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ENTERTAINMENT

Live at The Ludlow Garage brings music back to Clifton

Shauna Steigerwald
ssteigerwald@enquirer.com
MARCH 1981: Ludlow Garage in Clifton.

Live at The Ludlow Garage is bringing music back to a Clifton space that was once known for it.

The venue, 342 Ludlow Ave., opened as a music venue and restaurant on Thursday, Oct. 29. Vanessa Carlton performed that night.

“From the moment we bought the building, I thought about bringing music back because of its history,” said Scott Crawford, who has owned the building for about eight years.

Forged during a three-year stint starting in 1969 when Jim Tarbell ran a club called the Ludlow Garage there, that history includes some big names: Santana, BB King, The Allman Brothers Band. (The latter recorded the album “Live At Ludlow Garage 1970” there.)

In September, 1969, Jim Tarbell (front) opened the Ludlow Garage rock-and-roll club in a refurbished Clifton automotive garage. At first it "went like gangbuster," Tarbell recalled one afternoon at the restaurant. But by 1971, "the whole music scene had changed to Cincinnati Gardens," he explained. "We couldn't compete. All the small clubs were destined for doom."

“A lot of famous people played here before they were famous,” Crawford said.

Crawford, who owned Olives restaurant in the space for about seven years, hopes to add more big names to the space’s performance history. Most of the acts to play the space will be national touring acts, in genres including country, rock, jazz and blues, performing “unplugged,” he said.

Kevin Blum, the venue’s talent buyer, has been in the industry for 30 years and worked for Live Nation for part of that time. That means he has relationships with agents, important for a new venue. In addition to Carlton, he has already booked several other shows, including Matisyahu, Livingston Taylor, Howie Day and Tom Rush, for the space. (See below for the venue’s schedule.)

Crawford closed Olives last July and started remodeling the space last September. Renovations included opening up the downstairs and transforming it into a 262-seat music venue. Theater-style setting will make the setting intimate, with the farthest seat only 58 feet away from the performers.

“Every seat in the house is a great seat,” he said. “You’re up close and personal. That’s what’s going to set us apart.”

Concert goers can use the pop-up tables that slide out from under the chairs to hold cocktails and tapas, which they can order from their seats.

Upstairs will be a full, 80-seat restaurant. That part of the building has been completely remodeled, with a smaller, six-seat bar replacing the larger one that Olives had. Garage doors that can open during warmer weather replace the front windows.

The chef is Steve Hermes, who was most recently at The Anchor OTR. He’s planning a small menu that will rotate quarterly, with customer favorites sticking around as signature offerings. On the initial version are a couple of appetizers, scallops Rockefeller and chicken liver pate, a fall harvest and a whole-leaf Caesar salad, flatbreads and several entrees. Among the latter are an 8-ounce strip steak with wild mushroom ragout, braised lamb shank with port cherry au jus, a fish of the day and a vegan bouillabaisse.

Specialty cocktails will also be seasonal. For the opening, that means options such as bourbon maple apple cider and cranberry margaritas.

The restaurant will be open Tuesday–Saturday for dinner, with hours from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 4–11 p.m. on weekends. The goal is to have music five nights a week downstairs as well, though Crawford expects some nights to be dark during the venue’s first few months.

With shows that aren’t loud – in fact, the venue has a strict decibel limit – and the intimate setting, Crawford, 54, expects Live at The Ludlow Garage to attract a slightly older crowd. He thinks it will appeal to music fans who, like him, don’t want to go to the larger venues anymore.

“I’m building a place I’d like to go,” he said. “Half of what you’re buying here is the experience.”

He said he has seen similar concepts work at other venues around the country.

“I think it’s going to be the wave of the future,” he said.

Live at The Ludlow Garage schedule

Thursday, Oct. 29: Vanessa Carlton, 8:15 p.m. $45, $25.

Oct. 30: Matisyahu, 8:15 p.m. $75, $40.

Oct. 31: Livingston Taylor, 8 p.m. $30-$50

Nov. 1: Howie Day, 8:15 p.m. $25, $15.

Nov. 28: Lee Dewyze, 8:15 p.m. $15.

Dec. 4: Red Wanting Blue, 8:15 p.m. $15-$20

Dec. 11: Leigh Nash, Gabe Dixion, 8:15 p.m. $15-25

March 12: California Guitar Trio, 8:15 p.m., $20-$50

May 20: Tom Rush, 8:15 p.m. $50, $25.

Information: 513-616-2640; http://liveattheludlowgarage.com/