You’ve probably heard someone claim that the rapid uptick of new businesses opening in Over-the-Rhine has adversely affected long-term residents. The comment isn’t unfounded, but it overlooks how such changes can also open opportunities for people who have lived in poverty with few chances to improve their lives.
The notion that
“gentrification” pushes out existing residents oversimplifies the current situation in Over-the-Rhine as much as developers’ optimistic theorizing that the rising economic tide will lift everyone.
While OTR rents are going up, home ownership is increasing and visitors flock to new stores and restaurants, this isn’t a one-way street. In fact, many businesses are actively engaging neighborhood residents with employment opportunities.
Lauren Altman manages hiring and training for Thunderdome Restaurant Group, which operates three highly successful Vine Street eateries:
Bakersfield,
The Eagle and just-opened
Krueger’s Tavern. “My job,” she says, “is to put together a diverse portfolio of employees, from dishwashers to people in leadership roles.”
Altman is a Cincinnatian who moved to Portland, Ore., and worked as a barista but was tempted back come to become Bakersfield’s first manager.
“A lot of people want to be part of the success of these businesses and the neighborhood,” she says. “We can offer a lot of opportunity. We provide onsite training, and we spend a lot of time and energy on employees.”
They’ve hired many nearby residents, she adds, focusing on individuals who can be gracious and thoughtful and are excited about the neighborhood. “We want to have a reputation as being one of the most welcoming places in OTR,” she says.
Thunderdome employee Kevin Palmer has lived in Over-the-Rhine his entire life, but it’s been tough to find employment that paid a living wage. Now he’s doing daily cleanup for the three restaurants.
“I’ve been homeless,” he says. “This is a good job, full-time. I can walk here. They gave me a good opportunity. I can afford to pay my rent now (for his apartment near Findlay Market). I used to be struggling, but now I can be happy when I go home.”
Although Altman doesn't reference the concept of “
social innovation,” that’s what she and other OTR employers are practicing when they purposefully hire workers from the neighborhood. They’re growing their business and improving their bottom line with the social benefit of helping area residents overcome challenges they’ve faced for years.
It’s a key component of why Over-the-Rhine is thriving today.
Helping people who need work skills
Some long-time OTR residents lack fundamental skills to land jobs with businesses such as restaurants. That’s where
Venice on Vine, a long-time Vine Street pizza shop, fits in.
Established by Power Inspires Progress (PIP), a nonprofit founded in 1986 by two nuns, the organization helps individuals with chronic barriers to employment prepare for and secure work. After creating several small businesses with residents of Cincinnati’s urban core, PIP acquired a pizza parlor and began a catering business.
“About 15 years ago we became a pre-employment training program for folks with chronic barriers to employment,” says Mark Shannon, PIP’s executive director. “The restaurant and catering kitchens are unique classrooms, and they can economically fuel our mission to provide a sense of place, skill training and employment history for these folks, many who have lived with generational poverty, a lack of quality education and legal issues.”
Venice on Vine works to help individuals learn how to fit into a culture of work.
“That means people need to linger for a while,” Shannon says. “Most folks are with us for about a year, learning how to behave in a workplace.”
Shannon says the restaurant and catering operation typically has about 20 people in training.
“Many end up in the food industry,” he says, but not everyone. “Some trainees have worked at unloading planes for DHL, in service roles at Children’s Hospital and at downtown hotels.”
Venice on Vine pays a stipend from the moment people start work, Shannon says, “because we want them to begin to make good intentional financial decisions for themselves and their families.” Training goes beyond work skills to include résumé development, reading skills and coaching for job interviews.
Shannon says PIP’s ultimate goal is to help people stabilize their lives. But this program and others — such as
Cincinnati Cooks, offered by the Freestore/Foodbank — have become a source of employees for burgeoning businesses in OTR.
“We can get a restaurant a trained dishwasher in 45 minutes on a busy night,” Shannon boasts.
To amplify that pipeline, the
OTR Community Council and the
OTR Chamber of Commerce partnered in November for a program at Venice on Vine attended by many restaurants from the neighborhood: 4EG (operator of The Lackman), Gomez Salsa/Halfcut Beer, Zula, Brezel Pretzel Bakery and Horseshoe Casino; the casino has more than 60 employees who live in OTR, some of whom are longtime residents.
Joan Kaup, a member of the Community Council, worked with the Chamber and Ohio Job Corps to put on the event. Industry expert Kathleen Ruppert, who’s working on
Findlay Market's kitchen incubator project, was the featured speaker.
“We hosted a simple conversation over coffee,” Kaup says, “to let restaurant managers know there are organizations in OTR that are training people for the hospitality industry. And we wanted those organizations to connect with businesses that are hiring folks.”
More than food service
3CDC is also connecting longtime OTR residents with employment opportunities. Anjylla Foster is 3CDC’s customer service supervisor, hiring people to work at
Washington Park and
Fountain Square.
In 2014, 3CDC began to replace outside contractors with its own employees as cleaning and customer service “ambassadors” at the public spaces it manages, especially in the Washington Park playground and fountain areas. Foster is particularly proud of two employees, DeShawn Ashley and Carolyn McClure, OTR residents who have raised families nearby and were eager to get involved in the improving neighborhood.
“They were in the park all the time, just as residents, enforcing rules and picking up trash,” Foster says. “I asked DeShawn, ‘Would you like a job?’ She jumped at the chance, and she’s been great. We try to let people know about our seasonal jobs through word of mouth.”
Applications need to be completed soon for
positions that begin in April. Foster plans to have a computer set up at 3CDC’s new office at Walnut and 12th streets where local residents who lack Internet access can apply.
Spokesperson Anastasia Mileham says 3CDC wants to help OTR become a mixed-income neighborhood.
“Adding our own job opportunities is important,” she says. “We want to find good people from the neighborhood who we can cross-train to do a great job with event services, maintenance and cleaning. It’s great to find people right here to do the work.”
Katie Willing is an owner of
Holtman’s Donuts, another flourishing new Vine Street business. Ashley works there in addition to Washington Park.
“We’ve made a conscious effort to hire people from nearby,” she says. “We wanted people who lived here, who know the neighborhood. We look for experience and personality. It’s a good pool to draw from. Everybody working at the shop likes the change and being a part of it.”
Being part of the change seems to be helping employers and employees alike and continues to attract
like-minded entrepreneurs.
NEXT WEEK: Part 2 of Rick Pender’s report on efforts by new Over-the-Rhine businesses to hire neighborhood workers, featuring interviews with three long-time OTR residents working there.