foster an understanding of the struggles and challenges faced by both artists and entrepreneurs, and an appreciation for their work.

“At the end of the day, isn’t that what we all want?” she asks.

When it came to starting a career, Mary Helen Boeddeker, 24, knew exactly what she wanted to do. As soon as she graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program in June 2012, she started her own clothing line for kids.
 
“I knew I wanted to start a brand in Cincinnati to make kids feel great, make moms happy and to bring manufacturing and design back to the United States,” says Boeddeker.
 
Today, much of the clothing bought and sold in the U.S. is created overseas, but Boeddeker didn’t want that for her clothing line, Mary Helen Clothing. She does everything from designing the garments to sourcing fabric, to patterning and creating the clothing.
 
Boeddeker was inspired to start Mary Helen Clothing by her late grandmother, Mary Helen. “She was all about being positive and being yourself,” she says.
 
Mary Helen Clothing isn’t sold in stores. It’s available online and at trunk shows, where Boeddeker goes to customers’ houses and puts on fashion shows with their children.
 
“I love when the girls put on my clothes and their faces light up,” Boeddeker says.
 
Right now, Boeddeker’s main focus is clothing for young girls. But in March, she started a small collection for boys, and she has plans for a collection for moms as well. She also has a collection of unisex clothing in the works.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Joe Lanni and his business partners have had great success with their Over-the-Rhine restaurant, Bakersfield OTR. They recently expanded their brand to Indianapolis, opening a second Bakersfield on March 11.
 
And by the end of the dog days of summer, they plan to open another new restaurant on Vine Street: The Eagle Food and Beer Hall.
 
The name directly relates to the new business' physical space. It will occupy a former Post Office. Since the eagle is the symbol for the United States Postal Service, Lanni thought it would be cool to resurrect the symbol.
 
The Eagle will serve American fare, with a specialty in fried chicken, Lanni says. There are also plans for a burger and three or four other sandwiches, plus soups and salads. And as the rest of its name suggests, The Eagle will also serve up great beer.
 
“When we opened Bakersfield, there wasn’t much open on Vine Street,” Lanni says. “We wanted to open there because we liked the plans for the neighborhood, and in time, it did take off. We’ve enjoyed being part of that growth, and want to continue to be part of OTR with our new restaurant.”
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Spring Grove Village, which is Northside’s next-door neighbor, has much more to offer than just a place to live. Spring Grove prides itself in being a green and sustainable community, where residents are invested in what’s going on around them.
 
“There are lots of young couples who live in Spring Grove Village who go to farmers' markets,” says Sam Gordon, owner of Bee Haven Honey. “They’re aware of what they can do in their own environment to help the greater environment.”
 
Spring Grove is home to several organic gardens, including Wooden Shoe Organic Garden and Keystone Flora, which focuses on local and organic plant sales. There are also several well-known greenhouses in the area, especially along Grey Road behind Spring Grove Cemetery, including A.J. Rahn.
 
Residents have planted two community gardens in the neighborhood; and many of Spring Grove’s residents, including Bee Haven Honey, sell their goods at Findlay Market.
 
Bee Haven Honey is green and sustainable, which means that they don’t use chemicals in their hives, Gordon says.
 
Gordon says she likes to be a resource for others who are interested in beekeeping, but she isn’t the only sustainable resource in Spring Grove. Evergreen Holistic Learning Center in Winton Ridge offers green and sustainable programming, and Homeadow Song Farm, an educational center, teaches kids about nature and art.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Mr. Hanton’s Handwiches started serving up hotdogs out of a food cart to Cincinnatians in 2010. A year later, Brian and Awilda Hinton upgraded to a food trailer; in May, the couple will open a brick and mortar restaurant in Clifton to satisfy late-night cravings as well as devoted followers.
 
Because food carts, trailers and trucks are, for the most part, seasonal mobile restaurants, the Hintons did open a storefront in White Oak a little over a year ago. They then talked to a group of investors and decided to expand Mr. Hanton’s into a chain of restaurants.
 
The Hintons closed the White Oak storefront and are using the space as a commissary to serve as their prep location for the trailer, parties and events. Awilda left her full-time job at P&G to run the restaurant; and Brian will be focusing most of his time on their mobile business.
 
“We had lots of customers in Mt. Adams who were UC students, and they wanted a store in Clifton,” Brian says. So it was an easy decision for the Hintons when a location opened at the U-Square at the Loop development.
 
Mr. Hanton’s is slated to open the last week of May, with an official grand opening around June 13. The menu will be slightly different from the food trailer. For example, they won’t offer a gyro at the restaurant, but there will be a gyro-inspired hotdog, which will feature a sausage made from lamb and seasoned with Mediterranean spices and topped with celery salt, tomato, onion and tzatziki sauce, Brian says.
 
“We’ve been hearing that Clifton doesn’t have a large variety of late-night options, and we plan to bring a new late-night option to people,” Brian says. “And it will be something different. You can get a hamburger, tacos, burritos and cheese coneys anywhere in town, but you won’t find anywhere in Cincinnati with a menu like ours.”
 
Mr. Hanton’s offers around 30 different hotdog options, plus a create-your-own dog.
 
The Hintons also plan on bringing a food truck to the streets of Cincinnati soon, and have big plans for their brand coming next spring.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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After Amber Fowler, 32, gave birth to twins in August, she started teaching group fitness classes at Body Boutique in Oakley. But she and Body Boutique’s owner, Candice Peters, 34, felt they weren’t servicing an important group in the community: moms and their young children.
 
Last week, Fowler and Peters started Fit Mommies, a fitness class for moms who need help getting back in shape after having a baby or who need help staying in shape, period. The class is unique in that it’s held in local parks, and is focused on moms working out with their children.
 
“We wanted a place for moms to bring their kids while they were working out,” Fowler says. “It’s like a playgroup atmosphere at the same time—moms don’t have to find a sitter, and their kids get to play with others in the fresh air.”
 
Besides a playgroup, Fit Mommies is also intent on building a community for moms. Fowler says it’s like a group therapy session and workout all in one. The women want their clients to be able to vent, get advice and get great ideas from others, all while working out.
 
“Fit Mommies is a place where moms can go to talk about things that they’re going through,” Fowler says. “It’s stressful for new moms; and it’s helpful to see other people going through the same things you are.”
 
Fowler and Peters also plan to offer Family Fit Days each month, where the whole family can come and work out for free. Fit Mommies will also host a Final Friday zoo workout—the workout is free, but you need a zoo pass.
 
The pair will also be sending out monthly newsletters and provide a resource list for clients that includes ideas from moms, family-friendly meal ideas and contact information for dentists, doctors, hairstylists, etc.
 
Fit Mommies offers power-walking and circuit training combination workouts for women who are at all different fitness levels. Classes run from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays in Hyde Park’s Ault and Alms parks, and Tuesdays and Thursdays in Loveland’s Nesbit and Paxton Ramsey parks. Classes are $59 per month for unlimited sessions; class passes are available.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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With more than 15,000-square-feet of living space, a new Edgewood, Ky., home promises palatial touches during Northern Kentucky’s Home Builders Association’s Cavalcade of Homes, which will be held May 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19 from noon to 5 p.m.
 
“There is no house around like this one,” says Linda Cochran of Tim Burks Builder, Inc., the house’s project manager. “We’ve done things for this home that haven’t been done in this area before, such as the 30-foot wall of glass doors that fully retract from the house’s lounge onto the outdoor covered porch.”
 
The identity of the home’s owner is under wraps, but when Tim Burks Builder was awarded the project in 2011, they were presented with a wish list, which included a limestone façade, a slate roof, water features, a pool and pool house and a lounge bar.
 
“It’s been an exciting project,” says Tim Burks of Tim Burks Builder. “Everyone is doing a great job, and it’s going to be fantastic when it’s finished.”
 
There are only a handful of “estate-type” homes in Edgewood, and the 15,950-square-foot home on Turkeyfoot Road towers above its neighbors. It sits on seven acres, and is inspired by turn-of-the-century classic French Chateau estates.
 
Although the house is brand new, the owner wanted many of the details to give off the feel of a 200-year-old home. The wood beams in the lounge ceiling were hand-distressed to look like they’re hundreds of years old, says Grace Jones of Dwellings in O’Bryonville, the house’s interior designer.
 
The house boasts a home theater, billiard room, home gym, Bacarat crystal faucets in the master bathroom, Swarovski crystals on the custom foyer staircase and gas outdoor lights, just to name a few.
 
The Cavalcade of Homes is in its 50^th year. It will feature tours of a handful of new-build homes in Northern Kentucky, and a few of the builders will be available for questions. The event is free and open to the public.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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La Terza Artisan Coffee Roasterie began 10 years ago when owner Chuck Pfahler began roasting coffee out of his house. Eventually, La Terza moved to a warehouse in Northside; in January, it relocated to Short Vine, and is now inside the 86 Club.
 
About 15 years ago, Pfahler started roasting coffee in a hot air popcorn maker, and fell in love with the process. He has studied time and temperature relations and knows how to cup and taste coffee like a pro. He’s also found a way to roast coffee that maximizes the beans’ flavor.
 
“It’s been a labor of love,” Pfahler says. “I love sharing coffee with people, and over the years, I’ve gotten very positive feedback.”
 
La Terza isn’t a coffee shop, but a wholesale coffee roaster that provides coffee to local coffee houses, restaurants and community groups. In February, La Terza partnered with Christian Moerlein to make a coffee-infused Baltic Porter for Cincy Beerfest. The beer was made with La Terza’s Brazil Daterra Estate Villa Borghesi, which was cold steeped in the Baltic Porter.
 
“We want to be a catalyst for the community,” says Pfahler. “We really believe that community is a ‘third place,’ and we want to support coffee shops that serve as a community’s ‘third place.’”
 
Pfahler wants La Terza to help bridge the gap between the coffee bean farmers and the communities that buy their crops. When a customer places an order, the coffee is roasted the next day and then shipped, so it’s very fresh, Pfahler says.
 
“Many people have never had freshly roasted coffee, and it’s cool to see them experience it for the first time,” he says. “Coffee should be handled like bread or produce. It can’t sit around for six months and hold its quality.”
 
Although coffee beans change with the seasons, Pfahler says La Terza’s Sumatra was very popular this year. The roasterie always offers a variety of light, medium and dark coffees, but its inventory changes.
 
“We try not to get people locked into one coffee,” says Pfahler. “Although one coffee is great this year, it doesn’t mean it will be great [next] year, or have the same flavor profiles.”
 
La Terza also offers coffee equipment sales and services, ongoing barista training and public coffee tastings. Along with wholesale, La Terza also sells coffee as retail through online orders. 
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Dance, art and music fill the Emery Theatre in Over the Rhine this weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Contemporary Dance Theatre as well as the return of MusicNOW.

The theatre, which was donated to the city in 1908 thanks to the charitable trust of Mary Emery, is currently owned by the University of Cincinnati and leased to the Emery Center Corporation, which manages the Emery Center Apartments. The theater, a replica of Carnegie Hall, is one of only three remaining halls in the nation designed with perfect acoustics. The Requiem Project: The Emery, a site-specific 501c3 founded in 2009, is working to re-establish the historic space as an event venue and interdisciplinary arts and education center. 

After going dark for the winter months as negotiations continue over the building's future, the theater hosts two major public events this weekend.

MusicNOW's first-ever art show runs in the Emery's gallery spaces through the weekend. It features pieces by Cincinnati natives Jessie Henson and Nathalie Provosty, both of whom currently work out of New York. Sunday, MusicNOW founder and The National member Bryce Dessner makes a special appearance at the Emery for a performance during a gallery party from 4-6 pm.

In addition to the MusicNOW events, the Emery also welcomes the April 13 anniversary gala for the Contemporary Dance Theatre, which was founded in 1972 by current artistic director and local dance icon Jefferson James. David Lyman plays host during the celebration, which features video, photography, costumes and more. 

While the future of the Emery and efforts to revive it remain unclear, at least for this weekend, there's a chance to enjoy an amazing local space being used for all the right reasons--to celebrate the local arts community and its connection to the broader artistic and cultural landscape of our time.

The MusicNOW exhibit and Bryce Dessner performance are free and open to the public.

Tickets for the CDC gala available here.

By Elissa Yancey
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David Le and his business partners, brothers Duy and Bao Nguyen, are known for the traditional Vietnamese fare at Findlay Market’s Pho Lang Thang. But the trio wanted to bring Asian street food to Vine Street.
 
Quan Hapa, an Asian gastropub, opened the week before Christmas. “Hapa” is the word for someone who is part-Asian, which is perfect because the restaurant’s fare is a mixture of the best dishes and drinks from Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Hawaii.
 
The restaurant is small, but comfortable and relaxed, with its menu displayed on a chalkboard.
 
In the few months it’s been open, Quan Hapa has already adapted based on early feedback. “We felt that things were a bit confusing when we first opened,” Le says. “For the first few months, there was a bit of a lack of identity in our food and the atmosphere.”
 
Le and his partners no longer serve “street food” on $16 plates. Instead, the food is served in baskets and condiments can be found on the tables. They also revamped the price points of many of their dishes to try and find the balance between the perception of value and the amount of food, Le says.
 
Le and the Nguyen brothers aren’t chefs, so they’re working with Billy Grise, a trained chef, to fine tune every dish. And you won’t find Pho Lang Thang’s bahn mi at Quan Hapa.
 
Some of Quan Hapa’s popular dishes include a Vietnamese-style Ramen, a Japanese-style pancake and Bun Bo Hue, which is a traditional soup from the Imperial city of Hue. As far as drinks go, diners like shochu, which has a Korean or Vietnamese vodka, fresh squeezed juice and soda water in it, Le says.
 
“As the first Asian restaurant on Vine, we wanted to introduce people to traditional Asian fare,” Le says. A few months after Quan Hapa opened, Kaze joined them in Over-the-Rhine.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Schickel Design Company recently won a Star Award from the Over-the-Rhine Chamber in recognition of its architecture projects in OTR. The firm’s most recent project is Bakery Lofts, which is located at 1421 Race Street.
 
“It’s wonderful to be recognized for our overall work in Cincinnati and OTR,” says Martha Dorff, Bakery Lofts’ project architect.
 
Bakery Lofts was built in the mid-1800s, and housed a bakery for about 100 years. It was originally a mixed-use building with first-floor commercial space and residential units above, but Schickel Design, 3CDC and Graybach Construction have redesigned the building and turned it into nine condos.
 
The one- to three-bedroom condos range in price from $155,000 to $350,000; and although most of the units are under contract, there are still three available.
 
William Schickel started the firm in Loveland in 1948; it moved to its current location in OTR in 2005. Schickel Design is known for renovations and new construction projects, architecture, space planning, development, interior design, stained glass, environmental graphics and art consultation.
 
Other projects completed by Schickel Design include the City Home Cincinnati project, City Home Race, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Chapel of the Holy Child and Peace Place at the hospital’s Liberty Township campus, Good Samaritan Hospital’s Dixmyth Lobby and Main Street.
 
“As a company, we see a bright future for Cincinnati, and great growth for it and cities like it,” Dorff says. “It’s geographically beautiful and a great place to live and work. It’s a city that people want to move back to and raise a family.”
 
The city is hosting a ribbon cutting for Bakery Lofts on Thursday at 10 a.m.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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For 15 years, Jeff Ledford ran some of the finest restaurants in Cincinnati. But in February, he and his wife Melissa turned a culinary dream into a reality when they opened their food truck, Catch-A-Fire Pizza.
 
Jeff has a degree from Cincinnati State’s Midwest Culinary Institute, and trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and Napa Valley. Besides fine dining, he’s also worked in catering.
 
The truck is a 26-foot mobile kitchen that features a wood-fired oven that reaches temperatures of up to 800 degrees. The Ledfords use fresh ingredients and are very selective about the flour, cheese, sauce and toppings they use on their pizzas, Jeff says.
 
“We wanted to bring our product, our passion and our philosophy of food and beverage to people, which is a very gratifying experience,” he says.
 
Catch-A-Fire’s best-seller is the Cornerstone, which is a pepperoni pizza topped with a fire-roasted red sauce and a five-cheese blend. The truck also features specials that rotate regularly to keep the food interesting.
 
The Ledfords are passionate about food and beverage and appreciate craft beer, so they decided to partner with a few local breweries. Catch-A-Fire can be found at Rivertown Brewing, and they’ve done events at Mt. Carmel Brewing Company and Listermann Brewing.
 
“Pizza and beer are like ketchup and French fries—it’s a great combination everyone knows,” Jeff says. “Lots of breweries have taprooms, but they’re not able to offer food, which is where we come in.”
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Every year, the Over-the-Rhine Chamber awards a handful of businesses for their strides in categories like Property Development, Nonprofit of the Year, New Business of the Year and Business of the Year. This year, CORE Resources won in a new category, Job Creation of the Year.
 
CORE—a builder and developer of retail, office, restaurant and healthcare facilities—was founded in 1990. In 2010, it employed nine people; today, CORE has 34 employees and plans to hire 10 more in 2013.
 
“We’re thrilled to be having a growth spurt and hiring people again,” says President Paul Kitzmiller. “We hope that with further recognition in the community, CORE’s services can help grow the surrounding community and further participate in revitalization.”
 
For the past few years, CORE has been involved in revitalization and renovation projects in OTR. Some of its OTR projects include the Color Building (home of CORE’s office), KAZE, Quan Hapa and Washington Park. CORE is getting ready to start the renovation of Eli’s BBQ on Vine Street and the apartments above.
 
At Sixth and Walnut, CORE has worked on the Righteous Room, Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse and Nada. They’re getting ready to open Sotto, and in the next 30 days, they’ll be opening Boca. CORE is also the general contractor for the anchor restaurant at U Square at the Loop—Keystone Bar and Grill.
 
“In the future, we want to be involved with more projects and help create a wonderful neighborhood,” says Kitzmiller.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Last week, Cincinnati City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee approved the use of $10,000 of Westwood TIF district money to conduct a review of existing conditions and future plans for Westwood Square, which is at the heart of the Westwood Business District at the intersection of Harrison, Epworth and Urweiler avenues.
 
The project would include green spaces and changes to the neighborhood that would encourage economic development and community pride.
 
The square is the result of a three-day urban design workshop held in fall 2012. The workshop focused on the neighborhood’s vision for the redevelopment of the business district and surrounding residential areas.
 
“There is no significant property acquisition required in order to make this a reality if this is something the community chooses to go forward with,” says Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls.
 
Westwood is one of four Cincinnati neighborhoods that volunteered to implement the city’s new form-base codes, which will help develop walkable neighborhoods throughout the city. The codes were adopted on March 7, and will go before City Council in April for final approval.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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