Check out the Cincinnati Reds lineup for Opening Day against the Washington Nationals

What's new and coming to Main Street in OTR

Polly Campbell
Cincinnati Enquirer
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018: Main Street in Over-the-Rhine has seen a lot of new businesses open recently.

In the 1990s, Main Street between Central Parkway and Liberty developed into a hot spot. Restaurants – and especially bars – opened, turning the area into an entertainment district.

There were even two brewpubs well before the current beer revival. But all that stopped in 2001, after the neighborhood was the focus of protests against a fatal police shooting.

Ten years later, when development roared back into Over-the-Rhine, it was centered on Vine Street.

Not that Main Street had no activity. Japp's, MOTR, Mr. Pitiful's, Iris Book Cafe, Shadeau Breads and Neon's are among businesses that served the neighborhood on (or just off) Main Street. 

Growth here has been a little slower, a little quirkier, more eclectic and inspired by entrepreneurs' faith in the neighborhood.

"When you walk into a business on Main Street, you often see the owner there, working on their plan," said Dustin Miller, who is about to open The Takeaway.

Get the best of Cincinnati on your phone. Download the Things to Do app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

More: Find a fish fry near you

More: Things to do this weekend: Feb. 16-18

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018: Barbecued wings, which are fried and grilled, from The Pony on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine

Things are speeding up lately. Several new businesses have opened in the past year or so, and a number of new bars and restaurants have been announced. Here's a snapshot of what's new on Main Street, and a peek at what's coming soon: 

The Pony, at 1346, is modeled on the corner bars of Buffalo, the hometown of one of its owners. There's a long bar to sit at, a communal bar-level top to stand around, a few booths and TVs on sports. It's owned by the same trio that owns Liberty's, a bar up the street.

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018: Mike Kasak, chef of The Pony on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine, holds barbecued wings, which are fried and grilled.

There's a beautiful wall mural there by Alex Scherra, who also did a collection of black and white drawings for The Pony. They tell a Greek myth, with bar patrons and owners playing the parts. See if you can figure it out.

The food here includes Buffalo wings, both fried or fried-and-grilled-with barbecue sauce, beef on weck, chicken finger subs. I had Utica greens and beans, an upstate New York specialty of escarole and white beans with crunchy breadcrumbs. Delicious, and homey like something a bar owner's wife would whip up for regulars. 513-954-8415

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018: Meggie Kraus, owner of Quaintrelle Confections on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine, toasts a handcrafted marshmallow.

Quaintrelle at 1210 is a marshmallow store and s'mores bar, not something you could call strictly necessary to anyone's diet, but it seems to have a steady stream of customers.

Meggie Kraus makes marshmallows in a variety of flavors that you can buy by the bag If you've never had a hand-crafted marshmallow, they are different, and much better, than the ones you've burned on sticks.

More: Thing-a-lings: The whole story of the cherry fritters

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018: Cherry pie s'more from Quaintrelle Confections on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine.

She melts marshmallows and chocolate with a small torch to create s'mores. They go well beyond the campfire, with additions like cherry pie filling, coconut and almonds or crushed Oreos.

They're best freshly made but there's no place to sit in the store, so be prepared to try to eat them standing around or on the street while they're still gooey. www.quaintconfections.com

At 1208, Allez Bakery's bread is the real thing. Much of it is sourdough, long-fermented, with a crust and a firm chew but also an interior moistness.

Buy by the loaf, but it also makes great sandwiches. They're pre-made before lunch, so it doesn't take long to get one to go, along with a La Croix and a pickled carrot. Their vegetable sandwiches are creative stand-outs, like roasted butternut squash and tofu or a roasted turnip sandwich (OK a turnip sandwich doesn't sound good, but I have faith it would be).

The chicken mole is spicy and warm, and they also make "normal" sandwiches like turkey and provolone. 513-381-6700, allezbakery.com 

Thu., Feb. 8, 2018: Tom McKenna, owner of Allez Bakery on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine. Allez makes hearth-style bread and sandwiches.

I can only think of a few situations in which an alcoholic milkshake makes sense, but all of them would occur while barhopping or going out to a club or a show. So at 1408, Buzzed Bull is in the right spot.

Alcoholic ice cream is their specialty, but they also make it without the buzz. They use liquid nitrogen to freeze it so it's super-customizable, whether you're drinking age or not. It's fun to watch the nitrogen make dramatic clouds of steam. The ice cream is super cold, so be careful with your tongue. 513-381-2899, buzzedbullcreamery.com 

The building at 1209 already had "The Hub" in tile at the entrance. When Lindsey Swadner repurposed the building, it made all kinds of sense to keep the name for this meeting place for the bike community. The Hub includes a bar, a bike shop, and a bike repair shop. They have foosball tournaments, karaoke, bands and comedy, and it's the starting point for urban bike rides.

More: Four words: Ricotta, prosciutto, blackberry, pizza.

More: Top 5 events in Cincy this weekend

It's a little rough around the edges in atmosphere, and their $5 shot and a beer special (Old Crow and a PBR) also appeals to an audience who probably haven't been on a bike in years. 513-746-6572, www.thehubotr.com

The Royal at 1200 is the third business on the street owned by the trio from Liberty's. It's a neighborhood sandwich shop that offers a quick order-at-the-counter lunch. Mike Kasak is the chef here, making sandwiches and grain bowls.

The sandwiches feature house-roasted meats and homemade spreads. You'll want to order something different every time, from Peruvian ham to a turkey club and chili dogs. I had a delicious squash soup here, they have a number of dishes with a Mexican flavor.

They also do grain bowls, based on farro (a kind of whole wheat berry) but I found those less satisfying and was surprised that the one I got was cold. Bare bones decor, as seems to be appropriate for Main Street. 513-381-3092, www.theroyalotr.com 

Shadeau Bakery at 1336 must be the longest-lasting food business on Main. Bill Pritz opened in in 1983. He recently sold the bakery and retired to Minnesota. The new owners trained with Pritz and his bakers for several months before taking over. They use his recipes. 513-665-9270

Rosedale isn't technically on Main, but the bar it used to be, Neon's, was a long-time linchpin of Main Street activity.

It was taken over by 4EG, the local bar company that owns a lot of local bars like The Righteous Room and The Lackman. That's probably disappointing to the original hipsters who went to Neon's before Main Street was cool. But it hasn't changed that much.

The new owners have cleaned things up inside and brought back the bocce courts. 208 E. 12th St., 513-864-5400, www.rosedaleotr.com 

More: Cheese shop, deli and small grocery store coming to Northside

More: La Petite France in Evendale closes after 35 years

Whats coming:

An Aladdin Cafe will open late this spring at 1203, once the home of Mixx Ultra Lounge. It's a multi-unit restaurant but Carla Chalkley, one of the local franchisee's group, said it will be very different from other Aladdin locations.

They'll have a full liquor license, and a 1,000-square foot outdoor patio, sort of a courtyard, with outdoor dining and area for lounging. The decor and general look of the new Mediterranean restaurant will be very different than other locations, too, preserving the historic details of the space. 

LocobaPlatform Beer Co., a brewery from Cleveland, is opening a tasting room at 1201. They'll brew beers on-site, and experiment with the crossover between coffee and beer and spirits.

It will be open as a coffee shop, serve food, and work with barrel-aging. 

The Louisville-based tapas bar Louvino will open in May or June at 1142. There are two locations in Louisville, where they serve "Southern-inspired" tapas. It's wine-focused. With a Wine Station system that uses argon gas to keep open bottles fresh, they'll be able to offer 60 wines by the glass.

Tapas include the taste of the South in pimento cheese, chicken salad sandwich, shrimp and grits, a charcuterie board, a Brussels sprout salad, loaded tater tots, steak and hoecakes. Some are on the menu permanently, others rotate seasonally. www.Louvino.com

The Takeaway, a sandwich shop and grocery store from Dustin Miller, one of the owners of Collective Espresso. It's a sandwich shop on one side, a grocery store on the other that "meets the neighborhood where it is," Miller says, with fresh produce but also staples and canned goods.

The sandwiches, mostly standard deli sandwiches like a club or a chicken salad on croissant will mostly be around $8. Miller, who's done most of the work himself, says they'll open in late February. 

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018: A tower of macarons are on display in the window front of the Macaron Bar on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine.

Already there:

One of the original craft cocktail bars at Japp's, pizza buffet at Lucy Blue's, some of the biggest pizza in Cincinnati at Goodfella's, late night music that's always free at MOTR, bigger shows at The Woodward, neighborhood bar at Liberties, crafted espresso and coffee from Collective Espresso on Woodward Street, dainty French cookies in a rainbow of colors at The Macaron Bar, coffee and used books and a pretty patio at Iris Book Cafe.