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Proposed BrewKraft Collective a place to brew, taste, learn about craft beer
Four friends and homebrewers want to share the camaraderie they've developed around craft beer with more people in Cincinnati. Local attorneys Eric Palmer, Steve Sharpe, Kieran Hurley and Nick DiNardo are working to open the BrewKraft Collective, a place were craft beer lovers can meet up to share and create brews. Palmer describes it as a nanobrewery or craft beer community center. It will be part of the neighborhood, he says, and be a place that people can walk to and grab a Cincinnati-inspired beer. "It will be as locally focused as possible," says Palmer. "We want to use local ingredients. With beer, it's a little tricky finding hops, but we believe we can get some in the local area. We also want the beers to be locally influenced. We're working with different folks to come up with beers that are reflective of Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio." The partners are scouting locations, and Over-the-Rhine and Northside are at the top of the list. They're looking for a space that's 5,000 to 7,000 square feet that would contain the microbrewery, tasting room and learning center. "We want to be part of the neighborhood," Palmer says. "There are some really good [microbreweries] here, but they don't get a lot of street traffic. You have to get in your car and go to them." Palmer's been a homebrewer for 20 years, and he's been brewing with his friends for five. "We are passionate about brewing," he says. "We love doing it. There is still a demand in Cincinnati for craft beer that is not being met. We have some craft brewers here, but Cincinnati is behind Columbus and Cleveland. The small brewers around here can't keep up with all of the demand." A recent change in Ohio law that makes it less costly for small breweries to operate tasting rooms spurred the idea. "The law makes it easier to get beer in the hands of people who like craft beer, and makes it less expensive to get a license and taste beer on site," Palmer says. Plans are to open The BrewKraft Collective within a year. The partners are looking for investors and considering buying a property through the Hamilton County Land Bank, a new program aimed at cleaning up distressed and abandoned properties across the county. The BrewKraft Collective was a winner of Xavier University's third XLab entrepreneurship contest. University MBA students are helping polish the collective's business plan. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Westpack bottling company to locate new plant in Covington, create 63 jobs
Russian-based Westpack, a bottle decorating and packaging company, announced this month it would locate a new manufacturing plant in Covington, creating 63 new jobs. The plant will invest nearly $4.5 million at a 126,000-square-foot space on West 43rd Street in the Covington neighborhood of Latonia. In addition to bottle decorating and packaging, the plant will be equipped to provide short-run decorations for special events and promotions. Kentucky’s foreign direct investment continues to grow, with approximately 420 internationally based companies from 30 nations in the Commonwealth, employing nearly 80,000 people. “The Commonwealth is thrilled to partner with Westpack to see the creation of more than 60 jobs and an investment of nearly $4.5 million,” said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear in an announcement. “We’re especially proud that a company from Russia has chosen Kentucky to do business, a testament to the ideal logistics and strategic location here in the Commonwealth.” Westpack is a new expansion of UniPack Group, a full-service glass container decorating and packaging company serving the alcohol beverage industry since 1995. It will be the only company in the state providing bottle labeling and decoration services to the state's bourbon and alcoholic beverage producing and bottling industry. “With decoration plants in Russia and Europe, expanding into the U.S. market was a natural next step,” said Westpack Managing Director Simon Mnoyan. “And selecting the right state for our production was a function of customer logistics, business operating costs and quality of life. The Commonwealth of Kentucky provided and met all three requirements for our expansion.” The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $1.5 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. Westpack plans to be in its new space this summer, and is currently taking job applications on its website. Written by Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter.
101 The Cookery aims to create community-based cooking school, bistro in OTR
A group of Cincinnatians are working to create a community-based cooking school and bistro in Over-the-Rhine. 101 The Cookery is an effort to teach basic cooking skills, help families feel more at ease in the kitchen and promote healthier eating. "We want people to learn the skills they need to create healthy food in their kitchens," says Ty Carr, an industrial design student at UC's DAAP, who is helping lead the project. "So many people rely on convenience and frozen foods." Carr was one of eight student entrepreneur finalists who pitched health and healthcare improvement ideas at the Innov8 for Health 2013 Challenge and Idea Expo. 101 The Cookery was launched as a concept last year, and is nearing the implementation phase, Carr says. He and his partners are continuing to pitch the idea to potential funders, community groups and business organizations. "We're in the process of trying to get the green light from different organizations in the city and raise money," Carr says. The Cookery project comes as the problem of "food deserts," or urban areas without convenient access to fresh foods or well-stocked grocery stores, has gotten more attention. Areas of OTR face some of those same challenges, but has one jewel in Findlay Market, the state's oldest continuously operated public market. Carr, originally from Cleveland and now living in Clifton, believes OTR is the perfect place for his concept. "I really didn't plan on staying here long-term, but something happened over the last two years," he says. "I started spending a lot of time in OTR, and people there have an intense sense of community. There is something about OTR—people love their food and their food history. It's the perfect venue for something like this." 101 The Cookery will likely contain for-profit and nonprofit elements, and there are also plans to release a "home cooking" cookbook soon. You can get more information about 101 The Cookery from its recently launched website. You can also stay connected through Facebook and Twitter. Written by Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Heads up to local artisans and small-batch manufacturers: CNCY MADE has your back
The core idea is to start making connections in the local community to assist people who might be making their own physical products.
URBtank brings aquaponics to warehouse on McMicken
For URBtank, it’s all about the cycle. Kyle McGrath, 23, and Brad Ostendorf, 22, are the brains behind URBtank, an urban aquaponics system. The team, who both studied architecture at the University of Kentucky, worked on proposals and plans for the River Cities Project, which addresses ecological and economic conditions and tries to bring people back to the water. McGrath and Ostendorf couldn’t stop thinking about aquaponics all summer, and soon they found themselves building a system in Ostendorf’s garage in Cold Spring, Ky. Aquaponics uses fish to fertilize plants, typically of the edible kind and can function in any kind of climate, indoor or outdoor. “Fish need nutrients, we feed the fish, they excrete waste, that fish waste can be turned into nitrates, which fertilize the plants themselves, so the plants then clean the water for the fish, and it gets returned back to the fish," says McGrath. "And it’s a close-loop cycle, so the water flows throughout the whole system." The pair is in the process of moving their system to a warehouse at 111 W. McMicken Ave. There, they have plans for massive expansion. “There thousands upon thousands of unused acres inside of old buildings, so why not tap into that?” Ostendorf says. Space isn’t the only advantage. “There’s no interruption; it just keeps going. You take out the seasons, and you’re providing for the whole year." With no plans to stop, URBtank is currently growing microgreens, mizuna and watercress. Immediate plans include growing lettuce and other leafy greens. Both McGrath and Ostendorf are interested in fine dining, and they want to develop a community aspect to their business by allowing chefs to choose what they grow and hand-pick items for menus. “They have complete control over what they grow," says McGrath. "If they want Asian cress or mizuna or wasabi pea chutes, we can do that for them. For updates, follow URBtank on Twitter. By Gina Gaetano
Thinking outside the box: Home bakery turns Gail Yisreal into cake boss
Going on maternity leave changed Gail Yisreal’s life in more ways than having a new baby to take care of. When she returned to work, Yisreal says she learned her position was no longer there, so she began to look for a different job. As wife and mother to a blended family of nine children, she might bake up to 11 birthday cakes in a year. But she hadn’t considered turning her knack for kneading dough into earning dough until she baked a wedding cake for a couple from her family’s place of worship. Not only did they like the cake, they suggested she start selling them. Listening to her fans, Yisreal founded A “Mother’s Touch” Cakes with the nurturing tagline, “Making fresh homemade cakes when you don’t have the time.” Celebrating her two-year anniversary as a registered business in August 2012, A “Mother’s Touch” features signature and custom made flavors of fresh, savory gourmet, organic and vegan cakes and cupcakes that are good—and good for you. “I didn’t know anything about decorating, so I took a class to learn more decorating skills," Yisreal says. "And I was shocked to find out that 95 percent of the cakes you buy are box cakes—because everybody wants the decoration. I started doing some research about the trans-fats and artificial ingredients, and I vowed that everything I baked would always be natural and from scratch.” After working as a waitress for two years and in management at Starbucks for six years, Yisreal developed a love for coffee. She jokes that most ex-Starbucks managers feel they know enough about coffee to create their own line, which she actually did for A “Mother’s Touch.” Having tried organic coffees with weak flavor profiles, she researched and found Dean’s Beans, a fair-trade pioneer that allowed her to design her own custom blends. Her signature A “Mother’s Touch” blend is made with Mexican and Indonesian beans and pairs with her carrot cake as an after-dinner coffee. “I’m really proud of my coffee and the fact that it really was custom blended for what I wanted to complement my desserts,” Yisreal says. And, true to her mission to serve natural, sustainable goods, she says that her blends are 100 percent organic, fair-trade certified and are shade grown. Being on the scene without a storefront hasn’t stopped Yisreal. Instead, she’s building her brand as the “cupcake lady” who networks everywhere and invites people to taste samples of her creations. Yisreal also tapped into hidden markets by hosting deals through social media. “I did a Living Social promotion last year, which was huge,” Yisreal says. “That first day, I think I got 1,500 hits on my website, and probably about 85 deals, which I thought was really good for people who didn’t know who I was.” And even though she sells more cakes today, the ease of transporting cupcakes built her clientele. “When I first came out, because of my financial situation, literally, cupcakes were paying my rent,” she says. After she and her husband separated, she remembers what it was like to go from making an annual salary of $60,000 to less than $20,000 a year. But she doesn’t do it all alone. “I have three almost-teenage girls; 12, soon to be 15 and 17, so they are my preppers,” Yisreal explains. “It’s hilarious because we’ll be in the kitchen and everybody has their big bonnets on, and they’re scraping carrots, mashing fruit, lining the liners. I have a girlfriend who I’ll sometimes sub-contract out to do deliveries. And if it’s a huge event—like for the Autism Foundation, I had to knock out 40 dozen cupcakes—I have two sisters, and at the time I had just split up with my husband so we were in literally an 800-square-foot apartment. The kitchen was all of maybe 150-square-feet, we put out six-foot tables and we were like an assembly line! It was hilarious, but we got it done. It was like an I Love Lucy episode!” By Mildred Fallen
City wins ‘Oscar’ of community development for Village at Roll Hill project
Last week, the City of Cincinnati was awarded one of 10 annual Audrey Nelson Community Development Awards for its contributions to the renovations of the Villages at Roll Hill, formerly called Fay Apartments. The development was in need of renovations because it had fallen into disrepair, and was known as a police hotspot. “It’s a very prestigious award within the community development profession,” says Cincinnati’s Department of Community Development Director Michael Cervay. “We consider it the ‘Oscar’ of community development.” The development is the largest LEED-certified renovation of affordable housing in the country. Though there are other affordable housing developments in need of renovation, construction work hasn’t begun and the U.S. Green Building Council hasn’t certified these projects as meeting LEED standards, Cervay says. The City contributed $3.19 million in HOME loan money to the project; additional financing included $31 million from a HUD-insured first mortgage and $1 million in equity from the developer, Wallick Hendy. The project totaled out at about $35 million. The Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award is a national community development award that is presented by the National Community Development Association. The award recognizes exemplary uses of the Community Development Block Grant program and the partnerships between local government and nonprofits to assist low- and moderate-income households. Construction began on the Roll Hill development in Oct. 2010. It’s considered the largest green renovation of an affordable housing development in the country, Cervay says. Renovations included reducing the total number of units from 893 to 703, demolishing 17 buildings, adding new landscaping, planting trees and installing new playgrounds. On top of that, police personnel from District 3 added recommendations to the plans that increased the cost of the project by about $800,000, Cervay says. These recommendations included perimeter fencing, extra security lighting, surveillance cameras, first-floor window bars, rear doors that open out and additional security personnel. In addition, the Villages at Roll Hill purchased a license plate reader that will notify police in real time if a stolen car or a car registered to someone with an outstanding warrant enters the premises. Audrey Nelson was the first Deputy Executive Secretary of NCDA. She grew up in a neighborhood in inner city Chicago that was a target area for the local Model Cities Program. The award stands for Nelson’s commitment to her neighborhood, local program efforts and service to low-income households. She died of cancer at the age of 29. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Social media entrepreneur, Xavier grad develops MBA marketing course for university
Xavier University grad and entrepreneur Matt Dooley is giving back to the university. This time, he's not a student but an instructor. Dooley, who in 2011 launched a social media agency called dooley media, now teaches a social media marketing course he developed for Xavier's MBA program. This fall will mark his third year teaching the course, which was recently accepted into the lineup of Xavier's MBA electives after an experimental period. The course centers on the changing and emerging social media marketing space. It's a real-time, real-world course that teaches students to create, analyze and and adapt social media campaigns across platforms. Dooley approached the university about the class, hoping to contribute to an existing course. Instead, he was asked to develop one himself. "I think the underlying motive was simply that so many people were talking about social media and trying to figure it out," Dooley says. "That prompted me to send that email, to see if there was an opportunity to build dialogue around social media's best (and worst) practices." He graduated from Xavier with a BSBA in finance and an MBA in marketing. Throughout his course, Dooley shares his own experiences in the working world, managing and developing social media campaigns for small- and medium-size businesses. Dooley also writes about social media marketing for the online publication Cincinnati Profile. The course has featured numerous experienced speakers, including social media marketing experts from companies and organizations like Caterpillar, Waste Management, Yelp!, Microsoft and Obama for America. The course emphasises on meeting real-life challenges, and in one project, help solve a marketing challenge 3M presented to the class. The challenge related to helping the company better sell a new suite of computer privacy and protection products. "It's a real-world course," Dooley says. "I think it's going against the nature of social media to be any other way. It's as interactive and fun and lively as possible." By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Vegan Roots translates Cincinnati’s culinary faves
The hardest thing about being vegan, according to Caitlin Bertsch, isn’t figuring out where and what to eat; it’s other people’s reactions. “They’re worried I’m judging them, or think they don’t eat correctly.” Bertsch, the founder of Vegan Roots, launched her business with the creation of a vegan goetta that has garnered a lot of incredulous responses, but, Bertsch says, is loved by vegans and omnivores alike. “What I’m trying to do with Vegan Roots is to address that and say, 'Hey, there’s a lot of good stuff out there that can be made vegan.' Just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s not tasty.” Bertsch is a Xavier University grad who studied math and sociology before earning her master’s degree in anthropology. A travel addict, she’s studied abroad and worked in international development overseas and in Washington, DC. When she moved back to Cincinnati and settled down in East Walnut Hills, she set out to find a job locally. “It’s hard to find international-related work in Cincinnati, so I needed to find another creative outlet,” Bertsch says. She enrolled in ArtWorks’ Springboard program, which helped her settle on goetta as her first product. She’d developed the recipe by gathering pork-based recipes, raiding her spice cabinet for just the right combinations and testing, testing, testing. When she brought her final creation in for Springboard classmates to taste, the vote was nearly unanimous: this could be the foundation of her business. Bertsch hopes to expand her footprint, and is anxiously searching for rentable, commercial kitchen space that would allow her to crank out larger batches. She currently supplies vegan goetta to the Brew House in Walnut Hills, which offers it as a salad topping, and Bella Vino in West Chester, which plans to add mini vegan goetta sandwiches to its menu. By Robin Donovan
Proposed BrewKraft Collective a place to brew, taste, learn about craft beer
Four friends and homebrewers want to share the camaraderie they've developed around craft beer with more people in Cincinnati. Local attorneys Eric Palmer, Steve Sharpe, Kieran Hurley and Nick DiNardo are working to open the BrewKraft Collective, a place were craft beer lovers can meet up to share and create brews. Palmer describes it as a nanobrewery or craft beer community center. It will be part of the neighborhood, he says, and be a place that people can walk to and grab a Cincinnati-inspired beer. "It will be as locally focused as possible," says Palmer. "We want to use local ingredients. With beer, it's a little tricky finding hops, but we believe we can get some in the local area. We also want the beers to be locally influenced. We're working with different folks to come up with beers that are reflective of Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio." The partners are scouting locations, and Over-the-Rhine and Northside are at the top of the list. They're looking for a space that's 5,000 to 7,000 square feet that would contain the microbrewery, tasting room and learning center. "We want to be part of the neighborhood," Palmer says. "There are some really good [microbreweries] here, but they don't get a lot of street traffic. You have to get in your car and go to them." Palmer's been a homebrewer for 20 years, and he's been brewing with his friends for five. "We are passionate about brewing," he says. "We love doing it. There is still a demand in Cincinnati for craft beer that is not being met. We have some craft brewers here, but Cincinnati is behind Columbus and Cleveland. The small brewers around here can't keep up with all of the demand." A recent change in Ohio law that makes it less costly for small breweries to operate tasting rooms spurred the idea. "The law makes it easier to get beer in the hands of people who like craft beer, and makes it less expensive to get a license and taste beer on site," Palmer says. Plans are to open The BrewKraft Collective within a year. The partners are looking for investors and considering buying a property through the Hamilton County Land Bank, a new program aimed at cleaning up distressed and abandoned properties across the county. The BrewKraft Collective was a winner of Xavier University's third XLab entrepreneurship contest. University MBA students are helping polish the collective's business plan. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Westpack bottling company to locate new plant in Covington, create 63 jobs
Russian-based Westpack, a bottle decorating and packaging company, announced this month it would locate a new manufacturing plant in Covington, creating 63 new jobs. The plant will invest nearly $4.5 million at a 126,000-square-foot space on West 43rd Street in the Covington neighborhood of Latonia. In addition to bottle decorating and packaging, the plant will be equipped to provide short-run decorations for special events and promotions. Kentucky’s foreign direct investment continues to grow, with approximately 420 internationally based companies from 30 nations in the Commonwealth, employing nearly 80,000 people. “The Commonwealth is thrilled to partner with Westpack to see the creation of more than 60 jobs and an investment of nearly $4.5 million,” said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear in an announcement. “We’re especially proud that a company from Russia has chosen Kentucky to do business, a testament to the ideal logistics and strategic location here in the Commonwealth.” Westpack is a new expansion of UniPack Group, a full-service glass container decorating and packaging company serving the alcohol beverage industry since 1995. It will be the only company in the state providing bottle labeling and decoration services to the state's bourbon and alcoholic beverage producing and bottling industry. “With decoration plants in Russia and Europe, expanding into the U.S. market was a natural next step,” said Westpack Managing Director Simon Mnoyan. “And selecting the right state for our production was a function of customer logistics, business operating costs and quality of life. The Commonwealth of Kentucky provided and met all three requirements for our expansion.” The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $1.5 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. Westpack plans to be in its new space this summer, and is currently taking job applications on its website. Written by Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter.
101 The Cookery aims to create community-based cooking school, bistro in OTR
A group of Cincinnatians are working to create a community-based cooking school and bistro in Over-the-Rhine. 101 The Cookery is an effort to teach basic cooking skills, help families feel more at ease in the kitchen and promote healthier eating. "We want people to learn the skills they need to create healthy food in their kitchens," says Ty Carr, an industrial design student at UC's DAAP, who is helping lead the project. "So many people rely on convenience and frozen foods." Carr was one of eight student entrepreneur finalists who pitched health and healthcare improvement ideas at the Innov8 for Health 2013 Challenge and Idea Expo. 101 The Cookery was launched as a concept last year, and is nearing the implementation phase, Carr says. He and his partners are continuing to pitch the idea to potential funders, community groups and business organizations. "We're in the process of trying to get the green light from different organizations in the city and raise money," Carr says. The Cookery project comes as the problem of "food deserts," or urban areas without convenient access to fresh foods or well-stocked grocery stores, has gotten more attention. Areas of OTR face some of those same challenges, but has one jewel in Findlay Market, the state's oldest continuously operated public market. Carr, originally from Cleveland and now living in Clifton, believes OTR is the perfect place for his concept. "I really didn't plan on staying here long-term, but something happened over the last two years," he says. "I started spending a lot of time in OTR, and people there have an intense sense of community. There is something about OTR—people love their food and their food history. It's the perfect venue for something like this." 101 The Cookery will likely contain for-profit and nonprofit elements, and there are also plans to release a "home cooking" cookbook soon. You can get more information about 101 The Cookery from its recently launched website. You can also stay connected through Facebook and Twitter. Written by Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Heads up to local artisans and small-batch manufacturers: CNCY MADE has your back
The core idea is to start making connections in the local community to assist people who might be making their own physical products.
URBtank brings aquaponics to warehouse on McMicken
For URBtank, it’s all about the cycle. Kyle McGrath, 23, and Brad Ostendorf, 22, are the brains behind URBtank, an urban aquaponics system. The team, who both studied architecture at the University of Kentucky, worked on proposals and plans for the River Cities Project, which addresses ecological and economic conditions and tries to bring people back to the water. McGrath and Ostendorf couldn’t stop thinking about aquaponics all summer, and soon they found themselves building a system in Ostendorf’s garage in Cold Spring, Ky. Aquaponics uses fish to fertilize plants, typically of the edible kind and can function in any kind of climate, indoor or outdoor. “Fish need nutrients, we feed the fish, they excrete waste, that fish waste can be turned into nitrates, which fertilize the plants themselves, so the plants then clean the water for the fish, and it gets returned back to the fish," says McGrath. "And it’s a close-loop cycle, so the water flows throughout the whole system." The pair is in the process of moving their system to a warehouse at 111 W. McMicken Ave. There, they have plans for massive expansion. “There thousands upon thousands of unused acres inside of old buildings, so why not tap into that?” Ostendorf says. Space isn’t the only advantage. “There’s no interruption; it just keeps going. You take out the seasons, and you’re providing for the whole year." With no plans to stop, URBtank is currently growing microgreens, mizuna and watercress. Immediate plans include growing lettuce and other leafy greens. Both McGrath and Ostendorf are interested in fine dining, and they want to develop a community aspect to their business by allowing chefs to choose what they grow and hand-pick items for menus. “They have complete control over what they grow," says McGrath. "If they want Asian cress or mizuna or wasabi pea chutes, we can do that for them. For updates, follow URBtank on Twitter. By Gina Gaetano
Thinking outside the box: Home bakery turns Gail Yisreal into cake boss
Going on maternity leave changed Gail Yisreal’s life in more ways than having a new baby to take care of. When she returned to work, Yisreal says she learned her position was no longer there, so she began to look for a different job. As wife and mother to a blended family of nine children, she might bake up to 11 birthday cakes in a year. But she hadn’t considered turning her knack for kneading dough into earning dough until she baked a wedding cake for a couple from her family’s place of worship. Not only did they like the cake, they suggested she start selling them. Listening to her fans, Yisreal founded A “Mother’s Touch” Cakes with the nurturing tagline, “Making fresh homemade cakes when you don’t have the time.” Celebrating her two-year anniversary as a registered business in August 2012, A “Mother’s Touch” features signature and custom made flavors of fresh, savory gourmet, organic and vegan cakes and cupcakes that are good—and good for you. “I didn’t know anything about decorating, so I took a class to learn more decorating skills," Yisreal says. "And I was shocked to find out that 95 percent of the cakes you buy are box cakes—because everybody wants the decoration. I started doing some research about the trans-fats and artificial ingredients, and I vowed that everything I baked would always be natural and from scratch.” After working as a waitress for two years and in management at Starbucks for six years, Yisreal developed a love for coffee. She jokes that most ex-Starbucks managers feel they know enough about coffee to create their own line, which she actually did for A “Mother’s Touch.” Having tried organic coffees with weak flavor profiles, she researched and found Dean’s Beans, a fair-trade pioneer that allowed her to design her own custom blends. Her signature A “Mother’s Touch” blend is made with Mexican and Indonesian beans and pairs with her carrot cake as an after-dinner coffee. “I’m really proud of my coffee and the fact that it really was custom blended for what I wanted to complement my desserts,” Yisreal says. And, true to her mission to serve natural, sustainable goods, she says that her blends are 100 percent organic, fair-trade certified and are shade grown. Being on the scene without a storefront hasn’t stopped Yisreal. Instead, she’s building her brand as the “cupcake lady” who networks everywhere and invites people to taste samples of her creations. Yisreal also tapped into hidden markets by hosting deals through social media. “I did a Living Social promotion last year, which was huge,” Yisreal says. “That first day, I think I got 1,500 hits on my website, and probably about 85 deals, which I thought was really good for people who didn’t know who I was.” And even though she sells more cakes today, the ease of transporting cupcakes built her clientele. “When I first came out, because of my financial situation, literally, cupcakes were paying my rent,” she says. After she and her husband separated, she remembers what it was like to go from making an annual salary of $60,000 to less than $20,000 a year. But she doesn’t do it all alone. “I have three almost-teenage girls; 12, soon to be 15 and 17, so they are my preppers,” Yisreal explains. “It’s hilarious because we’ll be in the kitchen and everybody has their big bonnets on, and they’re scraping carrots, mashing fruit, lining the liners. I have a girlfriend who I’ll sometimes sub-contract out to do deliveries. And if it’s a huge event—like for the Autism Foundation, I had to knock out 40 dozen cupcakes—I have two sisters, and at the time I had just split up with my husband so we were in literally an 800-square-foot apartment. The kitchen was all of maybe 150-square-feet, we put out six-foot tables and we were like an assembly line! It was hilarious, but we got it done. It was like an I Love Lucy episode!” By Mildred Fallen
City wins ‘Oscar’ of community development for Village at Roll Hill project
Last week, the City of Cincinnati was awarded one of 10 annual Audrey Nelson Community Development Awards for its contributions to the renovations of the Villages at Roll Hill, formerly called Fay Apartments. The development was in need of renovations because it had fallen into disrepair, and was known as a police hotspot. “It’s a very prestigious award within the community development profession,” says Cincinnati’s Department of Community Development Director Michael Cervay. “We consider it the ‘Oscar’ of community development.” The development is the largest LEED-certified renovation of affordable housing in the country. Though there are other affordable housing developments in need of renovation, construction work hasn’t begun and the U.S. Green Building Council hasn’t certified these projects as meeting LEED standards, Cervay says. The City contributed $3.19 million in HOME loan money to the project; additional financing included $31 million from a HUD-insured first mortgage and $1 million in equity from the developer, Wallick Hendy. The project totaled out at about $35 million. The Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award is a national community development award that is presented by the National Community Development Association. The award recognizes exemplary uses of the Community Development Block Grant program and the partnerships between local government and nonprofits to assist low- and moderate-income households. Construction began on the Roll Hill development in Oct. 2010. It’s considered the largest green renovation of an affordable housing development in the country, Cervay says. Renovations included reducing the total number of units from 893 to 703, demolishing 17 buildings, adding new landscaping, planting trees and installing new playgrounds. On top of that, police personnel from District 3 added recommendations to the plans that increased the cost of the project by about $800,000, Cervay says. These recommendations included perimeter fencing, extra security lighting, surveillance cameras, first-floor window bars, rear doors that open out and additional security personnel. In addition, the Villages at Roll Hill purchased a license plate reader that will notify police in real time if a stolen car or a car registered to someone with an outstanding warrant enters the premises. Audrey Nelson was the first Deputy Executive Secretary of NCDA. She grew up in a neighborhood in inner city Chicago that was a target area for the local Model Cities Program. The award stands for Nelson’s commitment to her neighborhood, local program efforts and service to low-income households. She died of cancer at the age of 29. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Social media entrepreneur, Xavier grad develops MBA marketing course for university
Xavier University grad and entrepreneur Matt Dooley is giving back to the university. This time, he's not a student but an instructor. Dooley, who in 2011 launched a social media agency called dooley media, now teaches a social media marketing course he developed for Xavier's MBA program. This fall will mark his third year teaching the course, which was recently accepted into the lineup of Xavier's MBA electives after an experimental period. The course centers on the changing and emerging social media marketing space. It's a real-time, real-world course that teaches students to create, analyze and and adapt social media campaigns across platforms. Dooley approached the university about the class, hoping to contribute to an existing course. Instead, he was asked to develop one himself. "I think the underlying motive was simply that so many people were talking about social media and trying to figure it out," Dooley says. "That prompted me to send that email, to see if there was an opportunity to build dialogue around social media's best (and worst) practices." He graduated from Xavier with a BSBA in finance and an MBA in marketing. Throughout his course, Dooley shares his own experiences in the working world, managing and developing social media campaigns for small- and medium-size businesses. Dooley also writes about social media marketing for the online publication Cincinnati Profile. The course has featured numerous experienced speakers, including social media marketing experts from companies and organizations like Caterpillar, Waste Management, Yelp!, Microsoft and Obama for America. The course emphasises on meeting real-life challenges, and in one project, help solve a marketing challenge 3M presented to the class. The challenge related to helping the company better sell a new suite of computer privacy and protection products. "It's a real-world course," Dooley says. "I think it's going against the nature of social media to be any other way. It's as interactive and fun and lively as possible." By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Vegan Roots translates Cincinnati’s culinary faves
The hardest thing about being vegan, according to Caitlin Bertsch, isn’t figuring out where and what to eat; it’s other people’s reactions. “They’re worried I’m judging them, or think they don’t eat correctly.” Bertsch, the founder of Vegan Roots, launched her business with the creation of a vegan goetta that has garnered a lot of incredulous responses, but, Bertsch says, is loved by vegans and omnivores alike. “What I’m trying to do with Vegan Roots is to address that and say, 'Hey, there’s a lot of good stuff out there that can be made vegan.' Just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s not tasty.” Bertsch is a Xavier University grad who studied math and sociology before earning her master’s degree in anthropology. A travel addict, she’s studied abroad and worked in international development overseas and in Washington, DC. When she moved back to Cincinnati and settled down in East Walnut Hills, she set out to find a job locally. “It’s hard to find international-related work in Cincinnati, so I needed to find another creative outlet,” Bertsch says. She enrolled in ArtWorks’ Springboard program, which helped her settle on goetta as her first product. She’d developed the recipe by gathering pork-based recipes, raiding her spice cabinet for just the right combinations and testing, testing, testing. When she brought her final creation in for Springboard classmates to taste, the vote was nearly unanimous: this could be the foundation of her business. Bertsch hopes to expand her footprint, and is anxiously searching for rentable, commercial kitchen space that would allow her to crank out larger batches. She currently supplies vegan goetta to the Brew House in Walnut Hills, which offers it as a salad topping, and Bella Vino in West Chester, which plans to add mini vegan goetta sandwiches to its menu. By Robin Donovan
