Cooking with Caitlin to open CWC

Nine years ago, Caitlin Steininger's sister, Kelly Trush, started a cooking blog called "Cooking with Caitlin." Trush just knew her younger sister's talent for cooking needed to be shared.  The business has evolved in many directions since then, both on-line and in the real work.  Steininger said that what they've really loved is "getting to feed people."

Now they'll be doing that in their own restaurant in their neighborhood of Wyoming called CWC. They have signed a lease on a space at 1517 Springfield  Pike, at the northern end of Wyoming.  "We're going to be putting a lot of love into it,"said Steininger. They are working with other Wyoming-based businesses, including architect Charlie Jahnigen of SHP, to turn it into a comfortable, open-kitchen restaurant of about 53 seats. They hope to open in November, with Steininger in the kitchen, Trush in the dining room, and their father and other family members helping out.

Trush and Steininger want to create a business that will allow them to raise their families. When Cooking with Caitlin started, Steininger was just 20 and had one child. (She couldn't buy wine to cook with herself.) She's the mother of four now, and Trush has three. Their children attend a school close to their new building, where the children tend to a garden. Some of their herbs and other produce for the restaurant may come from that garden. Steininger said everything will be as homemade as possible, including baking their own bread.

Until they open, they're setting up a food truck in the back, with a lawn and picnic tables, to serve dinner on Friday and brunch on Sunday.

The "Cooking with Caitlin" brand has encompassed many activities. Their column appears in The Enquirer's food section, they have a radio show on WKRC-AM, they do "Third Thursday" events, they've done catering, had a booth on Fountain Square, and published hundreds of original recipes available on their website. But their main income has come from developing recipes for big brands and for the National Dairy Council.

Some of the recipes Steininger has developed over the years may show up on the CWC menu. What she's created for home use familiar flavor combinations, with something different and unexpected incorporated into them. They'll have sandwiches, Italian food and surprises. "We're calling it comfort food, so we can do what we want," said Steininger.

We've always thought the best restaurants are the ones where the owners are there," said Steininger. "This is going to be an extension of our dinner table."