Cincinnati

Jimmy Gibson sets culinary sights on WeVi

●

October 4, 2011

If Jimmy Gibson has his way, as Jimmy Gibson nearly always does, when you walk into a bar in downtown Cincinnati, you can expect more than bland, alcohol-soaking bar food. After operating fine restaurants in New York and Washington D.C, as well as Jeff Ruby’s kitchens, the high-energy, high-creativity Gibson has crafted unique menus for three establishments developed by one real-estate company, OCG Group. With a small menu of Quality Bar Grub already served up regularly at FB’s, look for a different mix of hotdogs, sliders and mac and cheese taking off next month a Launch/Lunar. Add his newest restaurant, Jimmy G’s, which is slated to open next month next to Lunar, and you begin to see the master plan: a vibrant entertainment district west of Vine Street, or ‘WeVi,’ as Gibson and his partners call it. “We are trying to show people that there is more the downtown than Vine and Main streets, but more than anything, we are happy for the city,” says Ryan Goldschmidt, part owner of Lunar. “We are really happy to be able to be a part of the renaissance of the downtown Cincinnati area.” Focusing mostly on the 24-36-year-old professional crowd, OCG group wants to fill a growing niche with distinctive destinations. “There is such a rebirth and movement in downtown, we are trying to fill that niche with high quality food and drink. It doesn’t matter if it is a shot of cherry vodka, a slider or a steak, we will provide the best,” Goldschmidt says. Both Gibson and Goldschmidt believe young professionals want quality food. They are also more open to try new things. Gibson describes his new place, Jimmy G’s, as, “Leave it to Beaver, meets Mad Men, meets Pan Am, meets Hell's Kitchen.” Maybe a little confusing, but Gibson connects to young professionals, from atmosphere to food. Jimmy G’s will be a “protein-centric” menu featuring small plates. “You will be able to be in Thailand on one plate, the Caribbean on the next, Milwaukee on the next and Nice on the last. There will be something for everyone.” With a career in fine dining behind him, Gibson was ready for change and enjoys having fun as he develops new menus. “When you go into a upscale restaurant, you feel like you have to sit up straighter, tighten your tie to where you are choking, worry about which fork to use . . . that’s not any fun,” Gibson says. Still, Gibson won’t slack on quality. He knows that his background and reputation means expectations will be high. “As soon as you start to accept anything less than what you’ve done in the past, you’re on the way down the other side,” Gibson says. “You may as well go work at a country club.” By Evan Wallis

Latest in Cincinnati

Radical idea uses light to trigger long-lasting smells

By Evan Wallis

●

Education + Learning

●

September 27, 2011

Some complex chemical work at UC may some day lead to better smells around your house. The research by Dr. Anna Gudmundsdottir, UC chemistry professor, revolves around radicals, which are atoms, molecules or ions that are trying to change into something else. They have a lifetime of only fractions of seconds, which usually occurs during other chemical reactions. Gudmundsdottir focuses on triplet nitrenes. They are somewhat more stable than normal radicals, and can be turned into organic magnets that can trap a fragrance and slowly release it over time. While this kind of idea has been applied to heat-released fragrance, think dryer sheets, this may well be the first time light will be used as a trigger to release fragrance. “When you mop a floor, it only smells clean for a few minutes,” Gudmundsdottir says. “If this research was applied, a cleaning solution could slowly release once contacted by light and release a pleasant fragrance over an extended period of time.” The fragrance will be kept from full release by photoprotectant, which is created by the nitrenes. They act as a cap that is slowly taken away when contacted by photons. Gudmundsdottir is now working on how to time that release and control how much fragrance is released each time photons make contact. The research may also play a part in medicine. If a drug is tethered to the nitrenes, then put in a patient’s veins, it can then be targeted with light and released exactly where, and only where, it needs to go. “Light is one of the few things you can actually control in space,” Gudmundsdottir says. “You can’t control where you have the fragrance or drug molecules, but you can pinpoint where you penetrate with light. That is why it is so useful.” By Evan Wallis

Dew-ing their part for community

By Evan Wallis

●

For Good

●

September 27, 2011

Dewey’s doesn’t offer delivery for pizzas, but non-profits can call and order volunteers and donation drives thanks to their non-profit initiative. Dewey’s non-profit, DewMore, started in early 2009 as an effort by employees and managers to give back to the community. “Dewey’s isn’t a business that spends its profits on advertisements or PR,” says Melanie Pugh, coordinator of the Greater Cincinnati branch of DewMore, “Our business has come from word-of-mouth referrals, so we try to give back to the community that has given us so much.” Pugh, who runs DewMore for eight stores in the region, started as the DewMore rep for the Crestview Hills store and in March of 2010 she started running the program for the region. Pugh, who has a love of volunteering and community work, had already expressed interest in playing a bigger role in the program. As coordinator, Pugh and her team of cooks, servers and dishwashers strive to create or attend one volunteer or fundraising event a month. “Sometimes we’ll contact, or one of our employees will know about, a non-profit that needs volunteers,” Pugh says. “Other times we create entire events ourselves to benefit a specific cause.” Most of the time, those causes are close to an employee’s heart. For example, November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and in May, the staff of Dewey’s lost a member due to complications of diabetes. So, in November, DewMore hosts a diabetes walk at Great American Ball Park. Since the employee being honored also created the Dr. Dre pizza, a chicken, bacon and ranch pizza with peppers, onions and jalapenos, the company also donates a percentage of that particular pizza’s sales to support diabetes research. Other events, including a kickball league with a team from each store, benefit causes like Autism Speaks. An employee who already volunteered for the non-profit suggested that the annual league benefit the cause. Each team member paid a $30 fee to play, and the kickball league raised more than $1,600 for Autism Speaks. “Now that we have DewMore, it gives us a chance to give back the community and get our name out there in a positive way,” Pugh says. “We would much rather be helping out a worthy cause than putting our logo on a billboard.” Do Good: Eat: A Dr. Dre pizza in the month of November and help further diabetes research . Contact: Melanie Pugh if you have an event where you could use volunteers. By Evan Wallis

When art attacks, Queen City style

By Becky Johnson

●

Arts + Culture

●

September 27, 2011

Starting this fall, Pones In(c) Public, a series of events sponsored by Pones Inc. and ArtsWave, will bring spontaneous dance, art and movement to eight different Cincinnati neighborhoods. Not quite a flash mob, but the dancing will be created by random people right on the spot where it starts, be that a public square or a city street. Dance for social change is the mission of Pones Inc., a four year old non-profit arts organization. Professional dancers Lindsey Jones and Kim Popa founded the group after taking a class about theater for the oppressed, art that encouraged social justice. If theater can do this, why not dance, thought the two Northern Kentucky University grads. “Dance can give people another way to express their viewpoint outside the political spectrum,” Popa believes. “It became our mission to fuse dance and theater,” involving other artists like poets and musicians so as “to use as many people’s artistic talents as we can.” So far, Pones Inc. has performed at The Know, the Aronoff and The New Edgecliff theaters and dozens of public spaces around Cincinnati. They’ve danced on Metro buses, up and down store escalators, on public squares, and in grocery store aisles. Everywhere they perform, Pones Inc and its dancers invite the public to join in their free artistic expressions. Margy Waller, special advisor at ArtsWave, sees Pones Inc as a unique organization, different from the flash mob dancing that is choreographed and organized before the event. “What Pones is great at is engaging the audience in dancing.” Popa doesn’t think it’s that difficult to do. ”Everyone enjoys dancing but not everyone may want to volunteer to get up and dance. If you ask people to do it, they will.” With Pones In(c) Public, Waller says ArtsWave hopes to keep the public surprised and excited about the arts in Cincinnati. “This kind of spontaneous dance can show people how really magical the arts can be.” Do Good Attend: Pones In(c) Public, starting in October on the second Saturday of every month for eight months, between 5 – 8 pm. Watch: Pones Inc. perform live. Donate or Volunteer: Contact ArtsWave to see how you can help support the arts in Cincinnati. By Becky Johnson

Far-I-Rome sets sights on Over-the-Rhine shop

By Elissa Yancey

●

Arts + Culture

●

September 27, 2011

Last week, OTR welcomed a new arts and culture-minded neighbor -- Far-I-Rome Productions. New office space on Main Street replaces meet-ups at coffee shops and in dining rooms for the creative group. From fundraising roller discos at the OTR recreation center to street festivals in Milford to the bi-annual Clifton Heights Music Festival, the team at Far-I-Rome works to bring the best local music to the region year-round. More than 10,000 people have taken part in the four CHMFs, enjoying bands of every genre. The company has also created events from Milford to Northern Kentucky, though most of the events happen in the urban core of Cincinnati. “OTR is a burgeoning community of individuals willing to invest in new ideas and offer something fresh to the city,” says Rome Ntukogu, founder and director of Far-I-Rome Productions. “We work hard to do just that, so this feels like a natural progression for the company.” With the new office at 1317 Main Street, Far-I-Rome has a tangible presence in the community as well as a space to participate in local events like Final Friday. Now, the company has its eye on furthering the appreciation of the local music and art scene in the city. Since the first CHMF in 2009, Far-I-Rome has taken on more and more events. By the end of this year, the five-member crew will have created, or been a part of, nearly 20 events, all of which feature local artists and musicians. “There are such talented people in this city, but a lot of them leave for cities with bigger music scenes,” Ntukogu says. “We are trying to change that.” By Elissa Yancey

SCAR project visits, initiates dialogues

By Newsroom

●

Diversity

●

September 27, 2011

The walls of a downtown Cincinnati gallery will be filled with portraits of young women and their scars. The large-scale portraits, all of women ages 18 to 35, are of breast cancer survivors photographed by New York fashion photographer David Jay for The SCAR project, which aims to raise awareness of an often overlooked group of women who are diagnosed with the disease. The international exhibit will stop in Cincinnati for four days – Sept. 29 through Oct. 2. The exhibit is a reminder that, this year, more than 10,000 women younger than 40 will be diagnosed with cancer, according to the exhibit’s website. The Pulitzer-nominated project’s mission? It’s three-fold: raise public consciousness of early-onset breast cancer, fundraise for research and outreach programs, and help young survivors “see their scars, faces, figures and experiences through a new, honest and ultimately empowering lens.” “We feel these pictures need to be seen,” exhibit organizers write. “Primarily an awareness-raising campaign, The SCAR Project puts a raw, unflinching face on early onset breast cancer while paying tribute to the courage and spirit of so many brave young women.” One of the women featured in the exhibit – who also helped to plan the local showing – is Cincinnati’s own Vanessa Teimeier. Teimeier, who now lives in Delhi, was 25 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. To date, she writes on the blog, the cancer has spread to her bones, lungs and lymph nodes. In the post, dated Sept. 13, she writes that, during a recent visit to her doctor, they discovered cancer in the lining of her brain. “I feel like this aligns with the mission and the object of The SCAR project,” she writes. “The exhibition proves that so many women, young women, live with breast cancer everyday and that their struggle never goes away. … Life’s not easy, but I am challenging everyone out there to live, really live. If for no one else, do it for me.” The SCAR project will be hosted by Art Design Consultants, 310 Culvert St. Tickets for the opening night gala are $200. General admission tickets are $15, and walking tour tickets are $35. Dates and times are available on the website. Do Good: • Follow the luminaries: On opening night, luminaries to guide the way into the gallery will be lit in honor of those who lost their battle with breast cancer and for those still fighting the disease. Submit a donation to be part of the event. • Volunteer: Cincinnati’s planning committee is made up of four women and volunteers are needed. To volunteer, sign up here. • Donate: Donating to the cause helps fund research and outreach programs and allows more women to participate in the empowering project. By Taylor Dungjen

‘Moer’ beers set to rock riverfront

By Evan Wallis

●

Development News

●

September 27, 2011

Eight and 12 are the lucky number for the new Moerlein Lager House, which is slated to open Feb. 6, 2012. Richard Dube, the head brewmaster at the lager house, is in charge of all brewing operations, as well as hosting beer tastings and dinners. He plans to have eight Moerlein beers on tap at all times. Lager House, OTR, Northern Liberties, Barbarossa, Hefeweizen and a Vienna lager, will be the mainstays, but each month also includes a featured beer. “We have a 15-barrel brewing system on-site, and I’ll be brewing two batches of each seasonal beer,” Dube says. “We’ll have each one for two months, unless it’s really popular and runs out.” Barring a two-week sellout of a monthly special, Dube plans on brewing only 30 barrels each. These barrels will add to the 5,000 that the brewery expects to produce annually. The lager house will contain eight holding tanks. Each tank includes 30 barrels at a time, and all beers will be available in the 1,100-seat restaurant and bar. Still want “Moer”? You can visit the “Moer to Go” carryout window. Dube already has his top-secret list of the monthly beers developed. Some of the seasonals will be Moerlein favorites like “5th and Vine” or the “Saengerfest,” but the others will be unique to the lager house. “There will be about nine beers that will only be available at the lager house,” Dube says. “I’m looking forward to creating some really special beers.” He applied for the job when he had never tasted a Moerlien beer. But Dube has quickly made himself familiar with the products and story of Christian Moerlein. With more than 20 years of brewing experience, and a diploma in brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London, Dube looks forward to bringing quality beer to the riverfront. “I am excited to have my hand in a bag of hops,” Dube says. “I am going to play a vital role in the future of the great story the Moerlein Brewing Company has already created.” By Evan Wallis

Historic Mt. Airy celebrates history, nature

By Becky Johnson

●

For Good

●

September 27, 2011

Once, the forests of western Ohio were so dense, a squirrel could travel by tree from the Ohio River to Lake Erie and never once touch the ground. In today’s urban landscape, it is hard to imagine those many miles of dark woods that once blanketed Hamilton County. Mt. Airy Forest’s 1,471 acres of wooded ravines and hiking and bridle trails offer city residents a glimpse into that past, even in the midst of highways and urban sprawl. The Mt. Airy Forest Festival, Oct.8, celebrates the history of this park’s creation 100 years ago and its legacy as one of, if not the first, urban reforestation projects in the country. In 1911, the Cincinnati Park Board established this park with the purchase of poorly managed farmland and began to reforest and enlarge it. The physical development of the park - its roads, trails, lodges, arboretum, stone walls and open shelters – was the work of the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA). For its rustic architecture, the rich history behind its construction and the early reforestation of an urban area, the park was recently listed as a historic site on the National Register of Historic Places. Mt. Airy Forest Festival celebrates that designation with the installation of a National Park Service plaque. History interpreters and members of three history encampments will celebrate Cincinnati’s history, discuss the work of the CCC, the paths of the Underground Railroad through Hamilton County and Civil War stories. The day also features an annual Amazing Family Race, games for all ages and food vendors. Do Good: Attend: Mt. Airy Forest Festival, October 8, 11 am-5 pm, Oak Ridge Lodge. Learn: About the rich history of the Cincinnati Parks and what the parks offer residents today. Volunteer: Contact the Cincinnati Parks to discover many volunteer opportunities in the parks. By Becky Johnson

Cryptogram Ink prints by hand in Northside

By Evan Wallis

●

General

●

September 27, 2011

A new ink shop in Northside offers no competition to existing ink specialists at Designs by Dana and Skincraft. At Cryptogram Ink, open since January 2011, offers graphic design services for communities, bands and more. Dustin Flowers and Jon Flannery, 27 and 24, respectively, hand-print posters for music venues and bands and also help brand community events. Growing their space from a small studio to a main-drag storefront allows the growing company to raise its profile. “Working with local businesses is easier now,” Flannery says. “We are able to have a presence in the community and display our work to the public.” A huge opportunity this summer allowed Flowers and Flannery to be embraced by Northside. They community came to them with design needs for community events. They designed and printed posters for the Rock and Roll Carnival as well as creating the posters and overall design aesthetic for the newly formed Second Saturday in Northside. The two plan to create a unique look for the monthly event as well as print unique posters each month. “We feel like we can do what we want to do in this community,” Flowers says. Other clients include Southgate House as well as local band, The Harlequins. Flowers and Flannery also do design and branding for companies, from logos to business cards. But even as they take on new projects, they plan to print everything by hand. “We’re really pushing to have our own aesthetic with everything we do,” Flannery says. “Even our shop, we want customers to come in because they know we do good work.” By Evan Wallis

Brand central: Barefoot Proximity mixes it up

By Evan Wallis

●

General

●

September 27, 2011

At Cincinnati's Barefoot Proximity, creativity breeds invention. The company has evolved from a start-up ad agency to a consumer branding and marketing juggernaut with international appeal, all the while keeping its focus on building relationships, one innovative product at a time.