Cincinnati Magazine - August 2025 Edition

Addyston Is on Its Own BY

DAVID HOLTHAUS

Elly Lives in the Moment BY

CHARLIE GOLDSMITH

It’s Not All About the Face: A Series

We often focus on our face when it comes to anti-aging, but we don’t want to forget about areas such as our neck, chest, hands, and body which are often neglected. This summer, boardcertified dermatologist Dr. Mona Foad will share how to prevent and reverse aging during a three-part series, “It’s Not All About the Face.” If you haven’t already read Part One from the June issue about neck and chest, or Part Two from the July issue about the hands, be sure to visit monadermatology.com/blog to read all the antiaging insights you’ve missed!

Part III: How to Rejuvenate Your Body

Body Contouring

There is no doubt that as we age, our body also changes. Our metabolism slows down, and we may notice a decrease in the ability to make muscle as well as an increase in fat deposition. Women may see this with more weight around their abdomen, back, and chest and may notice fat pockets that were just not there before. This affects how clothes fit and ultimately affects our confidence. Body contouring is therefore not just for younger people who want a more toned physique, but a way for us to reclaim our shape over time.

Treating the Fat

◊CoolSculpting is a great no-downtime way to target unwanted fat. CoolSculpting safely delivers precisely controlled cooling to gently and effectively target fat cells underneath the skin. The treated fat cells are crystallized (frozen), and then die through a natural process, leaving surrounding tissues unaffected. Over time, your body naturally processes the fat and eliminates these dead cells, leaving the treated areas more sculpted.

◊Kybella is another way to target small pockets of fat such as bra fat or a double chin. The active ingredient in Kybella is deoxycholic acid, a naturally occurring molecule your gallbladder uses to help break down dietary fat. When injected into an area of fat, it safely destroys a percentage of fat cells.

Treating the Muscle

Maintaining and building muscle as we age is important because it helps with stability, balance, and core strength, as well as maintaining our shape. EmSculpt Neo is an advanced body sculpting treatment that combines radio frequency for fat loss with High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic (HIFEM) energy to build muscle. HIFEM energy contracts and engages up to 90% of muscle fibers in the treated area, which is much higher than we can achieve during a voluntary workout. Clinical studies showed an average of 25% growth in muscle volume and a 30% reduction in fat, a 19% improvement in abdominal separation (diastasis recti), and a 14% reduction in visceral fat.

Laxity & Loose Skin

We have already talked about how aging causes loss of collagen and elastin in our skin, so it should come as no surprise that this happens to the skin on our body as well. You may notice it with crepe skin around your knees, arms, or thighs. If you are ready to take the jump into body treatments, make sure you are seeing a professional who is experienced in treating body skin and understands the differences in treating the skin in these areas.

Skincare

First and foremost, make sure to moisturize daily because our skin gets dry as we get older and we lose our ability to make hyaluronic acid. I always suggest using a cream rather than a lotion whenever possible. You may want to consider adding a moisturizer with glycolic or lactic acids to help chemically exfoliate dull and dry skin. Also consider adding a retinol to your body routine. If you want to take it a step further, SkinMedica’s Firm and Tone lotion is my favorite product for the body because it has antioxidants and helps support collagen and elastin growth to decrease the appearance of crepey skin.

Tightening

Skin care may not be enough, so consider tightening treatments to help build collagen and elastin on the arms, thighs, and abdomen.

◊Ultrasound tightening treatments, such as Sofwave or Ulthera, are safe no-downtime ways to tighten loose skin. Sofwave has also been FDA-approved to treat cellulite, which can develop as we age.

◊Radiofrequency microneedling is another popular minimally invasive way to safely treat loose or crepey skin.

◊If you are able to have a bit more downtime, Ellacor is a micro-coring treatment that can take out a percentage of skin to tighten and build collagen. Ellacor can create dramatic results without the downtime of surgery.

Bio-Stimulators

Bio-stimulators help your body build its own collagen and elastin. Sculptra, or PLLA, is an injection that works over time to develop collagen and elastin in the area that it has been injected. Combining Sculptra with a tightening treatment is a great way to reverse the signs of aging on the body.

Discoloration

For unwanted brown or red pigment on the body, lasers and lights are great options. Some of our most popular options are Intense Pulse Light (IPL) or Broadband Light (BBL), which have little to no downtime and reduce overall discoloration after a series of three treatments. A deeper resurfacing laser, such as the Fraxel Dual, has a bit more downtime (five to seven days) but offers more dramatic results and a boost in collagen to treat fine lines, wrinkles, and texture. Make sure your provider is well-trained in using lasers off the face. The skin on the body does not heal as fast as the face, and certain lasers are not appropriate for use on the body.

Not sure where to start? Schedule a consultation with one of the providers at Mona Dermatology! During your visit, you’ll discuss your top concerns and what products and treatments are right for you. You can schedule online at monadermatology.com or by calling 513.984.4800.

THE 100 GREATEST CINCINNATI ATHLETES

EVER

An A to Y journey through 150 years of star athletes who made their name and fame in the Queen City and beyond. You know Junior, but how about William DeHart Hubbard, Dorothy Kamenshek, and Tony Trabert?

LIVING THE DREAM P. 46

Already a superstar at age 23, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz knows he’s come a long way, which keeps him grounded. “I don’t think about the future,” he says. “I live in today.”

BY CHARLIE GOLDSMITH

TANKING A COMPANY TOWN P. 50

Stubborn and self-reliant, tiny Addyston has depended on its riverside factory for 134 years. What happens when that factory closes shop?

BY DAVID HOLTHAUS

12 / CONTRIBUTORS

12 / LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

FRONTLINES

15 / DISPATCH

Riverboat captains prepare for America’s River Roots festival

16 / SPEAK EASY

UC’s first sport scientist

16 / EVENTS

Join Paddlefest’s race down the river

18 / STYLE COUNSEL

Olivia Johnson blogs her fashion

20 / ESCAPE

A girls’ trip in a small Ohio town

21 / NECESSITIES

Hosting a backyard BBQ

22 / ON THE MARKET

Lots of color in an OTR condo

24 / DR. KNOW

Your QC questions answered

COLUMNS

26 / LIVING IN CIN

The storied history of Heritage Bank Center BY JAY GILBERT

120 / OBSCURA

DINE

102 / OFF THE MENU

Using lavender in the kitchen

106 / REVISIT

Share a plate at Crown Republic Gastropub

106 / TABLESIDE

Meagan Aylward of Cincinnati Museum Center’s culinary studio

108 / PANTRY

A Northern Kentucky bodega

111 / DINING GUIDE

Greater Cincinnati restaurants: A selective list ON THE COVER collage by BRITTANY DEXTER

Extra servings of our outstanding dining coverage.

Decoding our civic DNA, from history to politics to personalities.

Tracking what’s new in local real estate, artisans, and storefronts.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) SIPA USA/ AP PHOTO / AP PHOTO/RUSTY KENNEDY / © TROY TAORMINAIMAGN IMAGES / UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI ATHLETICS / THE HISTORY MUSEUM, SOUTH BEND, INDIANA / AP PHOTO/ TOM DIPACE / XAVIER UNIVERSITY / ASSOCIATED PRESS / AP PHOTO/PAUL SPINELLI

LEFTON

The Big Bone Lick diorama BY CLAIRE

Insight and analysis on the Reds, Bengals, and FC Cincinnati.

College Guide 2025

Learn

Cincinnati Open 2025

The

Try our delightfully crunchy, deliciously cheesy crackers in three unique flavors: Aged White Cheddar & Rosemary, Pepper Jack, and Parmesan and Oregano.

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OONE OF MY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS MONTH’S “100 GREATEST CINCINNATI ATHletes Ever” (page 30) was going to be a Mt. Rushmore of Cincinnati Athletes. If you’re a sports fan at all, you know the game: Which four faces do you carve in stone to represent ultimate achievement? You can do it for anything really (Mt. Rushmore of shampoo brands, Mt. Rushmore of Gilligan’s Island characters) but the sports world is perfect for this sort of foolishness.

Then we ran out of space, and I had to forgo the fun. So I’ve relocated Mt. Rushmore to this page.

The first three faces on my Cincinnati pantheon came quickly and without any real debate: Anthony Muñoz, Oscar Robertson, and Pete Rose. They’re among the top five or 10 players of all time in their sports. In fact, the Big O and the Hit King would be on a lot of people’s Mt. Rushmore of Basketball and Major League Baseball, respectively. Let’s not get into a Rose argument; he belongs here.

It took me a while to settle on my fourth honoree. I’m a big Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason fan and not ready yet to anoint Joe Burrow this town’s QB1. Strong cases can be made for Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Pérez from the Big Red Machine. Ken Griffey Jr. is a close second to Rose in terms of a bornand-raised Hall of Famer. Ezzard Charles was one of the best boxers ever.

I ultimately chose Barry Larkin. Local kid, starred at Moeller with his brother Byron, played in two College World Series, and spent his entire 19-year pro career with the Reds. National League MVP, 12-time AllStar, first ballot Hall of Famer, retired number…the whole shebang. What raises Larkin even higher in my appreciation—much like the Big Red Machine gang— is he won a World Series championship here. That wire-to-wire season was 35 long years ago, the most recent major sports title in Cincinnati. How time flies.

That’s my Mt. Rushmore: Larkin, Muñoz, Robertson, Rose. What’s your foursome? How about a Mt. Rushmore of UC, Xavier, or NKU sports? E-mail me, and I’ll publish your lists online in a few weeks.

JOHN FOX EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

CONTRIBUTORS

CHARLIE GOLDSMITH

Freelance reporter Charlie Goldsmith contributes to the magazine’s digital coverage of the Reds. He takes inspiration from the unique personalities he encounters through his work, but especially from shortstop Elly De La Cruz, the subject of his first print story for Cincinnati Magazine, “Living the Dream” (page 46). “Elly just always finds a way to have fun— that approach is contagious,” says Goldsmith.

JESSICA BALTZERSEN

Freelance journalist Jessica Baltzersen launched her food-writing career in Cincinnati. After she moved away and spent time covering wildlife and the outdoors, she’s reacquainting herself with the city after returning last year. A lifelong lover of cooking, Baltzersen learned about the Cincinnati Museum Center’s Cr(eat) e Culinary Studio over the summer and immediately paid a visit. “It is an incredible space,” she says after her conversation with studio manager Meagan Aylward (page 106).

Tim Alexander is no stranger to water travel; growing up on an island off the coast of England, it was routine to hop on a ferry to the mainland. But illustrating “Aye, Aye, Captain!” (page 15) introduced him to a new type of water vessel: the riverboat. Clean, geometric shapes, bright colors, and playful narratives are imperative to Alexander’s work, and he aimed to capture the boats’ grandeur as they race down the Ohio in preparation for America’s River Roots.

TIM ALEXANDER

Tucked away. Turned up.

Totally worth it.

Coppin’s Alley is where good taste meets hidden gem energy. This stylish late-night walk-up window at Hotel Covington delivers tacos, snacks, and street food vibes in a one-of-a-kind setting.

Follow the glow. Follow your cravings.

Thursday 9PM–11PM Friday-Saturday 9PM–1AM

SCIENCE P. 16

AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN!

Riverboat captains describe their view from the wheelhouse. M. LEIGH HOOD

HE OHIO RIVER’S INAUGURAL

TRiver Roots Festival will be one of the greatest gatherings not only of riverboats in the 21st century, but also of riverboat captains. Old hands from the Tall Stacks era will join a new generation on the Ohio in October, and they’re preparing now for the voyage to Cincinnati, making needed repairs to their vessels this summer and stockpiling local delicacies to share with guests aboard future dinner cruises.

Although BB Riverboats operates out of Newport, Alan Bernstein has navigated the entire Ohio River, its tributaries, and the full length of the Mississippi River since beginning work as a deckhand on the Delta Queen in 1970. Seeing so much of the country from the wheelhouse, he found, offers a unique perspective.“Paddle wheelers have always intrigued me,” Bernstein says. “I think they’re just different. Everyone wants to go fast, but paddle wheelers do not. They make you relax, enjoy the scenery, and see things that aren’t always mainstream.”

He isn’t the only riverboat captain with a deep appreciation for the sights. “My favorite part of the vessel is the pilot house. [It] has an exceptional view of the river,” says Celebration Belle Captain CONTINUED ON P. 16

Scott Schadler. Schadler balances roles as an owner, operator, and captain. He juggles overseeing essential kitchen duties (like the preparations behind the boat’s famous slow-roasted prime rib), safety precautions, and the practical side of the river. One minute, he’s worried about ice for his guests’ drinks. The next, he’s ensuring they don’t run afoul of drifting debris.

“There are more challenges on the river than the ocean. You run aground a lot easier in the river,” says Three Rivers Queen Captain Eric Sirbaugh.

Rivers have less space than open seas or lakes, exacerbating obstacles like floating logs and small pleasure craft that don’t always realize they’re blocking river traffic. Large ports add more chaos to the mix.

Enjoy

“Running a stern-wheeler is no easy task, but putting it in the New Orleans Harbor, with the amount of commercial traffic and dangerous currents, makes running this style of boat very difficult,” says Natchez Captain Steven Nicoulin. “Paddle wheelers are unique. You can take a seasoned captain from a towboat, and he can be completely lost on a boat like this, but if you know the tricks of the trade, you can do just about anything with them.”

And what a lot of captains like to do is see how fast they can go on these old, slow boats.“What I’m most looking forward to is that boat race,” Sirbaugh says of the River Roots Festival. “We’re like a big, giant family; we talk to each other all the time.”

That big family enjoys a playful rivalry.

Sirbaugh anticipates taunting Bernstein with his Steelers decor, and the Belle of Cincinnati has a long-standing score to settle with the Belle of Louisville. But they aren’t the only crews with ambition.

“It is so rare to have a true steamboat race nowadays; it’s going to be a very special feeling,” Nicoulin says. “[The Natchez] is undefeated in steamboat racing since the boat was built in 1975. She has never lost a race. We are very proud of this record and intend to keep it that way.”

The thrills, however, will never replace the heart of riverboat culture. Belle of Louisville Captain Mike Fitzgerald has been part of the Belle’s story for more than half a century and his experience shapes his relationship with the vessel. While he’s just as eager to race as any other captain, his relationship with and respect for the vessel go deeper. “We have this National Landmark and it’s a living museum. We’re curators of that. We take care of this museum, and we bring it to life on a regular basis,” Fitzgerald says.

He has a point. Spectators won’t gather along the banks of the Ohio to see the fastest boats on the water, after all. They’re there for something a step outside of history’s linear flow.

“Steamboats are so rare nowadays; people don’t realize how special they are,” Nicoulin says. “When you ride a steamboat, it’s like going back to a simpler time.”

PADDLE FAST AT PADDLEFEST

Join the largest paddling event in the country on August 2, when nearly 2,000 rowers on canoes, kayaks, and other watercraft navigate the Ohio River. In its 24th year, the ’fest features 4.5- and nine-mile races and ends with a Finish Line Festival. ohioriverpaddlefest.org

UC’S SPORT SCIENTIST

After years helping professional and college sports teams with sport science, data, and athletic performance, Jason Stone is the new (and first) director of sport science at the University of Cincinnati. Stone sits down to discuss how his expertise will serve UC football in its upcoming season.

Are these kinds of sport science roles are becoming more common in college athletics, or is UC ahead of the curve? I’d say that’s pretty commonplace at this point in time. I was at TCU from 2015 to 2018, and a lot of the same technologies I was seeing there, I’m also seeing here. Where I feel like schools are trying to get ahead of the curve is formalizing these positions entirely within their athletics department.

What kind of data are you collecting, and how does that guide your work? The individualized development of each athlete. Just take the offensive line room, for instance. Every one of them goes through the same drills together. They’re going to lift together a lot. They’re going to do similar workouts in the weight room, but every single one is going to respond to all those stimuli differently. They also go home, and they’re all

independent human beings with their own lives and their own stresses. At the end of the day, the whole point of all of it is to use the information at our disposal. Both objective, which is more of your measurables and technology-driven stuff, but also subjective, being intuition from your coaches; subjective feedback from players, attitudes, and efforts; and leveraging our sports psychology department and all the relationships that our coaches have with the players. Individualize and contextualize what in the industry is called the fitness fatigue paradigm.

What are the main goals for you and your staff in this role? Every single player is wearing a sensor. That involves logistics and management and syncing the sensors to the data cloud. [We take] the data out of the cloud to make a report for the coaches. It’s one thing to make the workflow more efficient, but it doesn’t matter if the data are not being applied in a systematic and applicable way to influence training, how we practice, and how we go about what we do in the weight room.

—CHARLIE JAEB

READ A LONGER INTERVIEW WITH JASON AT CINCINNATIMAGAZINE. COM

SPEAK EASY

Get a view from the riverfront.

live music, taste local cuisine, and watch nine majestic riverboats take to the Ohio October 8–12.

Two-Time Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist & Best-Selling Author

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 | 7 P.M.

Aronoff Center for the Arts

The Mary S. Stern Lecture Series is possible through an endowment to The Library Foundation. The Library Foundation is dedicated to ensuring a great public library system by raising, managing, and allocating funds to expand the programs and services of our library.

Olivia Johnson

OCCUPATION: Content creator and comedy writer/performer

STYLE: Polished with pops of color

How did you start fashion blogging? I started my blog in 2012, before the influencer world really existed. It took me a few months to publish my first post—I was super nervous and had my mom take photos in our backyard. It felt awkward at first, but I knew it was what I wanted to do. I’ve left up all my early, cringey posts to show how far I’ve come. Who is your style icon? Fran Fine from The Nanny. Her bold, colorful outfits, confidence, and fun personality made every look memorable. She always made an entrance, and her style still holds up. How has your style evolved over time? Dressing up boosts my confidence, and having my blog and social media has given me the freedom to experiment more. I love taking risks now, like wearing brooches I’ve collected from my grandma and vintage stores. What’s your favorite current fashion trend? I love that color is making a comeback; dopamine dressing is everywhere now, and after so much neutral, it’s refreshing. I need color in my outfits to feel good, even if it’s just a bold lip. Any advice for developing personal style? Just experiment and focus on confidence—it’s the key to looking good. Don’t worry about fitting into trends or other people’s expectations. Who is your dream designer collab? Carolina Herrera. Wes Gordon’s designs are colorful, feminine, and whimsical, exactly my style. What’s your favorite fashion decade? The ’90s—everyone had their own expressive style. Favorite brand? Boden. It’s a British brand known for colorful and classic pieces. Stylish, but not fast fashion. —EMILY KRINTZ

STYLE COUNSEL

LADIES’ NIGHT

TREK TO DARKE COUNTY FOR A RUSTIC WEEKEND EXCURSION WITH THE GIRLS.

—AIESHA

D. LITTLE

If you’re looking to plan a quick trip with your girlfriends, Versailles, Ohio, may not be top of mind, but perhaps it should be.

Only a two-hour drive from Cincinnati, the Darke County village is surprisingly “spa day”–worthy.

STAY

Start your getaway at Hotel Versailles, a 30-room boutique hotel in the heart of the village’s business district. The property, located at the corner of Center and Main, has been a spot for lodgers dating back to the late 1800s when businessman Isaac Marker built the Golden Eagle House there around 1865.

Two major fires and seven owners later, the hotel’s current iteration opened in

than Hotel Versailles’s lobby. With its chef-driven menu, Silas Creative Kitchen provides a taste of the region with dishes featuring locally sourced ingredients. Named after Versailles’s founder, pioneer Silas Atchison, the restaurant is a farm-to-table wonder. Go for the five-course tasting menu option, which can feed two to four people. Each course uses ingredients from the eatery’s own 85-acre farm, supplemented by fresh seafood shipped in daily and items from other local farms.

1: The lobby at Hotel

2:

3:

2022. In an area littered with roadside motels and budgetfriendly chain hotel options, this is an oasis of sleek design and sophistication.

Snag a double deluxe queen guest room if you’re sharing with friends or the one-bedroom suite if you need some alone time after a long day of exploring. Each room comes with an iPad for access to in-room fitness classes and more than 100 news publications as well as complimentary WiFi and highgrade linens. There’s also a 24-hour fitness center on site if you want to get out of your room for a little exercise without leaving the building.

EAT

For a great meal, you don’t have to travel any farther

SIDE TRIP

GIRL’S GIRL

Don’t forget to visit the hometown of “Little Miss Sure Shot” before you leave. —A.D.L.

After studying under James Beard Award–winning chef and restaurateur Anne Kearney, Silas’s Executive Chef Aaron Allen—the former executive chef at Coppin’s Restaurant and Bar in Covington—returned to his home state with more than a decade of experience working at restaurants across the country. Here, Allen has built a menu with unexpected flavor profiles, such as the wild mushroom and asparagus tart (with applewood smoked cheddar, pancetta, arugula, and smoked goat cheese) and the chargrilled Wagyu picanha (bacon and sweet potato hash, spring vegetables, feta, and chimichurri).

If you’re eager to get out into the fresh air, head down the road to The Winery at Versailles. Mike and Carol Williams founded the winery in 2002, after starting their vintner careers at a small winery in Pennsylvania in the mid-1990s. The couple’s current establishment offers 30 wine varieties and a bistrostyle food menu.

EXPLORE

On the National Register of Historic Places since 1985, Bear’s Mill is one of the few water-powered mills currently in operation in Ohio. At four

stories tall, the mill processes grain by grounding it into flour using the power of Greenville Creek flowing right near its foundation. Completed in 1849, the structure is made of hand-hewn timber beams, a testament to the long-lasting ingenuity of years past. A couple of steps away from Bear’s Mill is the Mill Gallery, which features hand-made pottery, jewelry, and other art available for purchase.. And don’t miss the giant metal bear sculpture across the creek from the gallery. Created by Maryland-based visual artist Kirk Seese, the 1,000-pound bear features concrete replicas of the millstones used to grind grain at the mill.

SHOP

Before you leave Bear’s Mill, be sure to check out the Mill Store. The market features a funky, off-beat mix of crafts, food, and goods

from area artisans, like breads from the Bakehouse Bread & Cookie Company in Troy, private label jams and jellies, and treats made with stone ground flours and meals produced by the mill. For something a little more modern, head back to into town and stop by Blue Willow Boutique, where you can grab a light summer outfit for live entertainment at Silas or the winery.

Hotel Versailles & Silas Creative Kitchen hotelversaillesohio.com

The Winery at Versailles wineryatversailles.com

Bear’s Mill bearsmill.org

Blue Willow Boutique shop-bluewillowboutique. com

BORN PHOEBE ANN MOSEY ON AUGUST 13, 1860, IN GREENVILLE, ANNIE OAKLEY traveled with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show as an expert sharpshooter, proving that women could also have a knack for firearms. You can learn all about Oakley’s early life in Darke County at the National Annie Oakley Center at Garst Museum, which also sells books and memorabilia about the famed markswoman. 205 N. Broadway St., Greenville, (937) 5485250, garstmuseum.org

Versailles.

Pimento cheese gougeres with hot honey and pistachio at Silas Creative Kitchen.

Bear’s Mill.

FULLY FURNISHED

AN ECLECTIC AND STYLISH CONDO IN THE HEART OF OVER-THE-RHINE. —JEANA HARRIS

“IF BARBIE HAD A CONDO IN CINCINNATI, THIS WOULD BE IT,” SAYS REAL OF Ohio’s Katheleen Long Shin Shian, listing agent for a seriously stylish property in Over-the-Rhine. It’s inside an unassuming painted brick building that has sat on the corner of W. 15th and Republic streets since 1870, taking a front seat view for OTR’s booming growth over the last few decades.

Inside Unit B4, any hint of age fades away. The space exudes effervescence, with design choices that are playful yet practical. The 808-square-foot condo occupies two floors, the second housing two bedrooms (including a walk-in closet), a full bathroom, and laundry. The kitchen and living room reside on the first floor.

A freestyle, hand-painted mural by artist Ray “Darling” Ferrari enlivens the living room walls. Because the space was designed for use as an Airbnb, the seller maximized the power of first impressions. With a palette that feels like life inside a vibrant citrus bowl—think tangerine orange, pink pomelo, the softer yellow of a Meyer lemon—plus fabulous natural

light, there’s a cheerful energy throughout the first floor. Equally colorful furniture and cheeky decor were chosen with care, and all are included with purchase. This offers unparalleled movein-ready potential or the option to treat this as an investment property and continue short-term rentals.

Long Shin Shian loves the quality of lighting and fixtures, all sourced from West Elm, Anthropologie, and Mitzi. The retroleaning bathroom is another favorite feature. “I love the bathroom because it feels like a mermaid with the blue and pink tile,” she says.

In the kitchen, pink cabinets pop with gold hardware, while butcher block countertops provide just the right amount of warm texture. An arched niche with shelves delivers additional storage or can serve as a built-in bar. With some of Cincinnati’s best restaurants and boutiques at the doorstep and Washington Park only three minutes away, the location can’t be beat. And while life in plastic is fantastic for Barbie, Over-the-Rhine proves to be more divine.

On I-71 South near the Red Bank Road exit, there’s a warning sign with the words “Fender Bender.” I assume it’s there because I’m driving downhill on a curve, but that would mean this sign should be posted in many other places. I’ve never seen it anywhere else. Why is it only there? —SIGN ME UP

DEAR UP:

The entire sign reads: Fender Bender—Move vehicle from travel lanes. It is a gentle reminder that should you experience a new and sudden friendship with another driver as a result of your fenders bending/ blending/rending/rear-ending, do not leave your vehicles in the road

Dr. Know is Jay Gilbert, radio personality and advertising prankster. Submit your questions about the city’s peculiarities at drknow@cincinnati magazine.com

(unless there has been major damage or a personal injury). Move them to the shoulder. There, you and your new friend can exchange information, tell jokes, ask each other your political opinions, etc.

The Ohio Department of Transportation told the Doctor that you’re mistaken about this sign being strategically placed; its message is for all drivers everywhere, and similar postings do exist along other interstate roadways. But your misreading is not your fault; the sign’s wording is somewhat blurry. The Doctor suggests a change, such as: Fender Bender? Move vehicle to the shoulder. Or perhaps: Just collided? Get out of the way and get over it. Better yet: Now look what you’ve done! Slink over here.

The new WVXU/WGUC building near my Evanston home is beautiful. Right down the street, though, is a tornado siren. How do they keep the noise from leaking onto the air when it blasts every first Wednesday of the month at noon, not to mention in emergencies? —THIS IS MAYBE A TEST

DEAR TEST:

Anyone who lives or works near one of Hamilton County’s outdoor warning sirens (about 200 of them) will verify that they are loud . This is, of course, a good thing. Unless you happen to be a radio station. Or three radio stations (WVXU, WGUC, and WMUB). Cincinnati Public Radio’s new facility in Evanston has 11 sound-sensitive control rooms and studios, all of which risk auditory invasion when the system emits its blare—only as scheduled, hopefully.

To determine the threat level, the Doctor obtained a recording of WGUC during siren test time, exactly noon on Wednesday, June 4. His report: Underneath the introduction to a Shostakovich piano concerto he heard a faint wail, undeniable but unobtrusive. Both the station and Hamilton County did their jobs admirably. Conclusion: We feel confident that few listen-

ers will ever notice the monthly test. A bigger problem would be an actual unscheduled emergency. That’s when every cell phone in every pocket in every studio will shriek in unison and shatter every studio window. We now resume our regular programming.

Cincinnatians all think that Procter & Gamble invented the soap opera in the 1930s for selling Ivory Soap. But my grandparents, gone now, always pointed out that Cincinnati’s true soap opera innovator was Kroger! They said that they had even worked on the shows. Is this true? Should you set people straight? —SOB STORY

DEAR SOB:

Several layers of Cincinnatians need to be set straight. Procter & Gamble’s reputation runs deep here as creator of the soap opera, but most historians now give credit to—you’d better brace yourself, Madge—Colgate-Palmolive, with a show called Clara, Lu, and Em in 1930. P&G quickly dominated the genre but didn’t start it.

And what of Kroger? By the 1940s, some daytime audiences were tiring of soap operas and drifting toward music shows instead. Kroger’s Cincinnati ad agency saw the trend and created a hybrid: Hearts in Harmony, the musical soap opera. Steve, the poor composer, loved Penny, the singer from a wealthy family. Oh, the heartbreaking class struggles!Oh, the songs in every episode!

Your grandparents probably worked for the ad agency, Ralph H. Jones, because the shows themselves (Kroger sponsored three different ones) were produced in Chicago and New York. As far as we can tell, Hearts in Harmony was as close as any soap opera ever got to performing actual opera. Had Kroger’s shows outperformed P&G’s, we might be calling them Vegetable Operas now.

LIVING IN CIN

BY JAY GILBERT

By Any Other Name

OUR RIVERFRONT ARENA HAS SURVIVED 50 YEARS OF SCANDALS, BAD LUCK, AND SUSIE CINCINNATI.

I

IN 1971, A WOMAN CAB DRIVER AT CVG AIRPORT WAS STILL AN UNUSUAL THING, MAYBE even a little dangerous late at night. But Joellyn Lambert felt fine about the three guys who crammed into her backseat. They all made friends quickly, laughed their way across the Brent Spence Bridge, and said goodbye at a downtown hotel.

Lambert soon forgot about the guys, because it didn’t really register that she’d just bonded with three of the Beach Boys. They, however, remembered everything. And when the Beach Boys returned five years later for a concert at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum, they brought her onstage.

That cab ride had inspired the band’s latest single, “Susie Cincinnati,” which they sang to her in front of 13,350 fans. Finding Lambert hadn’t been easy; the band placed ads in local newspapers and hadn’t located her until the last minute. The crowd roared, Joellyn beamed,

and Cincinnati felt like it was basking in California sunshine.

Oh, if only that magical night could have been the most memorable thing to ever happen at Riverfront Coliseum—the one event everyone thinks of when they hear that venue’s name. But it’s not, is it?

Cincinnati is now observing the 50th anniversary of Riverfront Coliseum / The Crown / Firstar Center / U.S. Bank Arena / Heritage Bank Center, a place that’s changed its name more times than Snoop Dogg. Even though it’s hosted a half-century’s worth of concerts, sporting events, circuses, conventions, monster truck shows, and more, all of that is forever eclipsed by one terrible night in 1979. That sad 50th anniversary is four years away, so I will not make it the centerpiece of this story. There are many other events of significance worth remembering from Cincinnati’s middle-aged, weary white elephant. Let us recall them now.

Some stories are fun, like Lambert’s. Some are embarrassing. One story almost sent a group of people to prison, and many locals still think it should have. A Coliseum employee went into the basement, filed open the rear hinges on all of the electrical boxes, drilled through the seals on the meters, rigged them to under-report the amount of electricity consumed, and then performed the same mischief on the water meters, all of which added up to almost $1 million in stolen utilities over seven years. You would think that guy went to prison. He wasn’t even fired.

His bosses, who insisted that an employee shouldn’t be punished for a scheme they’d approved themselves, maybe they went to prison? Nope, everybody was sentenced to fines, probation, and community service. Part of the reason they got off easy is because, well, let’s go back to the beginning. You might even feel some sympathy for them.

THE ARENA NAME PROPOSED TO THE city in 1972 was Riverfront Sports Coliseum. Concerts and other events were going to be a distant second to the venue’s true purpose: a magnet for major and minor league hockey and home to professional and college basketball. Other sports would follow. Neighboring our recently completed Riverfront Stadium, the new facility would turn Cincinnati into the Midwest’s capital for all types of athletic competition. Every catego-

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LIVING IN CIN

ry of city life would benefit from Riverfront Sports Coliseum. Just sign right here.

That’s not how things turned out, or even how things began. Hamilton County and Cincinnati city officials—still sore from funding construction of Riverfront Stadium—refused to ante up with tax breaks and such. The Coliseum’s $20 million financing package had to be cobbled together from various banks and investors; that was the first of many financial strains. Then, just as construction began in late 1973, war in the Middle East and an Arab oil embargo created the first major U.S. energy crisis. Supplies plunged, and prices skyrocketed. The Coliseum had planned for a natural gas system to heat 346,100 square feet of space but was forced to go all-electric. Monthly energy bills looked like ransom notes.

Even more worse-than-usual problems accumulated, making the entire project seem cursed. A crane lost its grip on a 130ton steel frame that plummeted 100 feet and

crashed into the building’s outer shell, causing $100,000 in damages and adding several months of delay. Then came a dizzying four-dimensional alphabet soup of hockey and basketball leagues and franchises—all in the process of merging, moving, or folding—who collectively offered, begged, or threatened to join, rent, or snub the unfinished Coliseum. Fewer teams signed up than hoped, and the word “sports” quietly disappeared from the facility’s name.

Concerts and big events became more central to the operational plan, but even those faced headwinds. The Reds and Bengals had veto power over anything the Coliseum wanted to book on the same day as a Riverfront Stadium game, and while the Bengals usually said yes, the Reds almost always said no. Some juicy events never came to town.

Riverfront Coliseum finally celebrated its grand opening on September 9, 1975, with a sold-out concert by the Allman Brothers Band. Everything went well. Maybe the

curse had ended.

Three weeks later, the venue saw its first rock concert death. A teenager had taunted some cops outside of a Jethro Tull show, jumped over a railing while running from them, and fell 50 feet to the street. No one was blamed for that tragedy, but it wasn’t long before complaints arose over “certain kinds” of Coliseum events. Troublesome crowds often began forming several hours before concerts that were general admission (it’s called “festival seating” in the Euphemism Hall of Fame) with drinking, litter, urination, and fights as the norm.

Cincinnati City Councilman Jerry Springer, who was freshly re-elected after having resigned in a prostitution scandal two years earlier, publicly complained about a “climate of disorder” at rock concerts. Coliseum officials declined to respond, saying that Springer was not someone qualified to comment on people’s behavior. (“Haha!” said The Future.)

Other officials agreed with Springer. The

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Fire Department accused the Coliseum of ignoring unruly audiences. Cops said they couldn’t stop people who were setting popcorn boxes on fire and lighting firecrackers, because the aisles were clogged by oversized crowds. Something really bad was going to happen if this kind of stuff wasn’t stopped, they warned.

The city of Cincinnati eventually sued Coliseum executives personally for not addressing repeated fire and safety violations. Legal tangles increased over other issues like unpaid bills and shoddy construction, but all those attorney fees were nothing compared with what came next.

While I will keep my promise to not concentrate on the events of December 3, 1979, and their emotional toll, the story of Riverfront Coliseum itself must include the reverberations from that tragedy’s long shadow. Legal expenses exploded, draining the facility’s coffers for years. They don’t excuse, but might explain, the owners’ crazy idea that drilling holes in electric meters

might somehow mitigate their financial problems.

Everyone pleaded guilty when they were caught. Lawyers told the sentencing judge that his clients were good people who’d become desperate because “the corporation has run into nothing but bad luck since its inception.” That isn’t a completely unreasonable claim. It might be a reason why no one went to jail. But that one guy with the drill should have at least been fired, right?

FOUR DECADES AND FOUR NAME CHANG-

es have gone by since the roller-coaster of Riverfront Coliseum’s first years. Many millions of dollars have been invested in various upgrades to the building’s amenities and infrastructure, but it’s always seemed to be not enough or not in time or something. Newer arenas in other cities have more luxury suites and high-tech toys, and we lose out.

To be fair, event planners who decline to come to Cincinnati have said our hotels and nightlife were lacking, but they also cited

our arena as “shabby” and “outdated.” Cincinnati had been in the running for things like the 2016 Republican National Convention and 2022 NCAA March Madness, but planners passed after considering the Coliseum/Crown/Voldemort/Whatever. So did Adele, and other entertainers.

As the facility now known as Heritage Bank Center begins its second half-century, its future is uncertain. The likelihood that it will ever undertake a complete makeover diminishes with every new TQL Stadium, Brady Center, MegaCorp Pavilion, Farmer Music Center, or something similar.

Fifty years ago, Riverfront Coliseum was Cincinnati’s big bet on itself, a place where a late-night cab driver could become a rock star for a night. It has weathered scandals, tragedy, and enough bad luck to make you wonder if it was built on an ancient burial ground.

As we toast its 50th, let’s say a prayer that its next transformation will break the curse. Or at least have better parking.

MARY WINEBERG

An A to Y journey through 150 years of star athletes who made their name and fame in the Queen City and beyond. Of course we include Ken Anderson, Ezzard Charles, Rose Lavelle, Oscar Robertson, and Pete Rose. But do you also know Cheryl Cook, William DeHart Hubbard, Dorothy Kamenshek, Laura Phelps Stackhouse, and Tony Trabert? You will now.

By

GREATEST CINCINNATI ATHLETES EVER

John Fox, Brianna Connock, and Amanda Boyd Walters

NICK G OEPPER

Danny Abramowicz

FOOTBALL

1963–1974

The biggest NFL star to graduate from Xavier University’s football program, Abramowicz holds school career records for pass catches (102) and touchdown catches (13). He played eight seasons with the Saints and the 49ers, earning All-Pro honors in 1969, then coached with the Bears and the Saints. XU dropped football in 1973, and every few years there’s talk of reviving it.

Lucho Acosta

SOCCER

2021–PRESENT

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Acosta joined FC Cincinnati after stints with D.C. United and Atlas (Mexico) and scored in his first match. As team captain and the face of the franchise, he won Major League Soccer’s MVP Award in 2023, when FCC had the league’s best regular season record (Supporters’ Shield), and was named to the MLS Best XI in three of his four seasons here. He currently plays for FC Dallas.

Shaun Alexander

FOOTBALL

1991–2007

His senior season (1994) for the Boone County Rebels ranks among

the best in U.S. prep football history, rushing for 3,166 yards and scoring 54 touchdowns. Alexander enjoyed a stellar college career at Alabama, leading the nation in touchdowns his senior season and getting drafted in the first round in 2000 by the Seahawks. He was NFL MVP in 2005.

Ken Anderson

FOOTBALL

1971–1986

Drafted from tiny Augustana College in Illinois, Anderson went on to a 16-season NFL career with the Bengals, leading the NFL in passer rating four times, completion percentage three times, and passing yards twice. He was NFL MVP in 1981, when he led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl. The following season he set a record for completion percentage (70.6) that stood for more than 25 years. Anderson has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame three times and is regarded as one of the best players without a gold jacket.

Eddie Arcaro

HORSE RACING

1931–1962

Born in Cincinnati, Arcaro won his first race shortly before turning 16 and would go on to win the Kentucky Derby five times, including atop Triple Crown winners Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948). Known as “The Master,” he was a fierce competitor on the track, earning a one-year suspension

for nearly putting another rider over the rail. His 1951 book I Ride to Win! is said to have inspired a young Steve Cauthen (see page 33).

Sara Bachus Redman

VOLLEYBALL

1994–2002

She led Seton High School to a state volleyball championship, then at Xavier she was Atlantic-10 Conference Player of the Year in both 2000 and 2001. The Muskies played in the conference tournament title match all four of her years on campus, earning their first A-10 regular season title in 1998 and first tournament title in 2001, which put XU into the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

Dexter

“Skywalker” Bailey

BASKETBALL

1976–1984

Bailey earned his nickname at Summit Country Day with his dunking ability, which helped lead the Silver Knights to the 1980 state basketball final and garnered him Ohio Class A Player of the Year honors. When he chose Xavier over Ohio State, it signaled a change for XU’s program. Bailey averaged 11.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in his sophomore year, which would push the Muskies into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in decades, paving the way for the program’s later rise.

Tom Ballaban

FOOTBALL

1948–1951

Ballaban was a three-year starting offensive lineman at Xavier University and was an instrumental force on the Salad Bowl team that finished 10–1. The 1949 season saw XU post victories over Dayton, Miami, and UC and beat Arizona State 33–12 in the New Year’s Day bowl game. He would later coach basketball and football at St. Xavier High School; the Bombers’ football field is named for him.

Johnny Bench

BASEBALL

1967–1983

Widely considered the greatest catcher of all time, Bench was National League Rookie of the Year and then two-time NL MVP, two-time World Series champion with the Big Red Machine, two-time NL home run leader, three-time NL RBI leader,

14-time All-Star, and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner. He’s a first-ballot MLB Hall of Famer and member of the Reds Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and Major League Baseball All-Time Team. The Reds retired his No. 5 in 1984.

Andrew Benintendi

BASEBALL

2009–PRESENT

Benintendi had 213 career hits for the Madeira Mustangs, still the second most in Ohio high school history, and ranks in the top 10 in state history in career RBI and batting average. He finished second for 2017 AL Rookie of the Year with the Red Sox and won a World Series championship with them the next season. He won a Gold Glove with the Royals in 2021 and was selected as an All-Star in 2022. He currently plays for the White Sox.

Abbey SchusterBessler

VOLLEYBALL

2013–2017

One of the most decorated Xavier volleyball players of all time, she was a three-time AVCA All-Region first team selection, two-time All-America honorable mention selection, and 2013 East Region Rookie of the Year. Bessler is XU’s all-time leader in attack attempts (5,094) and points (2010), ranks second in kills (1,774) and sixth in digs (1,392), and is a member of the 1,000–1,000 club for kills and digs.

Don Biggs

HOCKEY

1993–2002

A native of suburban Toronto, Biggs played 458 games for the Cincinnati Cyclones during their time in the International Hockey League, scoring 147 goals and tallying 444 total points total—both career records for the franchise. He played 12 NHL games earlier in his career before coming to Cincinnati. The Cyclones retired his No. 22 in 2001, while he was still playing.

LUCHO ACOSTA

Tara BootheSmith

BASKETBALL

1998–2006

Boothe was a three-time All-Kentucky basketball star at Highlands High School, finishing as the school’s second all-time scorer. She went on to be Xavier’s all-time leading women’s scorer with 2,324 points and third all-time rebounder with 1,004. She still holds the XU singleseason scoring record with 659 points during the 2004–05 season as well as the single-season scoring average record with 21.5 ppg in 2005–06.

Eva Broeg

SOCCER

1993–2001

Broeg graduated from Dixie Heights High School to become a four-year starter for Northern Kentucky University’s women’s soccer team, which she led to four consecutive conference titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances and Final Four slots, including the national championship match in 2000. She earned all-conference and all-region honors as a senior.

Lenny Brown

BASKETBALL

1995–1999

Brown lettered four years for Xavier basketball, starting in XU’s debut season in the Atlantic-10 Conference. He led the Muskies to a combined 70–25 record over his final three seasons, which included first-ever A-10 regular season titles in 1997 and 1998 and a first-ever A-10 tournament title in 1998. His jumper at the buzzer gave XU an upset win over then-No. 1 UC at the Shoemaker Center in the 1996–97 season.

Jim Bunning

BASEBALL

1949–1971

Born in Southgate, Bunning played one season of baseball at Xavier before being drafted by the Tigers, for whom he debuted in 1955. He was a nine-time All-Star and threetime strikeout leader and pitched no-hitters in both leagues (with the Tigers in 1958 and a perfect game for the Phillies in 1964). He became the first pitcher in baseball history to pitch a no-hitter, win 100 games, and record 1,000 strikeouts in both leagues. Bunning was elected to the MLB Hall of Fame and had his No. 14 retired by the Phillies.

Joe Burrow

FOOTBALL

2020–PRESENT

After a notable high school career in Athens, Ohio, Burrow spent three years at Ohio State before transferring to LSU, where he won the Heisman Trophy and the College

Football Playoff National Championship as a senior. He was selected No. 1 overall by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL draft and in 2021 led them to their first playoff win in 31 years and a spot in Super Bowl LVI. He’s fought through major injuries, winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year twice, and led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season.

Pete Carothers

SWIMMING

2000–2004

During his time at St. X, Carothers collected nine state championship titles for the Aquabombers and was named an 18-time All-American. He was a four-time Division I state champion (butterfly and freestyle) and an integral part of five state championship relay teams. He later attended Stanford University, where he was an NCAA finalist, and qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 200-meter butterfly.

Steve Cauthen

HORSE RACING

1976–1992

The son of a Texas farrier and a Kentucky horsewoman, Cauthen burst onto the racing scene in 1976, earning a record-setting $6 million at the age of 16. Two years later, the teenager and Affirmed clashed with Jorge Velásquez and Alydar in three

epic races on the way to becoming the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown. Cauthen then raced in Europe, racking up accolades along the way, finally retiring to Kentucky in 1993. He now serves as the racing manager for Dixiana Farms in Lexington.

Brent Celek

FOOTBALL

2007–2017

At La Salle High School, Celek was named first-team all-district in football as both a junior and senior and lettered two years in the shot put and discus. He played for the Cincinnati Bearcats under coaches Rick Minter and Mark Dantonio and won UC’s Claude Rost Award (Most Valuable Player) and was secondteam All-Big East Conference. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Eagles, for whom he played 11 seasons and won Super Bowl LII.

Lionel Chalmers

BASKETBALL

2000–2015

Chalmers led Xavier to two Atlantic 10 regular season championships, two A-10 tournament titles, and four NCAA Tournament berths, including XU’s first-ever Elite Eight appearance in his senior season (2004) when he averaged 21.8 points per tourney

JOE BURROW

EDDIE ARCARO

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MIAMI YEARS: 1967–68

COACH(ASST) GARYMOELLER

MIAMIYEARS: 2004–08 PLAYERCHRISSHULA

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coached the Rams, Chargers, and Oilers intheNFL

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atMiami , andwentwithhimtoMichigan

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MentoredBrownandEubank MIAMIYEARS:1924–31 HEADCOACH CHESTERPITTSER

GREATS

These superstar football coaches all share a connection to Miami University.

—AMANDA BOYD WALTERS

SCHEMBECHLER ER/HCYEARS: 1948– 50, 196 3 – 6 8 wPlayedwithParseghianatMiami, on13BigTenchampionships at Michigan OHNHARBAUGH AYERYEARS: 1980–84 chofSuperBowlXLVIIngBaltimoreRavens

rseghian , Schembechler MoreMiamiwinsthanGillman, Hayes, FRANKWILTONMIAMIYEARS: 1932–41HEADCOACH YHAYES ACH ARS: 1949–50 edSchembechleratMiami, went owin13BigTenchampionshipsatOSU

TRRYHOEPPNERCOACH(LB , AHC , HC) MIAMIYEARS: 1986–92 , 1993–98, 1999–2004Recruited/signedBenRoethlisberger , wonMACchampionshipin2003

JIMTRE COACH(QB/W MIAMI YEARS: 1979–80 CoachedOSUto2002NationalChampionship, currentlyOhio’sLieutenantGovernorPATNARDUZZI COACH(GA,WR,DC) MIAMI YEARS:1990–91 , 92 , 2003 Pitt’sheadcoachgothismaster’sfrom MiamiandspenttimeonUC’sstaff

game. He was taken in the second round by the Clippers in the 2004 NBA Draft and played in professional leagues in Europe through 2015.

Ezzard Charles

BOXING

1940–1959

The Cincinnati Cobra was world heavyweight champion for almost two years (1949–1951), though he was better known as a light heavyweight or even a middleweight. Charles beat his idol, Joe Louis, and lost twice to Rocky Marciano in what are regarded as classic heavyweight title fights. His family moved to Cincinnati from Georgia when he was a child, and he attended Woodward High School before excelling in Golden Gloves and AAU boxing and then turning pro.

Rick Charls

HIGH DIVE

1973–1983

When the Oak Hills High School product leapt off a foot-square platform 172 feet above Sea World in San Diego for ABC’s Wide World of Sports, he became the second man to successfully dive from that height. Three more divers followed, and, depending on your perspective, that record either still stands or was bested by Laso Schaller in 2015. Footage of Charls’s feat resurfaced on YouTube decades later, resulting in a surge of attention for the then-teacher.

Cris Collinsworth

FOOTBALL

1981–1988

An All-American receiver at the

University of Florida, Collinsworth was taken in the second round by the Bengals in the 1981 NFL Draft. He caught 67 passes, the most by an NFL rookie in 21 years, and finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting—the same season Ken Anderson won MVP and the Bengals made it to their first Super Bowl. Collinsworth played all eight of his pro seasons in Cincinnati and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

Dave

Concepción

BASEBALL

1970–1988

The second greatest shortstop in Reds history, the native of Venezuela was a key member of the Big Red Machine, winning two World Series, five Gold Glove Awards, and two Silver Slugger Awards and being named an All-Star nine times. He’s a member of the Reds Hall of Fame, and the franchise retired his No. 13.

Cheryl Cook

BASKETBALL

1981–1985

Cook was the nation’s No. 2 scorer her senior year at UC with a 27.5 average, earning second-team All-American honors, and No. 6 her junior year (27.4). She played on the U.S. Women’s gold-medal-winning team in the 1983 Pan American Games, but an injury kept her off of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. Cook is the only UC women’s basketball player to have her number retired.

Greg Cook

FOOTBALL

1964–1973

Cook was a star quarterback at UC, leading the nation in touchdowns, completions, and passing yards his senior season in 1968. He set an NCAA record that year with 554 passing yards against Ohio University. He was taken by the Bengals No. 5 overall in the 1969 NFL Draft and

was destined to lead the team in its second-ever season, but a shoulder injury limited him to 11 games in his rookie year. He would play just one more NFL game afterwards.

Michelle Cottrell Marston

BASKETBALL

1994–2002

After earning 12 varsity letters at Boone County High School in basketball, volleyball, and track, Cottrell became a four-year basketball starter for the NKU Norse and helped capture the 2000 Division II National Championship, the first national title in school history. She was twice named Division II National Player of the Year, was a three-time first-team All-American, and remains NKU’s all-time leading career scorer.

Dave Cowens

BASKETBALL

1965–1980

A graduate of Newport Catholic High School, Cowens was an All-American at Florida State before being drafted No. 4 overall by the Celtics. He won the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and 1973 MVP awards and won championships with Boston in 1974 and 1976. He’s a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Celtics retired his No. 18.

Bob Crable FOOTBALL

1975–1987

Born and raised in Deer Park, Crable led Moeller to consecutive state championships in 1975, 1976, and 1977, compiling a three-season record of 36–0. He played for Notre Dame, including under his old high school coach, Gerry Faust, and twice was named All-American. Crable was a first-round pick by the Jets in the 1982 NFL Draft and played linebacker for six seasons.

Gilbert Dionne

HOCKEY

1990–2006

After playing six seasons in the NHL, Dionne finished his career with a decade in the minor leagues, including four seasons for the Cyclones (then in the International Hockey League). He led the team in scoring twice and retired as the franchise’s second leading career scorer behind Don Biggs. The Cyclones retired his No. 21 in 2006.

CHERYL COOK

Nate Dusing

SWIMMING

1993–2005

When Dusing won the 100-yard butterfly as a Covington Catholic senior in 1997 and was named National Prep Swimmer of the Year, he was believed to be the first native Kentuckian to set a national high school record. He won six state championship titles and was runner-up in four more state events. Dusing continued his career at the Olympic Games, medaling in 2000 and 2004, and won five World Championship medals.

ness and funding for cystic fibrosis research through the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

Steve Flesch

GOLF

1984–PRESENT

A graduate of Covington Catholic and the University of Kentucky, Flesch was named PGA Rookie of the Year in 1998 and won four PGA Tour events over his career. After working as a TV golf analyst for Fox Sports and Golf Channel, he joined the PGA Tour Champions (“senior tour”) in 2017. Flesch is a member of the UK Athletics

Annette Echikunwoke

TRACK AND FIELD

2014–2024

Echikunwoke was UC’s first national champion in track and field, winning the hammer throw at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships. She won seven total American Athletic Conference championships in hammer throw and shot put, both indoors and outdoors. Echikunwoke won silver in the women’s hammer throw at the 2024 Olympic Games, the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in that event.

Boomer Esiason

FOOTBALL

1984–1997

After starring at the University of Maryland, Norman Julius Esiason was drafted by the Bengals to lead the team after Kenny Anderson’s retirement. The best season of his 14-year NFL career was 1988, when he was named NFL Most Valuable Player and took Cincinnati to Super Bowl XXIII. Esiason won the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1995 to recognize his charitable work, notably his efforts to raise aware-

Yancy Gates

BASKETBALL

2004–2012

Gates starred for Withrow High School, leading the Tigers to a 40–10 record, two District championships, and a Regional runner-up title in his junior and senior seasons. He then excelled at UC, where he still ranks as the only player in Bearcats history to lead the team in rebounding four consecutive seasons. Gates led UC to the Sweet 16 in 2012 and later played in pro leagues in Europe, Israel, and Mexico.

Mardy Gilyard

FOOTBALL

Hall of Fame and Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame.

Carson Foster

SWIMMING

2016–PRESENT

When Foster was 10, his 50-meter butterfly time made him the youngest American to swim the race in under 30 seconds, and that was just the beginning. The Sycamore High School alum competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 and 2022 before qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he won silver in the men’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay and bronze in the 400-meter individual medley.

Rich Franklin

MMA/UFC 1999–2015

A graduate of Harrison High School and UC, Franklin taught math at Oak Hills High before turning pro in mixed martial arts. He gained notoriety by winning Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first Ultimate Fighter series in 2005, then held the middleweight title belt in 2005–2006. Franklin was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019.

2005–2013

Gilyard helped lead UC to back-toback Big East Conference championships and BCS appearances in 2008 (Orange Bowl) and 2009 (Sugar Bowl), collecting All-America accolades as receiver and kick returner both seasons. He finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2009 and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Rams, then played for the Rams, Eagles, and Jets.

Nick Goepper

SKIING

2013–PRESENT

A native of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, but based at Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Goepper has won freestyle skiing medals in three different Winter Olympics: bronze in 2014 (Sochi, Russia); silver in 2018 (Pyeongchang, South Korea); and silver in 2022 (Beijing). He’s also won five gold medals and two silver medals at the Winter X Games.

Brian Grant

BASKETBALL

1990–2006

Grant led the team in rebounding each of his four years at Xavier, the

CARSON FOSTER

MARDY GILYARD

ANNETTE ECHIKUNWOKE

only Muskie besides Tyrone Hill to do so. He was the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year in 1993 and 1994 and was selected by the Kings No. 8 overall in the NBA Draft, the highest-ever selection among all former XU players. Grant played 12 seasons in the NBA for the Kings and four other teams.

Ken Griffey Jr.

BASEBALL

1983–2008

The Kid, also known as Junior, hung around the Reds locker room while his father played for the Big Red Machine, then starred at Moeller before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Mariners and debuting in MLB at age 19. He played alongside Griffey Sr. in Seattle for one season and was named AL MVP in 1997. Junior’s trade to the Reds in 2000 caused a sensation, though injuries robbed him of playing time; still, he had three 30-HR, 90-RBI seasons in Cincinnati. Griffey was a 13-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove centerfielder, and he’s a first-ballot MLB Hall of Famer and member of the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Gino Guidugli FOOTBALL

1997–2004

Guidugli quarterbacked Highlands High School to state football championships in 1999 and 2000, then went to UC and became the Bearcats’ alltime career leader in pass completions, attempts, and yards passing and is second in career touchdown passes. He led UC to bowl games in 2001, 2002, and 2004. Guidugli coached at UC for multiple seasons and currently coaches quarterbacks at Notre Dame.

Nick Hagglund

SOCCER

2006–PRESENT

The Lakota West and Xavier product was drafted No. 10 overall by Toronto FC in 2014 and played five seasons there before being traded to FC Cincinnati ahead of its first season in

MLS. Despite serious injuries in 2024 and earlier this season, he’s played the third most games in FCC’s MLS history and helped lead the Supporters’ Shield campaign in 2023.

Angela Healy Jones

BASKETBALL

2002–2008

A star at Highlands High School, Healy became a key member of the NKU women’s basketball team that won the 2008 Division II National Championship, the school’s second national title. The Norse reached the NCAA Tournament three of her four seasons on campus. Healy ranks third in program history in career blocks, ninth in career rebounds, and seventh in career games played.

Jim Herman

GOLF

2007–PRESENT

The St. X and UC graduate joined the PGA Tour in 2011 and has won three tournaments: 2016 Shell Houston Open, 2019 Barbasol Championship, and 2020 Wyndham Championship. He’s played in all four majors, and his last top 25 finish at a PGA event was in 2023. Herman has also served as assistant pro at the PGA Golf Club in Florida and at Trump National in New Jersey. He’s in the UC Athletics Hall of Fame.

Lauren Hill

BASKETBALL

2014

In November 2014, with the blessing of the NCAA, Mount St. Joseph University and Hiram College agreed to move up their women’s basketball season opener by two weeks. Hill, an MSJ freshman from Lawrenceburg, had terminal brain cancer and wanted to play in a college game before she died. She scored four points against Hiram and went on to play three more games before her condition worsened. Hill died in April 2015, and to date more than $2.7 million has been raised in her honor to support cancer research.

CINCINNATI:

THE NEXT GENERATION

Four young stars with a great chance to break into the next Top 100 Athletes list. —JOHN FOX

ROMAN CELENTANO (FC Cincinnati)

Since debuting in his rookie season in 2022 due to an injury, Celentano has become one of the best goalkeepers in MLS. After an outstanding career at Indiana University, he was drafted No. 2 overall by FCC. He won MLS Save of the Year in 2023 and has been called up by (but not yet played for) the U.S. Men’s National Team. He turns 25 next month.

JA’MARR CHASE (Bengals)

After being drafted No. 5 overall in 2021, Chase reunited with his college teammate Joe Burrow to help lead the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI. He was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been a Pro Bowl selection all four seasons in Cincinnati. Last year he led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, and was rewarded with a $161 million contract extension in March at age 25.

ELLY DE LA CRUZ (Reds)

A sensation as soon as he made his Major League debut in June 2023, Cruz has quickly emerged as one of baseball’s best players. In 2024 he was the first shortstop in MLB history to hit 25 homers and steal 67 bases in a season, and earlier this year he became the fastest player in MLB history to record 300 hits, 150 RBI, and 100 stolen bases. At age 23, De La Cruz is a superstar in progress. (Read an interview with him on page 46.)

JORDAN THOMPSON (USA Volleyball)

Thompson was three-time American Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Year while at UC, leading the Bearcats to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2019. She helped the U.S. Women’s National Team win gold at the 2020 Olympics and silver at the 2024 Olympics and is currently playing pro volleyball in the LOVB league. At 28, Thompson likely has one more shot at Olympics glory in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Tyrone Hill

BASKETBALL

1986–2004

Hill led Xavier to the NCAA Tournament all four years on campus, including the school’s first ever berth in 1987 and first Sweet 16 in 1990. He’s a member of XU’s 2,000-point club and is still the all-time leading rebounder. Hill was chosen No. 11 by the Warriors

in the 1990 NBA Draft, was named an NBA All-Star in 1995, and played for five teams total. He was the second Musketeer (after Byron Larkin) to have his jersey retired.

Angie Hinrichs

SWIMMING

1996–2004

After graduating from McAuley High School, Hinrichs was the first female

Xavier swimmer to win an Atlantic 10 Championship, taking gold in the 100 freestyle and silver in the 200 freestyle in 2002. Two years later, she returned to the podium after winning bronze in the 100 freestyle.

Max Holt

VOLLEYBALL

2002–PRESENT

A graduate of Purcell Marian, Holt led Penn State to the NCAA National Championship in 2008. He was an alternate on the U.S. men’s volleyball team for the 2012 Olympics but then played in the next three Olympic Games, winning bronze medals in 2016 and 2024. He’s also won gold medals in the 2014 World League, 2015 World Cup, and 2023 World Cup competitions.

Ted Horn

AUTO RACING

1926–1948

Widely considered one of the greatest racers of his era, he was the first person in history to win the AAA National Championship three times consecutively (1946, 1947, 1948). The Cincinnati native raced well at the Indianapolis 500, finishing no worse than fourth over nine years

(1936–1948) but never winning. Horn died in a race crash in 1948 at age 38 and is a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Grant House

SWIMMING

2012–2020

House won eight individual state titles at St. X and was named Greater Cincinnati Male Swimmer of the Year all four years. He was the winningest swimmer in state history with a total of 13 state championship titles and went on to swim at Arizona State University. He was the named plaintiff in the groundbreaking House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit that led to a $2.8 billion payment to Division I college athletes for lost name/image/likeness opportunities.

William DeHart Hubbard

TRACK

AND FIELD

1923–1925

Growing up in Walnut Hills, Hubbard was always fast, and his high school times were closer to college results. A newspaper sales contest provided a scholarship that paved his way to the University of Michigan, where

WILLIAM DeHART HUBBARD

MAX HOLT

the long jump was his best event. He qualified for the 1924 U.S. team at the Paris Olympics and won the long jump event, the first Black athlete to win an individual gold medal in the modern Games.

Kevin Huber FOOTBALL

2002–2022

After punting for McNicholas High School, Huber attended UC and became the first Bearcat to be named first-team All-American in consecutive years (2007 and 2008). He still holds the record for longest punt in school history, 69 yards in 2007. Huber was selected by the Bengals in the 2009 NFL Draft and played his entire 14-year NFL career in Cincinnati, grabbing a Pro Bowl nod in 2014.

Joe Hudepohl SWIMMING

1988–1996

Hudepohl was named 1992 National High School Swimmer of the Year as a St. X senior and went on to be the youngest member of the U.S. National Team that same year. He competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, coming home with a total of two golds (4x100 freestyle relay and 4x200 freestyle relay) and one bronze (4x200 freestyle relay).

Julie Isphording TRACK AND FIELD

1980S–1990S

After graduating from Ursuline Academy, Isphording played tennis at Xavier and ran with the men’s cross country team (XU didn’t have a women’s program yet). She skipped graduation to run in the U.S. Olympic women’s marathon trials and qualified for the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. She didn’t finish the race due to injury, but Isphording would later win the L.A. Marathon and finish as the top American woman at the Boston Marathon.

Betsy Jochum

BASEBALL

1943–1948

When this 5-foot-7 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League outfielder would head to the plate, fans behind the South Bend Blue Sox

dugout yelled, “Sockum, Jochum!” No surprise her .296 batting average led the league in 1944. When overhand pitching was allowed in 1948, she became a pitcher, with a 1.51 ERA and a 14–13 record with 215 innings pitched. Born and raised in Cincinnati, she played on the same softball team as Dorothy Kamenshek. The last surviving original AAGPBL player, Jochum died in May at age 104.

Bob Johnson

FOOTBALL

1963–1979

An All-American center at Tennessee, Johnson was the first draft pick by

the brand new Bengals franchise, No. 2 overall, in the 1968 NFL Draft. His rookie season resulted in the only Pro Bowl of his career, though he started for Cincinnati all 12 of his NFL seasons and was the last original Bengal to retire. His No. 54 is the only uniform number the team has retired.

Dorothy Kamenshek

BASEBALL

1943–1953

The Norwood native was one of the 60 original members of the AllAmerican Girls Professional Baseball League and played her entire 10-season career with the Rockford Peaches. Unlike Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Own, a character she’s said to have inspired, Kamenshek played first base. A seven-time All-Star, she led the league in batting in 1946 (.316) and 1947 (.306). Her 1,090 hits are a league record, and she struck out only 81 times in 3,736 at-bats.

Thrine Kane

SHOOTING

2000–2003

The eight-time All-American at Xavier helped guide the women’s rifle team to the highest finish in school history her freshman year: second place at the 2000 NCAA Champion-

TED HORN

ships. She eventually led the squad to four consecutive Final Four appearances and another second-place finish in 2003. At 19, Kane was selected to the U.S. Olympic shooting team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Bryn Kehoe

VOLLEYBALL

2001–2013

Kehoe was a two-time Ohio Division I Player of the Year at St. Ursula and led the Bulldogs to state championships in 2001 and 2003. She started all four years at Stanford University, winning the National Championship her freshman season and becoming a three-time All-American. She played for the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team and Team USA, then played professionally for three seasons in Switzerland.

Ted Kluszewski

BASEBALL

1947–1961

Big Klu was famous for his muscled bare arms when the Reds wore uniform vests, and he could swat the ball. He was a four-time All-Star during his 11 seasons with the Reds, leading the

National League in home runs and RBI in 1954, when he finished second in MVP voting. He’s a member of the Reds Hall of Fame, and the franchise retired his No. 18.

Luke Kuechly FOOTBALL

2005–2019

Before his junior year at St. X, coaches decided to move Kuechly from tight end to linebacker, and the Bombers won the 2007 state championship. After three seasons at Boston College (two All-American selections), he was the No. 9 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Panthers and immediately made a name for himself, winning Rookie of the Year in 2012 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. He was a seven-time Pro-Bowl selection before retiring at age 28 due to injuries.

Barry Larkin

BASEBALL

1980–2004

A hometown hero, Larkin starred at Moeller and led Michigan to two College World Series berths before being drafted No. 4 overall in 1985

WE ARE FAMILY

Whether it’s the genes or a nurturing environment, these families have really boosted the local sports scene. —JOHN STOWELL

RINGING THE BELLS

Gus, Buddy, and David Bell go together in this city like the perfect threeway. Gus played nine of his 15 MLB seasons in Cincinnati, including the Reds’ 1961 National League pennant winners. His son, Buddy, was an outstanding player at Moeller before launching an 18-year MLB career in 1972 with the Indians. He joined the Reds in 1985 and hit a career-high 20 home runs the following season. He later was a Reds coach and managed three MLB teams. Buddy’s son, David (actually all three men’s given names are David), was also a Moeller star, powering them to the 1989 state championship. He played for six teams over his 12-year MLB career, then returned to Cincinnati to manage the Reds for six seasons.

THE ’CISCO KIDS

Keeping with the Moeller theme, the Francisco brothers helped create a football superpower under coach Gerry Faust. Hiawatha was a Sherman tank of a running back, bulldozing Moeller to three state titles in the 1980s and playing four years for Faust at Notre Dame. D’Juan, two years younger, ran alongside his sibling in the Moeller backfield and then at Notre Dame, though Lou Holtz replaced Faust before D’Juan set foot on campus. Three

BARRY LARKIN

ILLUSTRATION BY DONOUGH O’MALLEY

years later he led Notre Dame to the national title; he was drafted by the Redskins, but knee issues dashed his NFL hopes.

GRUBERS MAKE THE PITCH

The Gruber family’s impact on Xavier sports started with James, who led XU baseball in hitting all four years on campus (1962–1966), including .417 his freshman year. He was drafted by the Phillies and played five years of minor league ball before knee injuries forced him to retire. Daughter Amanda, a 1998 graduate, holds XU soccer records for most goals in a season (24) and career (67) and became the Muskies’ first-ever All-American as a senior. Her sister, Annette, a 2001 graduate, played soccer all four years and led the Muskies to their first two Atlantic 10 Conference titles. All three Grubers are in XU’s Hall of Fame.

KEATINGS IN THE POOL

The roots of St. X as Ohio’s dominant high school swimming program were watered with three generations of Keating athletes. The patriarch, Charles Jr., was an all-American swimmer in the 1940s before becoming UC’s first swimmer to win a national championship. His brother, Bill, was also a nationally recognized swimmer at the same two institutions—all-state at St. X and captain of the UC team for two years—before becoming one of the state’s top attorneys, judge, U.S. congressman, and Enquirer publisher. His son, Bill Jr., continued the AquaBombers’ domination alongside Charles’ son, Charles III, who won two state championships before swimming for Indiana University and representing the U.S. in the 1976 Olympics. Bill Jr.’s daughters Liz (former city councilmember) and Caroline swam at UCLA and Bowling Green respectively.

KELCE CAPERS

Who doesn’t know Travis and Jason Kelce? Unstoppable on the football field, hilarious on their podcast; one is a dedicated family man, the other has a girlfriend of some note. Prior to the fame, though, they prowled Nippert Stadium

before launching All-Pro NFL careers. Both Cleveland Heights natives have Super Bowl rings, and Travis, still with the Chiefs, is shooting for one more. The brothers haven’t forgotten UC, bringing their New Heights podcast to campus for a sold-out live taping at Fifth Third Arena.

NORSE FOURSOME

The McDonald family has made its mark on NKU athletics, particularly Drew, who poured in 2,066 points and grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds and was named Horizon League Player of the Year in 2019. He held the school’s career scoring record until last year. His mother, Christie, scored 1,339 points and took down 850 rebounds in her own Norse career before serving as Newport Catholic’s women’s basketball coach. Drew’s father, Jeff, played tennis at NKU, and grandfather Bill Aker remains a legend, founding the Norse baseball program and coaching it for 29 years.

THE WOLF PACK

The Wolf family’s impact local began with Charley, who coached Oscar Robertson and the Cincinnati Royals from 1960 to 1963. A three-sport St. X athlete who played in the Reds farm system, he also coached the Detroit Pistons. He had six sons, all athletes, and they had kids, nearly all of whom are athletes. All told, there are almost two dozen Wolfs who prove that athletic talent runs in the family. A small example: Jeff and Marty Wolf (Charley’s sons) won six and five Cincinnati Metro tennis titles, respectively. Johnny Wolf (Marty’s son) played basketball for St. X and for XU in coach Sean Miller’s first term. Sabrina Wolf powered Mt. Notre Dame to two state volleyball championships, while her cousin, Margo, was Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year (also for MND). Nick Wolf was a Division II All-American hoops star at Rollins College. Kristen played tennis at Sycamore High School and Xavier, while her cousin, Andrea, played tennis at MND. And then there’s 26-year-old JJ Wolf (Jeff’s son), a Cincinnati Country Day and Ohio State tennis phenom who’s earned nearly $2.5 million so far in his professional career.

by the Reds. Over a 19-year career in Cincinnati, he was a National League MVP (1995), 12-time All-Star, and three-time Gold Glove winner. Most importantly, he led the Reds to the 1990 wire-to-wire World Series championship, the city’s last major sports title. Larkin is an MLB Hall of Famer and member of the Reds Hall of Fame, and the franchise retired his No. 11.

Byron Larkin

BASKETBALL

1982–1988

Barry’s brother was a multi-sport star at Moeller before playing basketball at Xavier, where he graduated as the most decorated player in school history. He was the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the

Year in 1986 and 1988 and led XU in scoring all four years. Larkin remains the school’s all-time leading scorer, and he became the first XU player to have his jersey number retired.

Rose Lavelle

SOCCER

2009–PRESENT

The Mt. Notre Dame graduate was a four-year starter at the University of Wisconsin and was named AllAmerican in 2015. She was selected No. 1 overall by the Boston Breakers in the 2017 NWSL College Draft and currently plays for Gotham FC. She scored three goals in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, which the U.S. won, and played for the U.S. at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 2023 World

Cup, and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Jared Lorenzen

FOOTBALL

1996–2007

Kentucky’s 1998 Mr. Football led Highlands High School to a state championship and made his mark at the University of Kentucky, where his 10,354 passing yards are still a UK record. Fast and agile despite his 300-plus-pound size, he made improbable throws and presented a down-home persona to fans. Undrafted in 2004, he signed with the New York Giants, backing up Eli Manning during the team’s run to Super Bowl XLII victory. In 2019, hospitalized with an infection and heart and kidney issues, Lorenzen died at the age of 38.

Jerry Lucas

BASKETBALL

1955–1973

An All-American high school player in Middletown, Lucas won the National Championship at Ohio State in 1960 and the gold medal at that year’s Rome Olympics. Taken No. 6 overall by the Cincinnati Royals in the 1962

NBA Draft, he won Rookie of the Year and would be a seven-time All-Star over 11 professional seasons. He played his final three years for the New York Knicks, leading them to the NBA title in 1973. Lucas is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Kenyon Martin

BASKETBALL

1996–2015

The NCAA Player of the Year his senior season at No. 1 ranked UC, Martin broke his leg in the conference tournament and missed the 2000 NCAA Tournament. (The Bearcats lost in the second round.) He was the No. 1 overall pick by the Nets in the 2000 NBA Draft and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. Martin was an All-Star in 2004 and played 15 NBA seasons for five different teams.

Doug Matthews

TENNIS

2003–PRESENT

A state doubles champion at Kings High School, Matthews became the most decorated men’s tennis player in Xavier history, leading the Muskies to Atlantic 10 Confer-

ence championships and their firstever NCAA Tournament berths in 2008 and 2009. He’s second all-time at XU in total wins with a 150–99 career record. Matthews is currently the director of tennis at Xavier.

Jason Maxiell

BASKETBALL

2001–2015

A three-year starter at UC, Maxiell earned All-Conference USA second team honors in both his junior and senior years. As a senior in 2004–05, he led the conference in blocked shots and ranked 18th in the nation. He played 129 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Bearcats history. Maxiell was picked No. 26 overall by the Pistons in the 2005 NBA Draft and played 10 years for them and two other teams.

Heather Mitts

SOCCER

1993–2013

After leading St. Ursula to the 1993 state soccer championship, Mitts won a National Championship in 1999 at the University of Florida. She played for the U.S. women’s U-21 and senior national teams, winning a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics (Athens) and playing in lead-up games to more gold medals in 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London). Mitts played profes-

Joe Nuxhall

BASEBALL

1944–1966

Nuxhall holds the record for youngest player ever in Major League Baseball, pitching 1/3 of an inning for the Reds in 1944 at age 15. World War II had depleted most teams’ rosters, and the Reds plucked him from Hamilton High School for bullpen depth. He was more than an oddity, though, returning to MLB with Cincinnati eight years later and pitching for 15 seasons, with two All-Star nods. The Ol’ Left-hander later formed a beloved Reds broadcasting team with Marty Brennaman.

sionally in two U.S. leagues through 2011.

Joe Morgan

BASEBALL

1963–1984

A key cog in the Big Red Machine, Morgan won two National League MVPs and made eight consecutive All-Star Game appearances in the 1970s, leading the Reds to World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Over his 22-year career he also played in the World Series in 1972 (Reds) and 1983 (Phillies) and won five Golden Gloves at second base. Morgan is in the MLB Hall of Fame and the Reds Hall of Fame, and the Reds retired his No. 8.

Anthony Muñoz

FOOTBALL

1980–1992

Arguably the greatest player in Bengals history, Munoz was selected No. 3 overall in the 1980 NFL Draft after an All-American career at USC. He started 16 games at left tackle his rookie year, and then the accolades rolled in: nine-time first-team All-Pro, two-time Super Bowl participant, and 1991 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. He was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, and Bengals 50th Anniversary Team and is in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Beth StrangeOsterday

MULTIPLE SPORTS

1992–2000

Osterday was named first-team allstate in three different sports at St. Ursula. In volleyball, she played a key role in three consecutive state championships. In basketball, she graduated as SUA’s third all-time scoring leader and led the team to its first GGCL title. In softball, she still holds 10 school records, including career hits, career batting average, career runs scored, and career stolen bases. At Xavier, Osterday was a three-time Atlantic 10 volleyball all-conference team selection and was named XU’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2000.

Dave Parker

BASEBALL

1968–1991

Parker grew up near Crosley Field, where he sold peanuts and ice cream as a kid, and excelled at baseball, basketball, and football at now-defunct Courter Tech High School in Clifton. Drafted by the Pirates, he won the NL MVP in 1978 and was a seven-time All-Star. He led Pittsburgh (1979) and Oakland (1989) to World Series titles and played four seasons for the Reds during a 19-year career. Parker, who died in late June, is in the Pirates and Reds Halls of Fame and was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame last month.

Tony Pérez

BASEBALL

1964–1986

The Cuban-born Pérez was a core contributor on the Big Red Machine, though he didn’t win an MVP award like Bench, Morgan, and Rose. He played the first 13 seasons (and last three) of his 23-year career in Cincinnati, grabbing seven All-Star nods and knocking in 90 or more RBIs 10 years in a row. The Big Dog is a member of the Reds Hall of Fame and MLB Hall of Fame, and the Reds retired his No. 24.

Laura StackhousePhelps

WEIGHTLIFTING

2011–PRESENT

Growing up in Cincinnati with four sisters, Phelps focused on soccer, gymnastics, and running until trying weightlifting at age 23. She quickly excelled in the sport and currently holds eight powerlifting world records in specific weight classes. She became the first woman to lift 11 times her body weight, qualifying her as the strongest female powerlifter in history. She’s currently training powerlifters at her Loveland gym, Queen Bee Power.

ANTHONY MUÑOZ

LAURA PHELPS STACKHOUSE

Aaron Pryor

BOXING

1973–1990

The Hawk won more than 200 fights as an amateur boxer in Cincinnati, capturing AAU and Golden Gloves titles and a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games. He turned pro in 1976 and won the WBA junior welterweight belt in 1980 and defended it eight times, then won the IBF light welterweight title in 1984. Pryor retired with a 39-1 record and is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

George Ratterman

FOOTBALL

1942–1956

A star quarterback and all-around athlete at St. X, Ratterman lettered in four different sports at Notre Dame (baseball, basketball, football, and tennis). He played QB for the Buffalo Bills in the AAFC, a pro league that was absorbed into the NFL in 1950, and then backed up Otto Graham on the Browns for several seasons until an injury ended his career. He was elected Campbell County Sheriff in 1961, surviving a plot to trap him in a compromising situation with stripper April Flowers and working to clean up Newport’s infamous crime rackets.

Ken Riley

FOOTBALL

1969–1983

A sixth-round draft pick out of Florida A&M in 1969, Riley started at cornerback for the Bengals for the next 15 seasons, including the 1981 Super Bowl season. He was named All-Pro three times, and his 65 career interceptions are still the fifth most in NFL history. Riley was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2023.

Oscar Robertson

BASKETBALL

1957–1974

After winning two high school state championships in Indianapolis, The

Big O catapulted UC basketball to national prominence. He was NCAA Player of the Year all three varsity seasons and led the Bearcats to their first two Final Four appearances; they’d win back-to-back national titles right after he graduated. He led the U.S. men’s basketball team to gold in the 1960 Olympics. The Cincinnati Royals took Robertson No. 1 overall in the 1960 NBA Draft, and he won Rookie of the Year. He was AllNBA all 10 of his seasons in Cincinnati, including MVP in 1963–64, and after being traded to the Bucks led them to the 1971 NBA title and was an All-Star twice more. He is a member of NBA 75th Anniversary Team and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Frank Robinson

BASEBALL

1956–1976

Robinson debuted with the Reds at age 20 and won NL Rookie of the Year. He was NL MVP in 1961, leading the Reds to the World Series, and was a six-time All-Star in 10 seasons in Cincinnati. In the most disastrous trade in city history, the Reds sent Robinson to the Orioles, for whom he was 1966 AL MVP (the first player to win MVP in both leagues) and played in four World Series, winning two. He later became the first Black manager in MLB history. Robinson’s numbers were retired in both Cincinnati and Baltimore, and he is in the MLB Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose

BASEBALL

1963–1986

The Hit King, a born-and-raised west-sider, is MLB’s all-time leader in hits, games played, at-bats, and singles and was a 17-time All-Star at five different positions. He led the Big Red Machine to two World Series championships, won three batting titles, and was 1963 NL Rookie of Year and 1973 NL MVP. He has the third longest hit streak in MLB history at 44 games. Rose finished up a remarkable 24-year career with two-plus seasons as the Reds player-manager. In that

stretch, he broke Ty Cobb’s career hits record and was also found to have bet on Reds games and was banned from baseball. His ban was lifted earlier this year after his death, and he’s now eligible to be elected to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Kyle Rudolph

FOOTBALL

2006–2023

Rudolph was an All-American tight end and basketball star at Elder, then started all 13 games his freshman year at Notre Dame. After three seasons in college, he was the first tight end chosen in the 2011 NFL Draft, by the Vikings. He played 12 seasons in the NFL, the first 10 in Minnesota, and was named All-Pro in 2012 and 2017.

Becky AmannRuehl

DIVING

1991–2000

As a seventh-grader, Ruehl competed on the Villa Madonna Academy’s high school diving team and won the Kentucky state one-meter diving championship five years in a row.

She then attended the University of Cincinnati, where she won the NCAA Championship 10-meter platform title in 1996, making her the first female athlete in UC history to win an individual NCAA title. She competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and finished fourth in one-meter diving.

Roger Staubach

FOOTBALL

1958–1979

A stand-out quarterback at then-allboys Purcell High School, Staubach attended the U.S. Naval Academy and won the Heisman Trophy in 1963, leading Navy to a No. 2 final ranking. He later directed the Cowboys to Super Bowl titles in 1972 and 1978 and led the NFL in passer rating five times. Staubach is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and NFL Hall of Fame, and Purcell Marian’s football stadium is named for him.

Hank Stein

BASKETBALL

1956–1959

A three-year starter at Xavier, Stein became the school’s first AllAmerican basketball player in 1958, the season he led XU to the NIT

BECKY RUEHL AMANN

championship by beating Dayton in double overtime at Madison Square Garden. In those years, the NIT was considered a better postseason tournament than the NCAA, and colleges had to choose one or the other. Stein was picked in the 1959

NBA Draft by the Hawks but never played pro ball.

Tony Trabert

TENNIS

1946–1963

Trabert won three state singles

championships at Walnut Hills High School (the school’s tennis facilities are named for him) and the 1951 NCAA singles championship at UC, where he also played basketball. He won 10 Grand Slam tennis titles, five in singles and five in doubles, and captured Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1955 without losing a set. Trabert also led the U.S. to a Davis Cup title in 1954.

Jack Twyman

BASKETBALL

1951–1966

Twyman led UC to third place in the 1955 NIT, the nation’s top postseason tournament back then, and graduated as the Bearcats’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He was taken in the 1955 NBA Draft by the Rochester Royals and moved with them to Cincinnati before the 1957–58 season. He started alongside Oscar Robertson for six seasons here and was an NBA All-Star six times. His No. 27 was retired by UC and the Royals/ Kings, and he’s in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Nick Van Exel

BASKETBALL

1991–2006

Van Exel averaged 15.2 points and 3.6 assists during his two seasons at UC, leading the Bearcats to the 1992 NCAA Final Four, the school’s only Final Four since its early ’60s glory years. He was an All-American his senior year and a finalist for the John Wooden Award. Van Exel was taken in the second round by the Lakers in the 1993 NBA Draft and played for

six teams over his 13-year pro career, earning an All-Star nod in 1998.

Bryan Volpenhein

ROWING

1998–2008

The Kings High School and Ohio State University graduate won rowing medals for the U.S. at two Olympics, both in the men’s eight competition: gold in 2004 and bronze in 2008. He’s the only two-time U.S. Rowing Male Athlete of the Year (2002 and 2004). Volpenhein later served as coach of the U.S. National Team and currently coaches at Oklahoma City University.

Joey Votto

BASEBALL

2007–2023

The pride of Toronto, Ontario, Votto was a beloved figure here during his 17-year Reds career. He’s the only Red other than Johnny Bench with at least 300 home runs, 1,000 RBI, and 2,000 hits in a career and is among the franchise’s top five players in career hits, homers, RBI, runs, doubles, walks, and OPS. Votto was the NL MVP in 2010 and a six-time All-Star.

SHOOTING

STARS

Lots of athletes had a brief layover in Cincinnati before or after achieving fame elsewhere. Here are eight favorites. —JASON COHEN

SANDY KOUFAX

The iconic Dodgers lefty began his path to the MLB Hall of Fame on the University of Cincinnati freshman basketball team. He then joined coach Ed Jucker’s other squad and struck out 51 batters in 32 innings during one Bearcats season before signing with the then-Brooklyn Dodgers.

BEN ROETHLISBERGER

You didn’t think we could put a Pittsburgh Steeler on the Top 100 list, did

Jaime Walz Richey

BASKETBALL

1990–2000

Walz played varsity basketball at Highlands High School starting in seventh grade and amassed records that still stand. She was a two-time Kentucky Player of the Year, and Parade magazine named her National Player of the Year in 1996. She remains first in state girls basketball history in career assists

and three-point shots made and second in career points, steals, field goals made, and free throws made. Walz played four years at Western Kentucky University.

David West

BASKETBALL

1999–2018

When the 6-foot-9 power forward signed his national letter of intent, then-Xavier Head Coach Skip Prosser told The Enquirer, “Hopefully he can

you? But of course the legend of Big Ben began in Oxford, where he started all four years, including the 2003 campaign that saw Miami go 13–1 and win its first MAC championship in 17 years.

TOM SEAVER

A legit Reds star who played here for five-plus seasons (1977–1982), he missed the peak of the Big Red Machine. His three Cy Young awards and MLB Hall of Fame plaque all say “New York Mets.” (See also: Scott Rolen.)

CHARLIE JOINER

The wide receiver spent three and a half seasons with the Bengals of Paul Brown and Ken Anderson (as well as offensive coordinator Bill Walsh) but was traded to the San Diego Chargers in 1976, where he played another 11 years to seal a Hall of Fame career.

MARK MESSIER

The then-18-year-old center played one season for the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association after his first team, the Indianapolis Racers, folded. The league was absorbed by the NHL the following year, and Messier joined his former Racers teammate Wayne Gretzky on the Edmonton Oilers. They’d win

come in and help us right away.” West’s averages of 11.7 points and 9.7 rebounds his freshman season certainly did, and he went on to earn Player of the Year honors and write his name all over XU’s record books. Drafted No. 18 overall by the Hornets in 2003, West was a two-time All-Star and won two championships with the Golden State Warriors during his 15-year NBA career.

Mary Wineberg

TRACK AND FIELD

1996–2013

A Walnut Hills grad, Wineberg ran track at UC and then found success turning pro in the women’s 400 meters. She won several international races in 2007, culminating in capturing the world championship in the 4x400 relay. She followed that up with a gold medal in the same relay event in the 2008 Olympics. Wineberg currently serves on the Cincinnati Board of Education and is track and field coach at her high school alma mater.

Harry Wright

BASEBALL

1866–1877

The oldest athlete on our Top 100 list by far, British-born Wright was recruited to Cincinnati with his brother in 1865 to play professional cricket, then the city’s most popular sport. “Base ball” became the nation’s sports fascination after the Civil War, and Wright assembled, managed, and played center field for the game’s first fully professional team, the 1869 Red Stockings. He then

played for and managed the Boston Red Stockings in the new National Association.

Kevin Youkilis

BASEBALL

1994–2013

After a standout baseball career at Sycamore High School, Youkilis was a two-year All-American at UC and still holds Bearcats records for career runs scored, home runs, walks, and on-base percentage. He played eight-plus seasons with the Red Sox, including the 2007 World Series champs, and was a three-time All-Star. Youkilis is in the UC Hall of Fame and Red Sox Hall of Fame.

five Stanley Cups together, then Messier would led the Rangers to one in 1994.

O.J. MAYO

The West Virginia native was the first “next LeBron” when he moved here to attend and play basketball for North College Hill High School. In 2006, 16,500 fans saw Mayo and the Trojans take on Oak Hill Academy at U.S. Bank Arena. He’d play college ball at USC and then eight years in the NBA.

AMBER HARRIS

The Indianapolis native led Xavier to four Atlantic 10 conference basketball tournament titles and was A-10 Player of the Year in 2009–2010. She was the No. 4 pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft, the highest draft pick in XU history, and won championships with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011 and 2013.

STEVEN BEATTIE

The Irish football (which is to say soccer) forward was a two-time NCAA Division II Player of the Year at NKU and led the Norse to the 2010 national championship. He was selected by Toronto FC in the 2011 MLS Draft but never joined the team, spending most of his professional career back home in Ireland.

MARY WINEBERG

L i v i n g Living The D r e a m Dream

L i v i n g Living D r e a m Dream

Already a superstar at age 23, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz knows he’s come a long way, which keeps him grounded. “I don’t think about the future,” he says. “I live in today.”

By Charlie Goldsmith

In 2023, early in his big-league career, Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz prepared specific questions for some of the best Major League Baseball players he faced. When stars like Shohei Ohtani got to second base during innings with De La Cruz in the field, he made a point to speak with them and ask about how they built their careers.

Over the course of the 2024 season, when De La Cruz became an All-Star himself, he found the base-side conversations flipping. He was still in his early 20s, but now players were asking him for advice about base stealing, about how he’s able to play every day, and about his ability to hit for ridiculous power. De La Cruz says through interpreter and assistant athletic trainer Tomás Vera, “I get a lot of questions. They always say, You play every day, so how do you prepare yourself for the game?”

And De La Cruz is always willing to help. “I love talking with people on base,” he says. “If I know them, we start talking about something. If I don’t know them, I make sure I get to know that guy. I enjoy that. Pretty much every single Dominican, we’re friends. Even if I’ve never met them, as soon as they get to second base we’ll start talking. I have a lot of friends. Not just Dominicans. I also talk to Americans, Venezuelans, every single country. I always try to be friendly.”

In his third Major League season now, he’s getting a feel for how he’s respected around the league—though De La Cruz says he tries not to focus on that. He’s on the

cover of MLB The Show, had the 13th-best-selling jersey in MLB last season, and can’t go out in public when the Reds are on the road because he draws so much attention. In May, De La Cruz, 23, became the fastest player in modern baseball history to reach 300 hits, 150 RBI, and 100 stolen bases to start a career.

At 6-foot-5 with an ever-present smile, he’s already one of the faces of MLB, but he doesn’t really care about that mantle. Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, one of his mentors, says De La Cruz’s superpower is his humility. “He realizes where he is, who he is, and the impact he has in this game, but he’s more focused on the task at hand,” says Larkin. “It’s not that he doesn’t dabble in the marketing. He has a team of people. But from what I know and from what his teammates have told me, he’s pretty focused on trying to win ball games.”

De La Cruz is a Cincinnati Red because he got lucky. When he was an undersized teenager in the Dominican Republic who loved the game but didn’t stand out, he was asked to participate in a workout that was designed to highlight a star player on his team for MLB scouts. In other words, he was invited to the workout to make the other guy look good.

The Reds ended up liking De La Cruz more than the “better” prospect they’d come to see. Cincinnati signed De La Cruz to a modest deal for an international free agent, and they were his only offer at the time. Flash forward five years, and De La Cruz had emerged out of nowhere as one of the best athletes in baseball, the face of the Reds, and a prominent representative for the game nationally and internationally.

De La Cruz’s origin story keeps him grounded. He considered quitting baseball several times before the Reds drafted him, and he doesn’t take the opportunity he has now for granted. “For the little kids out there, don’t ever give up on your dreams,” he says. “It’s not a lie that if you don’t give up it’s going to happen. If you stay with your dreams, it’s going to happen. Stay true to yourself.”

De La Cruz ended up in the Reds’ organization by chance because they were the team that happened to show up to that workout in the Dominican Republic in 2018. At the time, it seemed impossible that he’d become a star. It turns out, he reflects now, that Cincinnati has been the perfect place for him to blossom.

Being a young star in Cincinnati is a lot different from being a young star in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, or Philadelphia. Former All-Star and Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley played in San Francisco, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Dallas and says the Cincinnati media cycle is tamer than the frenzy in bigger markets. “You’re allowed to play the game here,” he says. “Every young player is going to make mistakes. At least in this city we’re not berated every single day in the media. Why did you strike out? In Philadelphia or New York, it can be rough. That’s just the facts. I’ve lived it. The experience in Cincinnati is just a different way to get your feet wet, learn the game, and learn about yourself. Every young player should have that opportunity.”

When De La Cruz signed with the Reds as an international free agent, he didn’t know much about the city of Cincinnati or the Reds. Now he’s close with Larkin and former All-Star Eric Davis, senior advisors in the organization. He got to meet Pete Rose. He played with Joey Votto, who offered De La Cruz advice throughout

the shortstop’s rookie season.

De La Cruz has developed an appreciation for the city and for the team. “The way the fans back you up on the baseball field, that’s been fun,” he says. “They cheer for you. I really, really appreciate the old Cincinnati teams. [Larkin and Davis] have both always been people who back me up. Not only during the season, but in the offseason as well. They always give me advice. They care about me.”

His impact on the game extends well beyond the Cincinnati region. De La Cruz was a big reason the Reds were selected to play in the August 2 MLB Speedway Classic in Bristol, Tennessee, a flagship event for the 2025 season. The league’s social media accounts post most of De La Cruz’s highlights, like his 450-foot home runs, his diving catches in foul territory, and his incredible feats on the bases. During every single batting practice, home and away, fans shout out his name in hopes of getting an autograph.

Brantley sees De La Cruz as especially popular with kids. “If you’re on the cover of the MLB video game, the kids look at you like you’re a god,” he says. “That’s how they look at him. Even when we’re on the road, the kids line up. They might be in Chicago, but they’re looking for Elly. That’s a huge draw—not just for him, but for all of Major League Baseball.”

De La Cruz takes in the attention, but he doesn’t want to be distracted by it. He’s already a key reason to watch every Reds game, but he doesn’t weigh in or speak publicly on topics like the franchise’s long-term direction or how the organization should approach the offseason or the trade deadline. He tries to lead by

“I really just try to take care of myself and make sure I do everything correctly when I’m off the field. It’s easy when you’re on the field. But when you’re off the field, you have to learn how to manage yourself.”

example and doesn’t seek opportunities to use his platform as one of baseball’s biggest stars. “I really just try to take care of myself and make sure I do everything correctly when I’m off the field,” he says. “It’s easy when you’re on the field. But when you’re off the field, you have to learn how to manage yourself.”

He’s a huge NBA fan and watches most of the Golden State Warriors’ games because he admires Steph Curry. In the NBA, one of the biggest talking points is who’s going to take over as the faces of the league when Curry and LeBron James retire.

“When Steph Curry retires, there’s going to be a hole and I don’t know who’s going to fill it,” De La Cruz says. He follows that conversation more closely than the debate about who will be the next faces of baseball behind the Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Mookie Betts generation.

There’s a lot of chatter about what De La Cruz’s long-term future with the Reds will look like. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the 2029 season, and at that point he’ll be entering his prime career years. Executives around MLB wonder if he could pass Ohtani, Judge, and Betts to command the game’s first billion-dollar contract.

President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall recently told MLB Network Radio that the Reds made a run at a long-term contract extension with De La Cruz, but no talks are currently happening. It’s rare for a client of Scott Boras, his agent, to sign a long-term contract extension before

COMPANY TANKING A

TOWN

Stubborn and self-reliant, tiny Addyston has depended on its riverside factory for 134 years. What happens when that factory closes shop?

By David Holthaus

Photographs

by

Lance Adkins

This month, the sprawling Ineos plastics factory along the Ohio River in Addyston will begin a months-long process of shutting down and laying off its workers. It won’t be coming back. “The plant closing will be permanent,” its owner told the state of Ohio in its layoff notice.

The looming death of the plant has created an existential crisis in the 900-plus residents here. Can this fiercely independent village survive when it loses its largest source of tax revenue? Does it raise taxes on its already needy residents? Does it join the city of Cincinnati or the surrounding township?

“We have a lot of options that we really need to talk about,” says Dan Pillow, a lifelong resident and village council member. It’s easy to miss Addyston. Just west of the city limits of Cincinnati, U.S. 50 runs right past the town with barely a stoplight to slow anyone down. But it’s impossible to miss the hulking chemical plant on the road’s south side. The plant and its surrounding property consume about a third of the town’s real estate. Its plastics-making infrastructure sprawls for a full half mile, with dozens of towers, each rising more

than 100 feet, and more than a dozen storage tanks marking its boundaries.

The imposing edifice is still known locally as “the Monsanto plant”; that company owned it for more than 40 years. Since 2007, it’s been the property of British industrial conglomerate Ineos Group, which owns 44 other manufacturing facilities in 18 countries.

The taxes collected from this global giant and the people who work there account for about a third of Addyston’s $1.26 million operating budget. With no new sources of revenue in the offing and very few places to cut costs—the village employs just five people—the closure could mean the end of this self-governing community.

The dilemma brings into focus the viability of small towns and villages around here. With the population in many of them declining, tax revenue stagnant, and the

costs to provide essential services steadily rising, can they survive? Should they?

Like many small towns, Addyston persists with a stubborn pride. They are of the big city of Cincinnati, but not part of it. They have history, traditions, laws, leaders, and neighbors. But times are getting tougher.

Addyston’s fire department has been gone for years, shut down in 1999. Its police department was decommissioned in 2024. Miami Township and Hamilton County have picked up those services. Its elementary school closed in 2005. Monitors on the school’s roof had shown the air was too toxic for children to breathe. The big chemical plant, just 200 yards away across U.S. 50, was blamed. (The school has since been torn down.)

Addyston has a part-time mayor and a part-time village council, a couple of main-

tenance workers, and a clerk. It has a U.S. Post Office, where everyone picks up their mail because there’s no mail delivery in Addyston. There are a couple of bars and a handful of churches.

In the November 2024 presidential election, 310 village residents voted. At some point, they may be asked to vote on dissolving their river town and either annexing to Cincinnati or becoming part of Miami Township. But that time is not here yet. “Our objective is to save our village, make it sustainable, and go from there,” says Pillow.

He was born in Addyston, lived there all his life (except for his military service), has twice been elected mayor, and at the age of 78 still serves on village council and is active in the community. As he drives me around town, it seems he knows everyone he passes, waving hello or honking the horn in greeting.

He pauses often to point out former village landmarks. The plant’s property once housed a small neighborhood called Hopkinsville, where houses were built on stilts to lift them out of the river’s floodplain. There’s the old Burr Oak School, which became a municipal building and is now a residence. An old clapboard Episcopal church, modest steeple still intact, is for sale. The old firehouse is now used to store equipment. There is “The Bricks,” a fourstory, 19th century relic that once housed a movie theater and a general store.

Veterans Park is an immaculately maintained pocket park, a memorial to Addyston residents who served in the armed forces.

SOMETHING IN THE AIR ADDYSTON RESIDENTS, LED BY DAN PILLOW (OPPOSITE PAGE), CAME TOGETHER ON JUNE 28 TO CELEBRATE A NEW PARK IN THE SHADOW OF ITS LARGEST EMPLOYER (TOP), WHICH WILL BE SHUTTING DOWN SOON. CAN THE HISTORICALLY SELF-RELIANT VILLAGE (ABOVE) SURVIVE ON ITS OWN?

Pillow’s name is listed there, along with his brother Kenneth’s. Their older brother Samuel served in the Korean conflict, and their father, Samuel Elbert, saw action in World War II. For Memorial Day weekend, village workers install 10-foot-high American flags in post holes along both sides of the mile-long route of Main Street.

Addyston honors its past. Memorial bricks outside the municipal building carry the names of mayors, council members,

treasurers, clerks, fire marshals, and chiefs of police going back to its 1892 founding.

It’s always been a working-class enclave. Even a 1943 guide to Cincinnati and its suburbs published by the Federal Writers Project called Addyston “a grimy little industrial town.” It’s a hardscrabble, mostly white Appalachian burg. It’s distrustful of outsiders, and it’s been the scene of some headline-grabbing scandals.

When CONTINUED ON PAGE 98

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COLLEGE GUIDE | 2025

EDUCATION INDEX

Art Academy of Cincinnati66

Bowling Green State University67

Butler Tech58

The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences68

Cincinnati State69

Earlham College70

Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science71

Great Oaks Career Campuses72

Kettering College60

Miami University62

Mount St. Joseph University64

Northern Kentucky University73

Sinclair Community College74

Southern State Community College57

University of Cincinnati75

University of Indianapolis56

Warren County Career Center77

Wilmington College76

BUTLER TECH

Butler Tech Adult Education, 101 Jerry Couch Blvd. • Middletown, OH 45044 (513) 645-8200 • www.butlertech.org

Butler Tech, one of Ohio’s largest career technical education institutions, is dedicated to turning ambition into achievement. Through immersive, hands-on training and strong partnerships with industry leaders, our adult career programs equip individuals with the skills and credentials needed to enter a professional career in 12 months or less. Whether you’re launching a new career or advancing in your current field, Butler Tech’s wide range of programs—from healthcare and public safety to advanced manufacturing and transportation—are designed to fit your goals. Butler Tech offers personalized job placement support to ensure you graduate fully prepared to step directly into the workforce.

Butler Tech: Training for Life.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1975 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 750 Yearly // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 15:1 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE:

Adult Career Training Programs: training programs designed to prepare individuals for employment and to begin a successful career in: Healthcare – training for Nursing, Clinical Medical Assisting, Phlebotomy, Medical Billing & Coding, and STNA. Public Safety programs – Firefighter, Paramedic/EMT, Police. Industrial Technology programs – Industrial Maintenance Technology, Industrial Welding, Robotics and HVAC/R Technician, and Transportation programs. Nationally recognized certifications and program lengths range from two weeks to 12 months. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 34 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: Varies by program // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 75% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Student completion rate of 91% • Earned Industry Credential Rate of 89% • 100% hands-on career experiences for students!

Now Enrolling for Fall 2025. Discover Butler Tech Why

choose Butler Tech

KETTERING UNIVERSITY

1700 University Ave. • Flint, MI 48504 (810) 762-9500 • www.kettering.edu

Kettering University isn’t for everyone. It’s for those who rebuild an engine at home because shop class isn’t moving fast enough. For those who take on rigor and reap the rewards. For those who demand more from their education—and themselves.

What began in 1919 as a night school for automotive engineers and technicians has grown into a university that produces leaders across industries—from automotive and biotechnology to finance and energy, robotics, and beyond.

At Kettering, students don’t just study. They alternate every 11 weeks between rigorous on-campus learning and full-time Co-op employment. One term is spent mastering concepts in classrooms and labs; the next, applying those skills on the job with one of more than 550 employer partners across the country and around the world. By graduation, students can earn

$55,000 to $75,000 (often more) and gain up to two and a half years of professional experience, well before most peers enter the workforce.

Forged from a history of industry-embedded education, Kettering continues to lead at the forefront of next-generation technologies like advanced mobility, new energy vehicles, intelligent manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and sustainability. That legacy lives on in our students—those who turn “what if” into “what’s next.”

Kettering has built a STEM learning experience like nowhere else, where students work shoulder to shoulder with professors and industry leaders, putting their ideas to the test and solving tomorrow’s problems.

Our students don’t wait for opportunity—they build it. They graduate miles ahead, and they don’t look back.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1919 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 1,466 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 11:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 8 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 17 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Cooperative education with disciplines in: Engineering – chemical, computer, electrical, industrial, mechanical; Computer Science; Management // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 304 miles // INSTATE TUITION: $50,650 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $50,650 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 100% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Top 10 schools in the nation for Career Preparation - The WSJ/College Pulse/Statista • No. 19 in the nation for Best Graduate Salaries, as recognized by The Wall Street Journal in its 2025 WSJ/College Pulse Best Salaries list. • No.21 Top 50 Private Colleges in the Nation for Return on Investment (ROI), according to a Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce study published by MSN.com

is Is Your Proving Ground

Kettering is more than you think— it exceeded my expectations. I had hands-on work and real responsibilities beyond training. You can’t really see the full value until you come here and make that jump.

CHRISTIAN LOPEZ ’25

HOMETOWN: Canton, MI

CO-OP: BorgWarner/PHINIA MAJOR: Industrial Engineering

$55K-$75K OVER 4.5 YEARS

Christian Lopez’s Kettering experience unlocked incredible opportunities: a full-ride BorgWarner scholarship with a Co-op offer, hands-on experience designing assembly line parts and optimizing a warehouse, and Co-op roles that took him from Dearborn, MI to Ithaca, NY — to Blois, France.

BorgWarner sent Christian to Europe, expenses paid, where he gained valuable insights into global operations. This is the advantage of Kettering: meaningful connections, hands-on learning, and opportunities that open doors worldwide.

One-Of-Its-Kind Co-op Program

Scan the QR Code to learn more about Kettering and our unique Co-op program and research initiatives that prepare students to lead in industry.

Wall Street Journal, Best Colleges 2025

MIAMI UNIVERSITY

501 E. High St. • Oxford, OH 45056 (513) 529-1809 • https://MiamiOH.edu

Established in 1809, Miami University is consistently ranked among the top 50 national public universities by U.S. News & World Report for providing students with an Ivy League-quality education at a public school price.

Located in quintessential college town Oxford, Ohio—with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg—Miami serves more than 18,000 undergraduates across more than 100 areas of study, and more than 2,200 graduate students through 78 master’s and doctoral degree programs. At this comprehensive research university, students en-

gage and conduct research with premiere teacher-scholars. All undergraduate students benefit from a well-rounded liberal arts foundation, developing lifelong skills for any career. In 2022–2023, 60% of Miami students graduated with at least one minor or additional major, and nearly 100% participated in internships or field work prior to graduation.

Miami adds $2.3 billion each year to Ohio’s economy through innovative partnerships and job creation. Miami is a NCAA Division I school, serving more than 500 student athletes across 19 varsity sports.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1809 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 21,657 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 16:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: Over 120 programs of study, with over 200 majors and minors. // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 65 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 13 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Business, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Media, Arts and Design, Education and Community, Engineering, Computer Science and Technology. Human Behaviors, Cultures, Languages and Literature. Law, Government and Global and Public Policy. Math, Stats and Data Analytics. Medicine, Health and Well-being. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 35 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $18,160.88 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $41,221.28 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 92% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: No. 1 among Ohio public universities for return on investment, Payscale • No. 2 Graduate School of Education in Ohio, U.S. News &World Report • Top 10 Public Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program, Princeton Review // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Miami University has two regional campus in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg, as well as Miami Online.

COLLEGE

MOUNT ST. JOSEPH UNIVERSITY

5701 Delhi Rd. • Cincinnati, OH 45233 (513) 244-4200 • www.msj.edu

For more than a century, Mount St. Joseph University has enabled students to reach new heights—in their education, careers, and lives. As a Catholic university rooted in the values of the Sisters of Charity, the Mount is dedicated to the success and well-being of each student, empowering them to become competent, compassionate, critical thinkers who make a meaningful impact on the world with the heart of a lion. Each student is given the opportunity to unleash their potential: our students receive personal attention from some of the world’s leading scholars, who know their students by name; the MSJ Career & Experiential Education Center prepares students for success with real-world and leadership experience; and students gain

vital problem-solving skills through the Mount’s liberal arts core curriculum. A rock-solid experience is available on our safe, ideal campus—just 15 minutes west of downtown Cincinnati. Our Centennial Field House was designed for all students, featuring the latest exercise equipment, indoor practice areas, and the only indoor NCAA regulation-size track in the region. Students can get involved through 18 NCAA DIII programs, Cheer, Dance, and Esports, through the visual & performing arts, campus ministry, or a diverse range of student activities and organizations.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1920 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 1,853 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 12:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 32 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 8 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 3 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Doctoral: Nursing, Physical Therapy, Reading Science; Graduate: Business, Education, Nursing, Physician Assistant, Speech Language Pathology; Undergraduate: Computer Science, Primary/Special Education, Graphic Design, Health & Exercise Science, Nursing, Social Work, and Sports Management. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 8 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $38,400 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $38,400 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 100% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: A+ Rating from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ, 2024) • No. 1 in Ohio for Education Program Academic Excellence (NCTQ, 2024) • No. 1 in Ohio BSN & MSN NCLEX Pass Rates (2024) • No. 2 Best Catholic College in Ohio (Niche, 2025) • No. 24 Best Sport Management Program in the USA (Niche, 2025) // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Mount St. Joseph University continues to foster partnerships with several Greater Cincinnati colleges, universities, businesses, and hospitals for bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI

1212 Jackson St. • Cincinnati, OH 45202 (800) 323-5692 • www.artacademy.edu

The Art Academy of Cincinnati is the second-oldest private college of art and design in America, founded in 1869 on a legacy of innovation and excellence. As one of the smallest four-year art schools in the country, we offer what others can’t: mentorship from faculty who are also working artists, personal studios, and a fiercely supportive community. Our students are seen, challenged, and given real world experiences from day one. Located in the heart of Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine, our urban campus blends culture, creativity, and community. At AAC, you don’t just earn a degree—you become the artist, and person, you were meant to be. THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1869 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 240 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 9:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 12 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 1 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Creative Writing, Design, Digital Arts Animation, Illustration, Painting, Drawing, Print Media, Sculpture, Art Education, Art History, Film/Video // IN-STATE TUITION: $38,000 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $38,000 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 100% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Accreditations: National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), Higher Learning Commission (HLC) // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Our only campus is on Jackson Street, in the heart of OTR.

BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY

1001 E Wooster St. • Bowling Green, OH 43403 (419) 372-2478 • www.bgsu.edu

Bowling Green State University, founded in 1910 in Bowling Green, Ohio, is a nationally ranked, high-research public university dedicated to the public good. Offering over 200 undergraduate, graduate and online programs, BGSU is recognized for its innovative Life Design approach, strong community partnerships and groundbreaking research centers. With nearly 20,000 students, BGSU emphasizes belonging, career readiness and real-world impact. The university is home to nationally distinctive programs, Division I athletics and a vibrant arts scene, all set in one of America’s best college towns. BGSU alumni are leaders shaping communities across Ohio and around the world.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1910 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 19,703 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 18:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 200 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 58 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 19 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Our classification as an R2 doctoral university by the Carnegie Classification reflects our commitment to high levels of research activity, with faculty engaged in cutting-edge inquiry across disciplines from the sciences and health fields to the humanities, education and the arts. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 180 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $14,482 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $22,470.40 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: More than 90% of all new BGSU students // TOP THREE AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: For the fifth year in a row No. 3 public university in the nation and the No. 1 public university in the Midwest students would choose again (The Wall Street Journal) • For the second year in a row No. 1 public university in Ohio for student experience (The Wall Street Journal) • No. 1 safest college town in Ohio for a public university (Research.com) // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: BGSU Firelands

#1

student experience

OF ALL PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

At BGSU, we believe experience is the best teacher. That’s why we’ve built an education that doesn’t just prepare you for the real world, it puts you in it.

THE CHRIST COLLEGE OF NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES

2139 Auburn Ave. • Cincinnati, OH 45219 (440) 503-4088 • https://thechristcollege.edu

The Christ College of Nursing & Health Sciences is a private, nonprofit, fully accredited college affiliated with The Christ Hospital Health Network for over 120 years. The hospital-based campus offers flexible, personalized degree pathways in nursing and the health sciences with onsite opportunities that allow students to work alongside their undergraduate studies with pay, tuition benefits, and scholarships, all while building career connections. Accepted students have a clinical seat reserved for them with personalized, hands-on learning at Cincinnati’s most preferred hospital.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1902 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 700 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 6:1 or 8:1 clinical classes; 30:1 didactic classes // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 5 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Bachelor of Science in Nursing: Accelerated BSN; 3-Year BSN—Days and Nights & Weekends; 4-Year BSN—Days; Online RN-BSN Completion Program; Online Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration; Associate of Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography; Associate of Applied Science in Radiography; Associate of Science in General Studies; Medical Assisting Clinical Certificate // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 3 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $18,300 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 92% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Ranked No. 1 Best Value Colleges in Cincinnati, No. 2 Best Value Colleges in Ohio, No. 3 Best Colleges for Nursing in Ohio, No. 3 Best College Locations in Ohio 2025 by Niche • Ranked Top 10 Best RN-BSN Program in Ohio 2025 by RNCareers.org • Named one of 31 in Ohio and 479 in the nation Opportunity Colleges and Universities 2025 by The Carnegie Foundation • Awarded Cincinnati’s Top Workplaces 2024 by The Cincinnati Enquirer

CINCINNATI STATE

3520 Central Pkwy. • Cincinnati, OH 45223 (513) 861-7700 • https://cincinnatistate.edu

Cincinnati State is the regional leader in career education and one of its best higher education values. Cincinnati State offers a wide variety of online, in-person, and hybrid education options that are geared to local employment needs and flexibility for students. Many programs lead directly to well-paid careers and include paid co-op experience with one of over 600 business and industry partners. Our workforce training program has also created tailored programs for over 150 area businesses. For bachelor-bound students, Cincinnati State is a smart start with tuition less than half the cost of traditional universities and credits that transfer seamlessly to other colleges and universities. Cincinnati State offers associate degrees, certificates, and selected bachelor’s degrees in healthcare, business, culinary, engineering and information technologies, and humanities and sciences.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1969 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 9,500 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 13:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 78 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Cincinnati State offers associate degrees, certificates, and selected bachelor’s degrees in healthcare, business, culinary, engineering and information technologies, and humanities and sciences. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 5 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $193.64 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $387.28 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 77% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: One of the first community colleges in Ohio approved to offer bachelor’s degrees: Bachelor of Applied Science in Land Surveying, Bachelor of Applied Science in Culinary & Food Science, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN). // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Main Campus: Clifton • Evendale Campus: Workforce Development Center • Harrison Campus: Aviation Maintenance Program and West Airport • Middletown Campus: at Miami University Regionals Middletown Campus

EARLHAM COLLEGE

801 National Road W. · Richmond, IN 47374 (765) 983-1200 • earlham.edu

Is college worth it? At Earlham, it absolutely is.

A college education is a big commitment—but at Earlham, it pays off ThePrinceton Review named us a “best value college” for our powerful blend of outstanding academics, stellar career support and commitment to affordability. But true value goes beyond building skills for the jobs of today. Earlham excellence prepares you to think, adapt and thrive though change—for life.

At Earlham, every student is guaranteed a career-focused experience—such as an internship or research opportunity—funded up to $5,000.

Brilliant and uniquely approachable faculty are dedicated to providing epic classroom and career prep experiences to help you discern and design the life you want after graduation.

Build the foundation for a good life at Earlham.

Social Justice // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 72 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $71,638 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $71,638 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 95% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: One of 40 “Colleges That Change Lives” • A Best Classroom Experience according to The Princeton Review • A “Best Value College” according to The Princeton Review and U.S. News &World Report // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/ SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Earlham School of Religion, Earlham Graduate Programs in Education

for our balance of outstanding academics, stellar career services and affordability

Students who live within 150 miles of Earlham automatically receive the Heartland Scholarship — $2,000 each year for up to four years.

Rankings reflect inclusion in The Princeton Review, Fiske Guide to Colleges and U.S. News & World Report annual lists.

Scan to learn more about how to apply.

GOOD SAMARITAN COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCE

375 Dixmyth Ave. • Cincinnati, OH 45220

(513) 862-2631 • https://gscollege.edu

Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science is a private, nonprofit, Catholic college founded by the Sisters of Charity and located inside Good Samaritan Hospital. We have been educating healthcare professionals for over 125 years and are part of the TriHealth network. Students have priority clinical and practicum placement within the TriHealth system. In addition to our nursing programs, we offer surgical technology, radiologic technology, health science, bachelor’s in health care administration, medical assistant, and medical reimbursement programs. Students take classes while building connections at the hospital, so that they are prepared for their career upon graduation.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1896 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 611 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 10:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 6 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Associate of Applied Science in Nursing, Associate of Applied Science in Radiologic Technology, Associate of Applied Science Surgical Technology, Associate of Science in Health Science, Bachelor of Science in Nursing Completion Program, Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration, LPN to RN Program, Medical Assistant Program, Medical Reimbursement Program and Certified Nursing Assistant. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 4 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: Tuition per credit hour for AASN, AAS-ST, AS-RT and General Education courses: $570. Tuition per credit hour for BSN Degree, MA Certificate courses: $285. // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: Same as in-state. // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 93% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science has been ranked No. 31 on the list of Best Nursing Schools in Ohio by Nursing Schools Almanac for 2024

GREAT OAKS CAREER CAMPUSES

110 Great Oaks Dr. • Cincinnati, OH 45241 (513) 771-8840 • www.greatoaks.com

Great Oaks is a public career-technical school district serving 36 school districts in southwest Ohio. Each year, thousands of area high school students prepare for a career at a Great Oaks Career Campus —Diamond Oaks in Dent, Laurel Oaks in Wilmington, Live Oaks in Milford, or Scarlet Oaks in Sharonville. Professional certification is available in a wide range of career fields, from healthcare to high-tech manufacturing to cybersecurity to construction trades, culianry arts, agriculture, cosmetology, and more. Great Oaks offers over 30 different programs on campus as well as satellite programs in 28 of the region’s 36 affiliated school districts. Career training, ESOL, HSE, and personal enrichment programs are also available for adults. Partnerships with local business, education, and community agencies help shape the programs offered.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1970 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 24,000 high school students at four Great Oaks campuses and in programs at 30 area public schools; 14,000 adult students // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: Varies // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: High school students can earn college credits, gain work experience through internships and co-ops, and secure industry credentials // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Programs range from trades to high tech fields to health care to focus on skills in demand by industry and hands-on training // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: Varies // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: Great Oaks is a public school district and there is no tuition for high school students; Adult Ed tuition varies and financial aid is available // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Five Star-rated school district, significantly exceeding state standards • 2025 Ohio ACTE Career-Technical Excellence Awards: Carl Perkins Community Service Award; Teacher Educator of the Year; Outstanding School Board Member; Business Image • Students consistently place in national skills competitions

NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

1 Nunn Dr. • Highland Heights, KY 41099 (859) 572-5100 • www.nku.edu

Nationally ranked for best value by The Wall Street Journal, Northern Kentucky University offers an affordable, high-quality education. NKU offers 100+ academic programs, including nationally ranked nursing and business programs, on a growing suburban campus just minutes from downtown Cincinnati. Through flexible class formats, hands-on learning, faculty mentorships, and world-class facilities like the Health Innovation Center, students graduate from NKU with the real-world experience they need to fuel their success. High school seniors with a GPA of 2.75+ can simplify their college journey with NKU’s Direct Admit program—no application, fee, or essay required. Your future, your way at NKU!

//

Ninth Safest Campus in America by Academic Influence • 29th in the Nation for Best Value by The Wall Street Journal • 89th in the World University Rankings for Innovation // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: University of Kentucky College of Medicine – Northern Kentucky Campus

SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

5386 Courseview Dr. • Mason, OH 45040 (513) 339-1212 • www.sinclair.edu/mason

The Sinclair College campus in Mason continues Sinclair’s mission of providing accessible, affordable, flexible education to meet the needs of the community. The campus is conveniently located and easily accessible from I-71. Sinclair in Mason offers a full-service small campus feel, with all the advantages and resources of a large public community college. Over 25 degree and certificate programs are offered in Mason, with more than 100 online programs and over 325 programs available system wide. Students can earn job ready credentials or earn credits that transfer easily to any four-year college or university.

THE STATS FOUNDED: 1887 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 31,000 college-wide, 790 @ Mason // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 13:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: Nearly 300 degrees and certificates system-wide; More than 25 at Mason // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Healthcare, Business, Engineering Technologies, Information Technology, and programs designed for transfer to a four-year college or university. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 24 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $193.28 / credit hour // OUT OF STATE TUITION: $349.40 / credit hour // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 50% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Sinclair has awarded more degrees and certificates than any other Ohio Community College in the last five years. • More than 100 University Transfer agreements. • No. 1 College for Student Success, Achieving the Dream, 2023. • Board member, League for Innovation in the Community College. // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Locations in Dayton, Centerville, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and online.

QUALITY EDUCATION & CAREER TRAINING

Sinclair College in Mason plays an important role in the economic development of southwest Ohio by preparing graduates who build a stronger workforce.

Students learn in state-of-the-art facilities with instructors who are tops in their field and dedicated to teaching and mentoring the next generation.

With academic programs in Healthcare, Business, IT, Advanced Manufacturing and Liberal Arts, students can get career-ready or prepare to transfer on to a four-year university at an accessible, full service campus that’s close to home.

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

At University of Cincinnati, education goes beyond the classroom. With 400+ academic programs and up to 1.5 years of built-in work experience, Bearcats graduate career ready. As a hub of research and innovation, UC empowers students to shape the future alongside expert faculty.

You’ll find your place in a vibrant campus community with 600+ student organizations, Big 12 athletics, and the energy of a thriving city. Plus, UC Bearcats graduate with less debt and more opportunity than their peers. With support from start to finish, UC staff and faculty are committed to student success!

See yourself at UC. Your journey begins now. Your connection lasts a lifetime. Bearcats for Life. THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1819 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 53,235 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 19:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 204 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 196 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 102 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Research 1 university that founded cooperative education in 1906 with 100% of our students participating in experience-based learning. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 2 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $13,976 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $29,310 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 75% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Top 5 for co-op and internships (U.S. News andWorld Report) • UC students earn an average of $10,700 per semester from co-op and internship experiences • 96% of students are employed or continuing their education upon graduation from UC // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: University of Cincinnati Clermont College, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College

2600 Clifton Ave. • Cincinnati, OH 45221 (513) 556-1100 • www.uc.edu/admissions Tour UC and discover where your future begins. admissions.uc.edu/visit

WILMINGTON COLLEGE

1870 Quaker Way • Wilmington, OH 45177 (937) 382-6661 • www.wilmington.edu

At Wilmington College, we are dedicated to students’ passion for hands-on learning. Our community-of-doing places them in the center of the learning experience, unlocking their potential and opening doors. Students can leave with hundreds of hours of practical application—now that’s learning by doing. WC believes in our students’ ability to change the world. Alumni working in careers ranging from NASA and Broadway to soil science and literature are proof.

Wilmington College is an independent college in Wilmington, Ohio, with a hallmark for hands-on learning opportunities. Quakers founded the College in 1870 and the institution embraces the universal values of community, diversity, integrity, excellence, peace and social justice, respect for all persons, and service and civic engagement. WC’s mission is to educate, inspire, and prepare each student for a life of service and success.

We are Dub-C. Experience Wilmington College! THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1870 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 1,000 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 14:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 2 (Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts) // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 2 (Master of Organizational Leadership and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy) // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Agriculture, Business, Online, Sport Sciences, Biology/Chemistry, Psychology, Education // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 50 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $31,654 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $31,654 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 99% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Member of Colleges of Distinction • U.S. News &World Report ranking among Best Midwest Colleges and among Best Midwest Colleges for Social Mobility

It’s always been easier for me to help others than to help myself

As a Veteran, when someone raises their hand for help, you’re often one of the first ones to respond. But it’s also okay to get help for yourself. Maybe you want or need assistance with employment, stress, finances, mental health or finding the right resources. No matter what it is, you earned it. And there’s no better time than right now to ask for it. Don’t wait. Reach out.

Find resources at VA.GOV/REACH

Where Wellness, Competition & Community Come Together

The City of Mason is a world-class city with a unique and historic sense of place. Mason has earned a reputation as a progressive and innovative community and is recognized for its high quality of life, dynamic services and culture of wellness. Located in the heart of Southwest Ohio, Mason is home to top-ranked schools, world-class amenities, vibrant parks and a dynamic business environment for ambitious entrepreneurs to international corporations.

Mason truly is More Than You Imagine

To learn more, visit www.imaginemason.org

A Financial Approach with Full Court Awareness.

•A

•Smart

•Legacy

Matt Harris: Financial Advisor. Certified Exit Planning Advisor®. 27+ years of experience, including two decades on Wall Street managing various international and domestic institutional equity groups. Anna Kohlem: Assistant Vice President. Wealth Management Associate. Financial Planning Specialist. 37+ years of experience. John Gould: Senior Vice President. Financial Advisor. CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Certified Private Wealth Advisor®. Chartered Portfolio Manager®. Certified Exit Planning Advisor®. Alternative Investment Director. Workplace Advisor – Equity Compensation. Portfolio Management Director. 29+ years of experience. Former NCAA D1 Tennis Player. Janie Shaffer: Business Development Director. Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® Duke University graduate. Former attorney. 7+ years of industry experience.

FROM LEFT: MATT HARRIS, ANNA KOHLEM, JOHN GOULD, AND JANIE SHAFFER

CELESTIAL GROUP AT MORGAN STANLEY

Welcome to the Cincinnati Open!

It’s fi nally time for the 2025 Cincinnati Open. The last year has been all about envisioning, constructing, planning, and preparing for what the 2025 tournament will be. And now, here we are. We’re excited to welcome you to this year’s Cincinnati Open, August 5-18.

In 2023, we saw one of the greatest matches of all time between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic and a young Coco Gauff earning her fi rst 1000-level title. In 2024, our 125th anniversary was capped off with record-breaking crowds and world No. 1 players Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner coming away with victories. Each year has been bett er than the last.

The anticipation and excitement surrounding this year’s tournament cannot be overstated. The Cincinnati Open will be bigger and bett er than ever before, and we can’t wait for fans to experience what we’ve been working toward.

It starts with our campus: a $260 million transformation done in partnership with the City of Mason, Warren County, and the State of Ohio. From the moment fans walk onto our site, they’ll feel the diff erence. From incredible landscaping, brightened pathways, and more shade to a new stadium and practice courts, a massive fan and partner pavilion and expanded food court, the improvements will be undeniable.

As our player fi elds expand, we’ll have two full weeks of nonstop action and even more opportunities for everyone to be part of the excitement. Whether it’s an upper-level ticket for a qualifying match or a club space for the fi nals, there’s something for everyone.

The Cincinnati Open is taking what you know and love about the tournament to the next level—intimate access to players, amazing food and drinks, exciting on-court action, fan-friendly atmosphere, and non-stop entertainment around the grounds. There’s something for everyone and you won’t want to miss it.

I would like to thank our cornerstone partners—Western & Southern Financial Group, P&G, Fift h Third, Credit One Bank, Great American Insurance, and The Kroger Co.—as none of this would be possible without their unwavering support and shared commitment to excellence.

Finally, I would like to thank our incredible staff and the tireless 1,500 volunteers who dedicate their time and eff ort to host a world-class tournament year aft er year.

We hope to see you soon at the 2025 Cincinnati Open!

Bob Moran Tournament Director Cincinnati Open

Campus Transformation

Following a $260 million campus transformation, the Cincinnati Open site now features more fan amenities and experiences than ever before. Here are five new areas on-site to check out during your visit to the tournament.

The

Pavilion

In the heart of campus you’ll find the Pavilion, a brandnew shaded space perfect for lounging and enjoying all the tournament has to offer. Kick back in an Adirondack chair in front of a 28-foot video board showing live tennis action happening around the grounds. Check out engaging partner activations from major brands like Cadillac, Kroger, Wilson, and more. Plus, Fifth Third members can access an exclusive lounge.

The Commons

The Cincinnati Open serves up flavors and fun for every palate, and this year the on-site dining experience is bigger and better than ever. The food court of years past has been expanded to what is now known as The Commons—a shaded greenspace that features ample seating, 13 local restaurants, Legends Bar, and a stage with live music and entertainment. Grab a bite to eat and bask in the energy of the campus in this new and improved space.

Kroger Fan Zone & Prasco Kids Zone

Fun for all ages awaits in the Kroger Fan Zone and the Prasco Kids Zone, two lawn spaces at the north of campus chock full of around-the-clock entertainment. The Kroger Fan Zone will be your go-to spot for player autograph sessions and appearances, live music, a full slate of programming, giveaways, and more. In the Prasco Family Zone, test your tennis talent with a rally challenge or speed serve, play on the USTA Midwest Mini Courts or make your mark on the signature wall or kids coloring wall.

Prasco Practice Courts

Intimate access to top tennis players is a hallmark of the Cincinnati Open, and as the site has expanded, a conscious effort has been made to preserve that intimacy. In fact, there are even more opportunities to see the players up close! With the addition of 10 new practice courts—taking the total number of practice courts up to 21—fans can get right up to the action to see their favorites, scout the up-and-comers, score an autograph, and admire the world-class talent that’s graced the courts.

Champions Court

See some of the world’s best tennis talent in a totally new stadium experience at Champions Court. As fans enter the revamped South Entrance, they’ll immediately be greeted by a view of this 2,300-seat stadium (the fourth largest on-site). Located south of Grandstand Court, Champions Court offers “first-come, first-serve” seating and one of the tournament’s coolest tennis viewing experiences.

Wheels is a volunteer ministry dedicated to meeting transportation needs of people in our community who are in crisis. Make a Difference in Someone’s Life

DONATE A CAR TO WHEELS

We give cars new life then give qualified individuals and families restored hope by meeting their transportation needs.

BE A WHEELS VOLUNTEER

We welcome all levels of expertise and administrative support. Be a part of a great team of volunteers!

Let's Get Digital

The Cincinnati Open’s mobile app is also getting revamped for 2025. Experience a brand-new app, featuring even more information at your fingertips.

Go-to features include:

•Schedule and scores

•Access to tickets

•Site maps

•News and updates

Plus, check out these new features:

•Livestreamed player interviews

•Daily in-app games for a chance to win prizes

•“Know Before You Go” info to help plan your Cincinnati Open visit

Download the Cincinnati Open mobile app by searching “Cincinnati Open” in your phone’s app store!

GET UP-TO-DATE INFO ON THE CINCINNATI OPEN ALL YEAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA :

facebook.com/cincytennis

@cincytennis

@cincytennis

Planning Your Tournament Visit

Get ready for more action at this year’s Cincinnati Open! The tournament now features more days, more players, and more courts. Here’s your guide to this year’s extended tournament schedule.

Qualifying Rounds

August 5 & 6

This year’s qualifying rounds feature 48 players vying for one of 12 spots in the main draw. With 72 matches across the first two days of the tournament, qualifying rounds give fans the first look at the new Cincinnati Open campus, plus the chance to see the upand-comers in tennis. Recent qualifying rounds have included everyone from Carlos Alcaraz, Tommy Paul, and Casper Ruud to Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa, and Leylah Fernandez. Who’ll be the next qualifier to start their run to greatness in Cincinnati?

Kids Day

August 7

The first day of main draw action kicks off with the fan favorite Kids Day. Open to all kids and their families, the event features on-court activities and off-court entertainment throughout the day in the Kroger Fan Zone. Get 50 percent off tickets for kids 12 and under and hop from court to court for the first main draw matches.

Opening Weekend

August 8-10

The first weekend of the tournament will be a star-studded affair! After first-round action on Friday, the topranked players in the tournament will take to the courts on Saturday and Sunday in the second round. Here, you’ll see the biggest names in the game—we’re talking the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka,

Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Jessica Pegula, and more. The campus will be buzzing with energy, and the matches will be electric.

Road to the Finals

August 11-15

These are the days when things really start heating up at the tournament. Jaw-dropping drop shots, unbelievable upsets, and pure tennis talent will be on display, all in an effort to survive into finals weekend. Catch the men’s quarterfinal matches on August 14 and the women’s quarterfinals on August 15. Day sessions include matches and practices across the site while night sessions light up P&G Center Court and Grandstand Court for unbeatable excitement.

Finals Weekend, presented by Credit One Bank

August 16-18

It all comes down to this: the semifinals and the championship matches. The Cincinnati Open has become a predictor of sorts with the tournament’s men’s and women’s champions going on to take the U.S. Open title in 2023 and 2024. To get there, though, is no easy feat. See the men’s semifinals on Saturday, the women’s semifinals on Sunday, and put in your PTO request for the can’t-miss championship matches on Monday.

Limited tickets are still available at cincinnatiopen.com. Get yours today!

Salud to Food (and Drink)

The culinary and beverage offerings at this year’s tournament will include 13 local restaurants, three markets, several signature bar areas, a food truck, and other activations throughout the venue.

Chef Power

The Cincinnati Open’s culinary team is growing and taking the tournament’s food and beverage experience to the next level. Executive Chef Andrew Alcid joins the Cincinnati Open this year alongside Levy Restaurants to curate the signature menus throughout the tournament campus. Celebrity Chef Jet Tila also joins the team, personally overseeing the food and drink service in the ultra-premium Garden Suites.

The Commons

Directly east of Center Court, this area has been expanded to include additional shaded seating in a beautifully landscaped park-like setting adjacent to 13 newly constructed storefronts featuring local restaurants. Three new eateries will be featured this year: Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, Lobsta Bakes of Maine, and Lucius Q. Cincinnati staples Graeter’s, LaRosa’s, and Skyline will return this year, along with Alfio’s Buon Cibo, Chicken Salad Chick, Kala Greek Grill, Mazunte, Playa Bowls, and Brü Brothers Coffee.

Top Deck

Overlooking The Commons, Top Deck features two bars open to the public and one private club space, which was renovated in 2024. The Agave Bar, presented by Maestro Dobel, will feature the official tournament cocktail, the Ace Paloma. The Top Deck Bar, presented by Sonder Brewing, will once again serve Causing a Racket, its custom grapefruit kölsch. The Oasis, presented by Veroni, will round out the Top Deck, featuring authentic Italian charcuterie, accessible to ticketholders in sections 209211.

Match Point Markets

Several Match Point Markets will be open around Center Court featuring new walk-in drink coolers and Kroger

Food on the Go

Around the grounds, the Fifty West food truck will offer burgers while Philly Pretzel stands and drink carts will ensure refreshments will always be close by.

snack items, including the signature Match Point Macaron, a key lime macaron with a coconut vanilla ice cream center.

Cincy Serves Winners

Tournament program celebrates those making a diff erence in the community.

The Cincinnati Open and Fift h Third are proud to announce the honorees of the 2025 Cincy Serves program (formerly 513 Serves), which recognizes area residents for positive impact and outstanding contributions to the greater Cincinnati area. Through their time, actions, talents, and examples, these individuals put their community before themselves, going above and beyond the call of duty, to make the “513” a better place for everyone.

The Cincy Serves initiative, now in its second year, recognizes 12 individuals whose work positively impacts the Cincy region in the areas of education, children, sports, wellness, or financial empowerment. The winners were selected from 213 nominations submitted by Cincinnati community members.

The 2025 Cincy Serves honorees are:

Doug Adams

Kelly Blount

Candice Crear

Brian Ibold

Olivia Kentner

Steve King

Lucabella LaEace

Katie Nzekwu

Adebola “Baba” Olowe

John Rouster

John Silverman

Tyran Stallings

This year’s Cincy Serves honorees range from a college student to a retired police sergeant who help their neighbors with everything from nutrition and mental health to financial literacy and life-saving equipment, impacting thousands in the greater Cincinnati community. Each honoree will receive a $5,300 donation to the charity of their choice and be celebrated during the Cincinnati Open with four courtside seats, access to the 1899 Club, in-stadium recognition, and a VIP tour of the tournament’s transformed campus.

Nominations for the next class of Cincy Serves honorees will open in the months following the 2025 Cincinnati Open. Nominees must reside in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, or Warren counties in Ohio or Boone, Campbell, or Kenton counties in Kentucky. To learn more about Cincy Serves, the honorees, and their chosen charities, visit cincinnatiopen.com/about/ community/cincy-serves.

Exploring Cincinnati

Plan the perfect weekend getaway during the Cincinnati Open.

While you can spend hours upon hours at the Cincinnati Open, your Queen City experience doesn’t have to stop there. Bookend your

tournament trip with some of our favorite area recommendations to make it a visit to remember.

Experience the Action

Does the on-court tennis action have you craving even more sports? The Cincinnati Reds and FC Cincinnati are in season during August, offering several opportunities to catch a baseball or soccer game (if you’re lucky, you can even grab a ticket to one of the Cincinnati Bengals’ pre-season games). If you’re eager to get on-the-move yourself, check out the Litt le Miami River and Scenic Trail.It’s the perfect backdrop for some leisurely kayaking or a bike ride to stretch your muscles after camping out at the courts all day.

Tickle Your Tastebuds

There’s no shortage of food and drink options at the Cincinnati Open, but you can take your experience even further by planning a visit to Findlay Market , a foodie paradise with countless restaurants, shops, and food purveyors all within one city block. For a more traditional take on culinary culture, the Golden Lamb offers a fine dining experience dating back to 1803. And we can’t forget the breweries and

bourbon that bridge north and south right here in the Cincinnati region. With 50-plus craft breweries to choose from (including Sonder Brewing in Mason, a short drive from the Lindner Family Tennis Center) and the nearby bourbon trails, you can’t go wrong.

Family Fun

Between Kids Day, the Kroger Fan Zone, the Prasco Kids Zone, and various autograph sessions throughout the tournament, the familyfriendly opportunities at the Cincinnati Open are plentiful. For more family fun, you can’t beat Mason’s own Kings Island, just steps away from the tournament site, which boasts some of the world’s most acclaimed roller coasters, a newly expanded water park, and a brandnew kids’ area, Camp Snoopy. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and the Cincinnati Museum Center are also family favorites. Be sure to visit the ever-famous hippos, Fiona and Fritz!

See the Sights

Fort Ancient is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that features North America’s largest ancient hilltop enclosure built by ancient indigenous cultures nearly 2,000 years ago. For more modern exploration, check out the various walkable entertainment districts like The Banks or Over-the-Rhine. We recommend exploring the region via the hundreds of murals that tell the stories of Cincinnati, including a Cincinnati Open mural painted in 2024.

Treat Yourself

The Cincinnati Premium Outlets give you a smorgasbord of style all for a fraction of the price or visit the Rookwood Pott ery showroom in Over-the-Rhine for a more unique shopping experience. Ask about the Cincinnati Open’s custom-made Rookwood Cup trophy and you just may get a look at how it’s made! End your day with a rooft op cocktail or a sunset riverboat cruise to take in the city scenery at the conclusion of your trip.

As one of the nation’s leading mental health centers, we understand each person’s journey is deeply personal. Bringing together unparalleled expertise, profound insights, we provide life-changing care and support, infusing every interaction with the underlying belief that lasting well-being is possible. We see beyond diagnoses —

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testing free agency.

De La Cruz says he isn’t focused on where he’ll be in a few years, how good he’ll be then, or what his free agency process will look like. “I’m going to tell you something: I don’t think about the future,” he says. “I don’t keep thinking about what’s going to happen. Am I going to be this or that? I prefer today. I live in today. I live day by day. I don’t think about those things.”

He appreciates the opportunity he has now because it will never quite be like this again for De La Cruz. He grew up with his current Reds teammates as prospects in the farm system, and second baseman Matt McLain is a close friend. De La Cruz says it would be truly meaningful to win in the playoffs with this “young core” of close friends and peers in age.

He can dream big, but Larkin is impressed with De La Cruz’s ability to live in the moment. “I’ve been around some guys like Deion Sanders and Ken Griffey Jr. who have had that same kind of attention and expectation,” says Larkin. “It can be distracting to the team. My hope is that it doesn’t become a distraction. I’m sure the environment of playing in Cincinnati has helped him. But regardless of the environment, it’s more about handling everything off the field. He’s always done a nice job.”

Larkin says it’s difficult to understand and deal with public scrutiny when you’re a young ballplayer. “Depending on how well you do or don’t do on the baseball fi eld, people will always try to say something,” he says. “People often say that your struggles on the field are related to what you’re doing off the field, which isn’t always the case.”

Like Larkin, Brantley played with a lot of big stars and is impressed with De La Cruz’s ability to live in the moment. “The one thing I’d say about Elly has nothing to do with baseball, and it’s that he’s grounded,” he says. “When you have a twin brother

[Pedro] who’s almost a foot shorter than you are, that gives you some perspective to how different things could be. He has a very humble nature about him, and that’s an attractive quality. In our world today, a superstar that’s humble? There ain’t any.”

An athlete who might most closely understand what De La Cruz is experiencing as a young star in Cincinnati is Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. While De La Cruz has a signed Burrow jersey, he hasn’t gotten to know him yet. “I don’t follow football too much,” says De La Cruz. “I just recently started to follow the NFL a little bit. I don’t watch too much. My favorite sport is basketball. That’s what I’m a fan of.”

De La Cruz doesn’t know Curry either, but he closely studies the point guard and says he’s learned from him the importance of trusting your ability. Curry shoots 30foot three-point shots in tight windows and makes plays NBA fans have never seen before. De La Cruz takes extra bases in situations when no one else would and hits mammoth homers. “Steph changed the game,” says De La Cruz. “I play different, too.”

While De La Cruz has some of the loudest tools in baseball, he doesn’t chase statistical milestones like 40 homers or 70 steals in a season like he did when he was younger. Under new Reds manager Terry Francona, he’s focusing more on finer details like working consistent at-bats, being more of a heads-up base runner, and making the routine plays on defense. His biggest numerical goal entering 2025 was to play all 162 games, and as of press time he’s played in every game this season so far.

De La Cruz says his maturity is the skill he’s improved the most during his twoplus years in the big leagues. “The way I’m thinking and my body preparation pregame,” he says. “I’ve learned a lot about how to get ready for a game.”

He’s added more strength training and stretching into his daily routine, built up more endurance, and toned his soft tissue muscles to try to avoid nagging injuries. De La Cruz says he was “exhausted” by the end of his rookie season, but the process he’s developed in the past two years has helped him be more consistent.

Consistency is one of the big lessons he’s learned in the majors, as well as backing up his talent with work ethic and atten-

tion to detail. Larkin has been impressed with De La Cruz’s growth in these areas. “Any success we have as a professional, as a husband, or as a man is in preparation and how you react to anything that’s going to happen,” says Larkin. “The beauty of being a mature person is that you’re not as reactionary. We do react, but there’s a proactiveness in preparing for what’s to come. You understand celebrity. You understand the scrutiny. You just have to keep it in perspective and keep your feet on the ground.”

DE LA CRUZ CREDITS HIS ABILITY TO stay grounded to lessons his parents instilled in him. When asked what advice he’d give to young players, he says, “Be kind to your mom and dad. They always want the best for you.”

De La Cruz wears a pendant with a photo of him and his mother, Carmin, smiling on the day he signed with the Reds. Before he was on the map as a Reds prospect, he says his career goals included becoming a Hall of Famer and making his family, which includes eight siblings, proud. He’s recently been grieving the loss of his sister, Genelis De La Cruz Sanchez, who died in June.

When De La Cruz was 6 years old, he told his mother, I’m going to be a baseball player.I’m going to be a baseball player. I’m going to be a baseball player. He’d say, If you spend any money on clothes, it better be a baseball jersey.

It took a lot of sacrifice for De La Cruz to get to where he is now. He moved away from home as a child to live with his coach’s brother. He moved farther away at age 10 so he could play in more prominent leagues in the Dominican Republic. His mother motivated him to keep going when he was on the verge of quitting during his teenage years because MLB scouts weren’t interested.

After everything he went through to get here, De La Cruz doesn’t want to become distracted. His past keeps him grounded and gives him an appreciation for what he’s accomplished. The Reds gave him a chance to play professional baseball, and today he’s one of the sport’s most talented and popular players.

Instead of chasing superstar status, though, De La Cruz is working to keep his focus on baseball and on the present in Cincinnati. “That’s the way I like it,” he says.

TheCommunityActionAgency -Cincinnati|HamiltonCounty

ESTABLISHED 1964

MISSION

The Community Action Agency – Cincinnati | Hamilton County (CAA) helps improve lives from cradle to career. Through advocacy, partnerships, and high-quality programs, our dedicated team is breaking down barriers to equity and opportunity, while building selfsufficiency across generations.

SERVINGOURCOMMUNITY

CAA provides job seekers with relevant industry training, connects them to career opportunities, and helps them create a pathway to selfsufficiency. Head Start is a federally funded program that provides preschool education, ensuring that both children and parents are prepared for kindergarten and a life filled with learning. Utility and rental assistance, tax preparation, mobile food pantries. Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP) helps workeligible 14- to 24-year-olds build career paths and find employment.

LEADERSHIP

Board of Directors:

Courthney Calvin, Holly Christmann, Ruby Crawford-Hemphill, Matt Fitzsimmons, Damon Frost, Omar Hartley, Benjamin C. Houck, CPA, Mayor Ruby Kinsey-Mumphrey, Mayor John Smith, Tyran Stallings, Susan Storer, Susan Thomas, Chanta Walker, Moira Weir, John Williams, Esq.

Executive Leadership

Mark B. Lawson, Esq-President/CEO

Nikki J. Williams - VP of Community Services

Renee Daniel - VP of Early Childhood Education

Dr. Ebony Griggs-Griffin - Chief Human Resources Officer

Willie Hill - Executive Director of GCMI

Alisa Poe - VP of Organizational Development

Jenny Houck - Chief Financial Officer

Josh Fletcher - VP of Facilities & Operations

WAYSTOHELP

Donate: The Community Relief Fund provides emergency assistance to individuals and families throughout Cincinnati and Hamilton County who are experiencing a financial crisis, facing homelessness, or struggling to provide the basic needs of daily living for their family.

Volunteer: CAA welcomes volunteers with a variety of backgrounds, talents, interests, and skill levels. Our needs may vary depending on the season, but we will make every attempt to find an opportunity best suited for you.

Purchase CAA Merchandise: Did you know purchasing CAA apparel from the NEW CAA Merch Store will support our Community Relief Fund? Proudly show your support by sporting our all vibrant, uplifting NEW CAA apparel!

1740 Langdon Farm Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45237 (513) 569-1840 www.cincy-caa.org

U.S. 50 was built, it skirted Addyston, bypassing the village’s small business district. Main Street dead ends without connecting to the highway.

The streets of Addyston climb steeply out of the floodplain. The neighborhood’s topography, gravity, water, and neglect have buckled some streets and closed others. As neighborhood demographics have changed over time, some of the houses have been abandoned. Others, such as Pillow’s childhood home, have been torn down. In some places, with vines growing around sagging, weather-beaten houses, Addyston resem-

gic location on the Ohio first attracted coal shippers. By the 1870s, two coal elevators on the river loaded and shipped so much of the combustible material that the place was known as “Coal City.” In 1889, the sale of riverfront land to an immigrant from Canada, Matthew Addy, set the stage for the town’s future.

His obituary called Addy “one of Cincinnati’s most successful businessmen.” After migrating from Montreal to booming 19th century Cincinnati, he went into business selling cotton. He ultimately didn’t see a future in it, but the pig iron business looked attractive as a rapidly industrializing country needed building materials. He built the Addyston Pipe and Steel Co. on the banks of the river, importing iron from the South, smelting it, and shipping it northward to be used in water pipes, gas pipes, steam pipes, and blast furnaces. He was the “Cincinnati Iron King,” and his Addyston plant was “by far the largest and most extensive of any that has been added to the

“WE’RE GOING TO HUNKER DOWN FOR A WHILE, I GUESS, AND PUSH FORWARD,” SAYS ADDYSTON MAYOR LISA MEAR. “THE VILLAGE COUNCIL WANTS TO REMAIN OUR OWN JURISDICTION.”

bles an Appalachian “holler.”

Former mayor Gary O’Connor grew up there and got out when he enlisted in the 101st Airborne, stationed at Ft. Campbell. “I wanted to leave everything behind and just walk away from it,” he says, but the small town called him back. “I slowly came back around.” He got married, and he and his wife fixed up his family home, sold it, then bought a property on First Street and built a home there. That was more than 30 years ago. “We raised our family there,” he says. “Our commitment was to this town. I’m anchored in here.”

He suspects the plant will sit empty for years, a reminder of days gone by. “They’re going to leave this village high and dry with a hazmat-contaminated grounds,” he says. “Ineos is not the village’s friend.”

ADDYSTON AND INDUSTRY HAVEBEEN connected for at least 150 years. Its strate-

manufacturing industries of Cincinnati in recent years,” according to a contemporary account. The foundry employed 1,400 in its earliest days, and “iron masters and mechanical engineers agree that there are few, if any, more perfect in operation in America.”

Addyston grew around Addy’s factory and was incorporated in 1891. Housing was built for the growing number of workers, many of the homes made from Sears kits. The population grew to 1,700.

Addyston Pipe and Steel evolved into U.S. Pipe and Steel. After a long run, the company closed in 1950. But this Ohio River industrial site was not quiet for long. Monsanto bought the property and began making plastics for a postwar America that was buying up refrigerators, cars, and houses and incorporating the lightweight, durable material into everything. In the 1960s, the plant was expanded to feed “the

fast-growing market for plastic packages,” Monsanto’s 1965 annual report boasted.

Consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions happen often in the chemical industry, and the plant changed hands beginning in 1995, when Monsanto was sold to Bayer. Then a Bayer subsidiary, Lanxess, operated the plant beginning in 2005. Ineos bought the site in 2007. The companies all made basically the same thing: a particular variety of plastic called ABS that can be shaped, molded, and extruded and is used in lots of things we touch every day, including car dashboards and bumpers, mobile phones, computer keyboards, luggage, toasters, vacuum cleaners, and sporting goods.

ABS stands for acrylonitrile butadiene and styrene, the chemical building blocks of the polymer product the factory produces. Each of those chemicals can cause cancer in people, the International Agency for Research on Cancer says.

This massive plant has been leaking these chemicals for years, as well as discharging them legally into the air through vents and pipes. In September 2024, a rail tanker filled with styrene bound for the plant began leaking on a siding in neighboring Cleves as the car awaited transport. About 200 homes in the vicinity, the Three Rivers School District, and a Kroger store were evacuated. People were asked to stay indoors. Callers to 911 reported a strong odor like spray paint or nail polish remover. That evening, the leak was brought under control, and evacuation orders were lifted the following day.

But the plant itself has been emitting styrene and the other cancer-causing chemicals for years. In 2023, the Ineos plant emitted into the air 24,260 pounds of styrene, 9,236 pounds of acrylonitrile, and 3,700 pounds of butadiene, according to its annual report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Those figures were much lower than in previous years, as the plant was already scaling back production.

The styrene evacuations, as well as the closure of Meredith Hitchens Elementary School, caused O’Connor to wonder what had been happening to long-time residents like himself. “It was so bad that they closed the school, but it’s not so bad that you could live here your whole life,” he says. “I guess it’s OK for those of us who’ve been living

here pretty much our whole lives.”

A 2006 report from the Ohio Department of Health showed the incidence of cancer in Addyston was far higher than expected in the general population. Indeed, the town has had a love-hate relationship with its imposing industrial neighbor, no matter who the owner was.

Three accidental releases of the ABS chemicals in 2004 and 2005 led the state health department to install air monitors on the school’s roof. “The nature of the chemicals released and the occurrence of three of these release events in the short period of time were of major concern to the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio EPA,” an Ohio EPA report said.

In 2009, Ineos and former owner Lanxess agreed to pay a $3.1 million fine to the state and federal governments and Hamilton County air pollution agency to settle a lawsuit over alleged violations of multiple laws, including the Clean Air Act. The village of Addyston received nothing from the settlement.

The environmental agencies said the company failed to monitor and stop leaks of hazardous air pollutants that exceeded legal limits. Ineos agreed to spend up to $2 million to upgrade its environmental controls.

As the plant winds down and eventually closes, the question is: What becomes of it? In an e-mail, the company states, “The safe and responsible decommissioning of the site will occur through 2026 and potentially into early 2027.” Production of ABS plastics is scheduled to end August 31, and “limited resin production will continue into the third quarter of 2026.”

On its website, the company says, “Ineos puts safety, health, and environmental performance top of the agenda at every business team and board meeting.” But the company did not respond to questions about how it plans to decommission the plant, whether it will be demolished, if the real estate will be sold, and what type of cleanup, if any, will be undertaken. It did not make a representative available for an interview.

As the village considers its future, one option is being absorbed into surrounding Miami Township. Jim Brett, the township administrator, wonders what he may be getting into if the township takes on a va-

cant 130-acre chemical plant. “The biggest thing for us is what’s going to happen with the Ineos facility,” he says.

As a generator of hazardous waste, Ineos is required to follow detailed closure instructions issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency that include properly disposing of all hazardous waste and decontaminating equipment and the soil. So far, it appears the company has not filed a plan for closing the site.

Brett is also concerned about assuming responsibility for the village water supply. Addyston is one of only a few towns in Hamilton County that operates its own water system. And the two wells that supply Addyston’s water are on the chemical plant’s property. The wells are old, the supply lines are leaky, and the storage tanks on high ground to the north are caked with sediment. “Addyston needs to look for another more reliable water source,” the Ohio EPA said in a May 2025 letter to village officials.

Ineos owns and operates 10 wells on the site, and their pumps, far more powerful than the village’s old equipment, pull water from the groundwater for use in its industrial operations. The Addyston wells pump water from an aquifer below the bed of the Ohio River. When the plant shuts down and its industrial pumps cease operating, there’s concern that groundwater from the plant property will migrate into the village wells. That was the topic of a study done for Ohio EPA, which concluded that keeping the Ineos wells pumping is the best option for keeping potentially contaminated water out of the village water supply.

Addyston already has an emergency connection to Cincinnati Water Works, but the connection “was observed to be totally flooded . . . and appears to not work as intended,” the OEPA said in a June letter to Addyston Mayor Lisa Mear.

While Brett is doing some homework to prepare for Addyston becoming part of Miami Township, he’s supporting the village’s current posture of remaining independent. “We’d like to see the village survive,” he says.

Another option is annexation to the city of Cincinnati, since Addyston’s neighbor to the east is the city’s Sayler Park neighborhood. But at a February village council

meeting on the subject, no one spoke in favor of annexation and several residents vehemently opposed it, mostly due to a potential tax increase for Addyston residents.

The village council, or village citizens through a petition, would need to request annexation, which Cincinnati City Council would then pass or deny. Addyston voters ultimately would have to approve annexation.

For now, says Mear, village leadership wants to remain independent. “We’re going to hunker down for a while, I guess, and push forward,” she says. “The council wants to remain our own jurisdiction. So we have to take a look at how that’s possible.”

Although the plant and the village have a symbiotic relationship, the reality is that production and employment there have been shrinking for a while. Only 82 workers are left to be laid off, Ineos officials say. The Addyston plant has been operating only to “address niche demands” for its products, as its technology is outdated and no longer in use by most similar plastics plants in the world. The company has expanded an ABS plant in Mexico, and the 130-acre Addyston plant is dwarfed by its other facilities.

When the shutdown finally comes, it could mean a turning point for this village. Because fewer people work there, income tax revenue has been dwindling for some time, allowing the village time to adjust its finances. When operations cease, the factory will no longer produce the volatile chemicals that it’s vented into the air and discharged into the water for decades. It may literally be a breath of fresh air.

When the school was torn down, Dan Pillow spearheaded an effort to transform the acreage into a park, which was inaugurated with a grand opening in June. When the plant goes silent, it’ll be safe for kids to run around the park’s expanse, climb the playground equipment, and inhale the air. It could spell a new beginning for this company town.

There will be more debates about what to do, and Addyston’s handful of elected leaders will need to make some hard decisions. But whatever they decide, the people of this tiny Ohio River village will have the final say.

D NE

LAVENDER FARMS P. 102 BACK TO CRG P. 106

GETTING CULINARY AT CMC P. 106

BODEGA LIFE IN THE COV P. 108

SO SAUCY

The gnocchi at Crown Republic Gastropub comes in a Rosa-style roasted tomato sauce with whipped ricotta, Parmesan cheese, and basil.

Scentsational

Area farmers share their love of culinary lavender in flowing fields of purple blooms.

—RODNEY WILSON

CULINARY LAVENDER IS HAVING A MOment. While there’s nothing new about the use of this floral flavor in the kitchen, the purple-hued blooms are popping up on menus and in grocery aisles frequently these days, in everything from lattes to fruit preserves. And it makes perfect sense. Known for a calming effect due to the chemical compound linalool, the stress-reducing herb is particularly suited for history’s more chaotic eras. Besides, lavender just tastes good.

While you may think of swaying fields of French lavender in the bucolic countryside of Provence, there are actually a handful of local farmers focused on growing it for culinary purposes. Jennifer Clarke of Sunshine Acres Lavender Farm in Morrow explains while technically all lavender varieties are safe to eat, Spanish lavenders commonly used in topical products contain camphor, which can impart a soapy, bitter taste. At Sunshine Acres, though, they’ve always grown a culinary-class variety cultivated from Lavandula angustifolia, or English lavender. It’s delicious to cook with and consume, which is why Clarke decided to go the culinary route.

“Most people, when they hear lavender, think of lavender essential oils and lavender lotion, which I enjoy,” she says. “I just don’t know how to make those things. I do love to cook—adjusting and finding recipes and making them my own—so I started making a lavender blueberry simple syrup and also whipped lavender honey butter.”

Sunshine started 10 years ago when Clarke’s husband, Jeff, researched micro crops and found that lavender would be a good fit for their family’s seven unused

ADESSO

SUNSHINE ACRES

SUNSHINE ACRES

acres. As full-time entrepreneurs in the wedding industry, the initial idea was to grow a fragrant herb for use in bouquets. But an on-site fund-raiser that featured a variety of lavender-based food and beverages raised community interest in the culinary uses of their crops, and people began asking to buy Clarke’s products. The family pivoted, renting a commercial kitchen to make a variety of tasty treats for sale at the farm store and online.

The farm also sells lavender to a few local establishments, such as Adesso Coffee in Mason, where owner Chuck Pfalher uses the herb for a housemade syrup used in the coffeeshop’s lavender latte as well as cocktails. “Using local ingredients, like lavender, is part of a larger narrative to use local ingredients where we can,” he explains. “We don’t buy any bottles of syrup, and we don’t offer vanilla or caramel. It ends up being less expensive to make our own syrups, gives us that unique touch, and provides the satisfaction that we can support local.”

Of course, agritourism is key to keeping operations going at a lavender farm. That’s definitely the case with Cedar Ridge Trails in Miamisburg, where cornerstone U-Pick days are supplemented by a range of foodfocused classes and events, including picnics and culinary classes, many featuring notable Ohio chefs and experts, in addition to art, yoga, floral design, and aromatherapy classes.

Lindsey O’Donnell, who co-operates Cedar Ridge Trails on her parents’ farmland, explains that the lavender endeavor was inspired by photos she saw of similar ventures on the other side of the country. “We’d seen some lavender farms up in the Pacific Northwest, and thought, Oh my gosh, that would be so cool to be able to do that here in Ohio,” she recalls. “So we started learning all about lavender and things that you could do with it, like aromatherapy, distilling it into essential oils, and then opened up as a farm in 2020.”

O’Donnell is an enthusiastic advocate for using lavender in culinary pursuits, and Cedar Ridge Trails of- CONTINUED ON P. 104

LAVENDER

FIELDS FOREVER

There are several lavender farms within an hour’s drive of downtown Cincinnati. To try culinary grade lavender locally, grab a bottle of lavender-infused honey from Sunshine Acres in Morrow (second row, right) or a Field Report from Adesso Coffee in Mason (bottom row, middle), made with gin, lemon juice, honey, and lavender flowers.

ADESSO

CEDAR RIDGE TRAILS SUNSHINE ACRES

CEDAR RIDGE TRAILS

CEDAR RIDGE TRAILS

THE LAVENDER FIELD

fers a handful of products, available at its farm store and online, such as dried culinary lavender, an herbs de Provence seasoning mix, and lavender-infused sugar.

Beyond the application in sweet dishes, lavender is also a versatile herb for use in a variety of dishes. “Any recipe that calls for rosemary in a savory dish, you can actually replace it with lavender,” says O’Donnell. “It’s part of the same family of herbs. Think like a lemon chicken with herbs de Provence. I like to pair that with some roasted veggies, lemon, and chicken. It’s a great summer dish.”

This versatility in the kitchen is key to Kelly Schauff ’s appreciation of lavender, too. And as a farmer and owner of The Lavender Field in California, Kentucky, she has a lot to appreciate. “My mom had said she’d really like to just have some lavender to take care of on the property,” says Schauff . “I said, ‘Well, if you want to have lavender, let’s do a lavender fi eld.’ ” In 2018, Schauff , her husband, and her mom planted 500 plants with no plan beyond personal enjoyment, but when an informal June 2020 U-Pick event drew far more than the handful of family and friends they’d expected, the idea of developing a business just made sense.

For anyone who’s still on the fence about culinary lavender, Schauff recommends lavender honey and lavender lemonade, both available in the farm store. Their online store also offers a variety of products, including lavender teas, lavender chocolate, and a gourmet flavor syrup.

“It is very earthy, you know? It’s not sweet,” she says. “It is kind of an unexpected flavor, that nice flavor profile. We actually sell a lavender cookbook here. There’s so many things you can put lavender in!”

Adesso, 125 E. Main St., Mason, adessoisnow.com

Cedar Ridge Trails, 5388 Medlar Rd., Miamisburg, cedarridgetrails.com

The Lavender Field, 3629 Smith Rd., California, Kentucky, thelavenderfield.com

Sunshine Acres, 2471 Moore-Saur Rd., Morrow, sunshineacreslavenderfarm.com

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

PRESENTING SPONSORS: Madeira Chamber of Commerce, MadTree Brewing

NONPROFIT PARTNER: Impact 100

SPONSORS: Bakehouse Bread Company, BIG BLUE Moving, Decal Impressions, Fiji, Force Factor, Herdez, Jennie-O, Luna Bar, McHale’s Catering, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Olly, Rao’s, The BMW Store

June 4, 2025 Dawson Road, downtown Madeira → Hundreds of guests came out to enjoy a beautiful evening of camaraderie, good food, and shopping throughout downtown Madeira. Before setting on their shopping adventures, the fi rst 300 guests picked up goody bags fi lled with sponsor samples.

Sharing Is Caring

SEVEN YEARS AGO, CROWN REPUBLIC GASTROPUB OPENED ITS DOORS ON THE EAST side of downtown. A lot has changed since then, but what hasn’t is the steadiness with which the restaurant continues to produce memorable meals.

MEAGAN AYLWARD

THE MANAGER OF THE Cr(eat)e Culinary Studio at the Cincinnati Museum Center brings creativity to cooking.

How is this job different from your previous culinary experiences? Teaching in itself is totally new. As a chef, you’re usually the person who’s behind the scenes—narrating throughout the cooking process has been a whole new experiment for me in the best possible way.

Are there certain criteria you have to follow based on the museum’s schedule? I have complete creativity over it all, which is exciting. Recently, [the museum] had a 1950s day and we created a pop-up where I made a vignette of a 1950s dinner party with a tomato Jell-O salad, a shrimp and pea aspic, and a Skyline chili aspic.

What made you want to get into teaching? In the culinary world, if you’re not continuously learning, then you’ve probably hit a dead spot. This was a great way to continue learning and to also put out the knowledge I have.

Are there any “rules” in the kitchen that you love to break? The one thing I always talk about in class is that recipes are a guideline. And I think sometimes people take it to be so exact. I want to give [students] the confidence to be like, “You know what? That just doesn’t sound right. I’m going to do my own thing.”

BALTZERSEN

– JESSICA

Crown Republic Gastropub, 720 Sycamore St., downtown, (513) 2464272, crownrepublic gastropub.com

If you’re dining with a group, the shareables menu is your new bestie. Kick off your meal with the everything knots. These doughy, garlic-slathered knots are covered with everything bagel seasoning and served with whipped vegetable butter, a nice starting point before diving into larger, heavier dishes (like the pork chop Milanese). You’ll want to keep the General Tso’s cauliflower all to yourself, but be generous with these bites. Fried in tempura batter and tossed in that familiar sweet and savory sauce, then topped with Fresno chiles, peanuts, and cilantro, it’s the kind of sharing your friends will remember. If you’re really not up for splitting with the table, choose one of the housemade pastas, such as the gnocchi. The gastropub doesn’t bill itself as an Italian restaurant, but this dish would be at home in one. If you have room for more, we suggest the flourless brownie with housemade marshmallow topping and vanilla gelato. It’s a messy mountain of sweet that will leave your mouth covered in gooey marshmallow. Trust us: You won’t feel the need to complain about it. In a part of downtown that has few evening dining options, Crown continues to shine its light for hungry patrons. —AIESHA D. LITTLE

FYI Cr(eat)e Culinary Studio, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate, cincymuseum.org/create-culinarystudio

Read a longer interview with Meagan at cincinnatmagazine.com

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CINCINNATI MAGAZINE’S

ON THE CORNER

THIS FAMILY-OWNED BODEGA IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY PUTS COMMUNITY FIRST. —TIFFANY LUCKEY

There’s a fresh take on the traditional bodega in Latonia that’s drawing in neighbors with giant sandwiches, imported snacks from Mexico, and a lot of Latin American soul. Opened in January by couple Sergio Gutierrez and Alyssa Atkins, owners of the popular Olla Taqueria in Covington, Latonia Bodega is more than a convenience store. It’s becoming a community pillar with deep roots, and an even deeper purpose, full of fresh sandwiches and neighborhood pride.

Gutierrez was born in New Jersey and raised in Mexico. Inspired by classic East Coast corner stores and the flavors of his upbringing, he brings a cross-cultural flair to the bodega, envisioning a place where quality food and community impact could coexist.

“It’s been a blessing,” says Guiterrez about his experience moving from Mexico to Northern Kentucky. “I feel like I have what I have because I was able to go back to Mexico and actually see what it’s like to not have opportunities and then coming here and seeing that everything’s an opportunity.”

In addition to serving Jersey-style deli sandwiches stacked high with meats and an assortment of toppings, Latonia Bodega also sells light groceries and produce alongside chips, candy, and soda. The building used to be a pharmacy in the 1960s and had been abandoned for decades until recently, so the space doesn’t have a commercial exhaust

hood (yet) to serve much hot food. But that hasn’t stopped customers from lining up for cold-cut creations and breakfast sandwiches served on croissants, bagels, or English muffins. In addition, hundreds of tamales are made locally by a family friend and delivered to the store every Friday morning.

For Gutierrez, Latonia Bodega is more than a food stop. It’s also a legacy mission driven by joy, culture, and family. He grew up

working in his father’s Gutierrez Deli nearby, and wanted something of his own to pass on to his children. He and Atkins are raising twin sons who turn 1 this year while juggling both Olla and the bodega. Yet their purpose is clear: Feed the community and create a welcoming space where everyone belongs.

“All you need is food,” Gutierrez says. “That’s how you bring people together.”

Latonia Bodega, 4302 Decoursey Ave., Latonia, (859) 261-0642

TACO ’BOUT IT In

Bodega

The definitive guide to living well in Greater Cincinnati

The definitive guide to living well in Greater Cincinnati

The city’s most respected and award-winning magazine, highlighting the region’s most interesting people, cultural issues, food, arts, fashion, and history.

The city’s most respected and award-winning magazine, highlighting the region’s most interesting people, cultural issues, food, arts, fashion, and history.

NOW!

DINING GUIDE

CINCINNATI MAGAZINE’S dining guide is compiled by our editors as a service to our readers. The magazine accepts no advertising or other consideration in exchange for a restaurant listing. The editors may add or delete restaurants based on their judgment. Because of space limitations, all

of the guide’s restaurants may not be included. Many restaurants have changing seasonal menus; dishes listed here are examples of the type of cuisine available and may not be on the menu when you visit.

To update listings, e-mail: cmletters@cincinnati magazine.com

KEY: No checks unless specified.

AE American Express, DC Diners Club

DS Discover, MC MasterCard, V Visa MCC Major credit cards: AE, MC, V

$ = Under $15

$$ = Up to $30

$$$ = Up to $49

$$$$ = $50 and up

= Named a Best Restaurant March 2023. Top 10

CRITIC’S PICKS

EMBERS

The menu here is built for celebration: poshly priced steak and sushi selections are meant to suit every special occasion. Appetizers are both classic (shrimp cocktail) and Asian-inspired (shrimp tempura); fashionable ingredients are name-checked (micro-greens and truffles); a prominent sushi section (nigiri, sashimi, and rolls) precedes a list of archetypal salads; Kobe beef on sushi rolls sidles up to steaks of prime; non-steak entrées (Chilean sea bass or Dover sole with haricots verts and almondine) make for high-style alternative selections. Talk about a party.

8170 Montgomery Rd., Madeira, (513) 9848090, embersrestaurant.com. Dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$$

GREYHOUND TAVERN

Back in the streetcar days, this roughly 100-yearold roadhouse was at the end of the Dixie Highway line, where the cars turned around to head north. The place was called the Dixie Tea Room then, and they served ice cream. The fried chicken came along in the 1930s, and they’re still dishing it up today. Families and regulars alike pile in on Mondays and Tuesdays for the fried chicken special. While the juicy (never greasy) chicken with its lightly seasoned, crisp coating is the star, the side dishes—homemade biscuits, coleslaw, green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy—will make you ask for seconds. Call ahead no matter what night you choose: There’s bound to be a crowd. Not in the mood for chicken? Choose from steaks, seafood, sandwiches, and comfort food options that include meatloaf and a Kentucky Hot Brown. Or just try the onion rings. You’ll wonder where onions that big come from.

2500 Dixie Highway, Ft. Mitchell, (859) 3313767, greyhoundtavern.com. Lunch and dinner seven days, brunch Sun. MCC, DS. $$

MR. GENE’S DOGHOUSE

Cumminsville is home to arguably the best hot chili cheese mett and chocolate malt in Greater

SHAKE IT

MilkShake Factory, known for handspun milkshakes and small-batch premium chocolates, opened its first Greater Cincinnati location in Mason in late May. The milkshake chain—which first opened in Pittsburgh in 1914—is at 2144 Kings Mills Rd., a few minutes from Kings Island. milkshakefactory. com

Cincinnati. A family-owned business that began as a simple hot dog stand more than 50 years ago, Mr. Gene’s still attracts lines of loyal customers at its windows. Can’t stand the heat? Order the mild chili cheese mett—more flavor, fewer BTUs. And if you still haven’t embraced Cincinnati-style coneys, try the Chicago-style hot dog with pickles, onions, relish, mustard, tomato, sport peppers, and celery salt; a pork sandwich; or wings (a sign proclaims “So hot they make the devil sweat”). Although the chocolate malt is the biggest seller, we love the $4.75 pineapple shake, made with real pineapple. 3703 Beekman St., South Cumminsville, (513) 541-7636, mrgenesdoghouse.com. Open Feb–Oct for lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MC, V. $

Top 10 IVORY HOUSE

The menu here generally doesn’t reinvent dishes or introduce outlandish flavors, but simply pays attention to enough little things to make the results unusually good. All steaks are premium and hand-selected, the star player being the Japanese A5 Wagyu. The Ultimate Surf & Turf is a date night favorite with a 34-ounce Angus Tomahawk, four shrimp, four scallops and two lobster tails. Bluefin tuna steak is complemented by cilantro lime rice, a vegetable medley, chimichurri, and a soy ginger vinaigrette. Confit duck leg, an Ivory House specialty, is served with parsnip mash, confit beets, and berry gastrique. The cocktails are ones you’ve probably seen before, but everything—from the Death Valley Farm Old Fashioned to the Best West Lemon Drop—has an extra dash of liveliness from a house-made element, like the rosemary syrup.

2998 Harrison Ave., Westwood, (513) 3890175, ivoryhousecincy.com. Dinner seven days, brunch Sun. MCC. DC. $$$

SUGAR N’ SPICE

This Paddock Hills diner, with other locations in Over-the-Rhine and Blue Ash, has been dishing up wispy-thin pancakes and football-sized omelettes to Cincinnatians since FDR was signing new deals. Breakfast and lunch offerings mix old-hat classics like steak and eggs, corned beef hash, and basic burgers with funky iterations that draw on ethnic ingredients such as chorizo and tzatziki. Get here early if you don’t want to stand in line.

4381 Reading Rd., Paddock Hills, (513) 2423521; 1203 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine, (513)

762-0390; 10275 Summit Pkwy., Blue Ash, (513) 447-6453, eatsugarnspice.com. Breakfast and lunch seven days. MCC. $

ELI’S BBQ

Elias Leisring started building his pulled pork reputation under canopies at Findlay Market and Fountain Square in 2011. Leisring’s proper little ’cue shack along the river serves up ribs that are speaking-in-tongues good, some of the zazziest jalapeño cheese grits north of the Mason-Dixon line, and browned mashed potatoes that would make any short-order cook diner-proud. The small no-frills restaurant—packed cheek-by-jowl most nights—feels like it’s been there a lifetime, with customers dropping vinyl on the turntable, dogs romping in the side yard, and picnic tables crowded with diners. The hooch is bring-yourown, and the barbecue is bona fide. 3313 Riverside Dr., East End, (513) 533-1957; 133 West Elder St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 5331957, ext. 2, elisbarbeque.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $

KNOTTY PINE ON THE BAYOU

The Pine serves some of the best Louisiana homestyle food you’ll find this far north of New Orleans. Taste the fried catfish filets with their peppery crust, or the garlic sauteed shrimp with smoky greens on the side, and you’ll understand why it’s called soul food. Between March and June, it’s crawfish season. Get them boiled and heaped high on a platter or in a superb crawfish etouffee. But the rockin’ gumbo—a thick, murky brew of andouille sausage, chicken, and vegetables—serves the best roundhouse punch all year round. As soon as you inhale the bouquet and take that first bite, you realize why Cajun-style food is considered a high art form and a serious pleasure. And you’ll start planning your return trip.

6302 Licking Pke., Cold Spring, (859) 7812200, theknottypineonthebayou.com. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

AMERASIA

A sense of energetic fun defines this tiny Chinese spot with a robust beer list. The glossy paper menu depicts Master Chef Rich Chu as a “Kung Food” master fighting the evil fast-food villain with dishes like “fly rice,” “Brocco-Lee,” and

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“Big Bird’s Nest.” Freshness rules. Potstickers, dumplings, and wontons are hand shaped. The Dragon’s Breath wontons will invade your dreams. Seasoned ground pork, onion, and cilantro meatballs are wrapped in egg dough, wok simmered, and topped with thick, spicy red pepper sauce and fresh cilantro. Noodles are clearly Chef Chu’s specialty, with zonxon (a tangle of thin noodles, finely chopped pork, and mushrooms cloaked in spicy dark sauce and crowned with peanuts and cilantro) and Matt Chu’s Special (shaved rice noodles, fried chicken, and seasonal vegetables in gingery white sauce) topping the menu’s flavor charts. 521 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 261-6121, kungfood.online. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Sat. MCC. $

ORIENTAL WOK

When Mike and Helen Wong opened Oriental Wok in 1977, the couple wanted to recreate the glamor and refinement of the Hong Kong-Cantonese cuisine they knew. Today, locals and expats alike enjoy authentic Chinese and Chinese-American dishes in dining rooms reminiscent of Beijing. Beyond the elephant tusk entryway and fish ponds and fountains is the warmth and hospitality of the Wong family, service on par with the finest establishments, and very, very good food. Best are the fresh fish: salmon, grouper and sea bass steamed, grilled or fried in a wok, needing little more than the ginger-green onion sauce that accompanies them. Oriental Wok is the tri-state’s

longest-running family-owned Chinese restaurant for a reason.

317 Buttermilk Pke., Ft. Mitchell, (859) 331-3000; 2444 Madison Rd., Hyde Park, (513) 871-6888, orientalwok.com. Lunch Mon–Fri (Ft. Mitchell; buffet Sun 11–2:30), lunch Tues–Sat (Hyde Park), dinner Mon–Sat (Ft. Mitchell) dinner Tues–Sun (Hyde Park). MCC. $$

UNCLE YIP’S

Long before sushi somehow un-disgusted itself to the Western World, China had houses of dim sum. Uncle Yip’s valiantly upholds that tradition in Evendale. This is a traditional dim sum house with all manner of exotic dumplings, including shark fin or beef tripe with ginger and onion. As for the seafood part of the restaurant’s full name, Uncle Yip has most everything the sea has to offer, from lobster to mussels. The menu has more than 160 items, so you’ll find a range of favorites, from moo goo gai pan to rock salt frog legs.

10736 Reading Rd., Evendale, (513) 733-8484, uncleyips.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, discount for cash. $$

Top10

ABIGAIL STREET

Most people who’ve eaten at Abigail Street have favorite dishes that they order every visit: the Moroccan spiced broccoli, for example, or the mussels charmoula, with its perfect balance of saffron, creaminess, and tomatoey acidity. Many of the new items on the menu have the same perfected feeling as these classics. Working within a loose framework of Middle Eastern and North African flavors, Abigail Street has never fallen into a routine that would sap its energy. Offerings like the lamb belly skewer with tzatziki and pickled shallots, feel just as accomplished as old favorites like the falafel, beautifully

moist and crumbly with a bright parsley interior. The restaurant is always watching for what works and what will truly satisfy, ready to sacrifice the superficially interesting in favor of the essential.

1214 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 421-4040, abigailstreet.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

THE APERTURE

After several pandemic-related setbacks, Chef/ Owner Jordan Anthony-Brown opened his Mediterranean-inspired restaurant in Walnut Hills’s historic Paramount Square Building. And it was worth the wait. The restaurant’s seasonal menu draws on flavors from across the Mediterranean with subtle touches, such as its wood-fired pita, elevated with za’atar seasoning and olive oil. The sublime charred carrots are served with Middle Eastern spice blends like dukkah and ras el hanout as well as mint and crumbles of lamb merguez sausage. Brined, poached, and cooked over coals, the carrots themselves eat like a tender smoked sausage. It’s a dish that perfectly encapsulates The Aperture’s commitment to serving substantial versions of traditionally lighter fare. For a restaurant so serious about food—and exceptional wines—it’s refreshing to see it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The original cocktails have offbeat names like #lemon and I’m Her, and the catchy playlist is heavy on old-school hip-hop. At heart, The Aperture is a neighborhood restaurant, albeit one that’s bound to bring people in from all over.

900 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, (513) 8721970, theaperturecinci.com. Dinner Wed–Sat. MCC. $$

Top10

BOCA

With its grand staircase, chandelier, and floor-to-ceiling draperies, Boca has an

HUM DINGER

Covington’s Frosthaus—once loved for its German-style frozen and fruity cocktails—has reopened as The Hum. Named for the former Union, Light, Heat, & Power Co. building, the eatery features an expanded menu that puts a “twist” on nostalgic meals—hot pockets, beef Wellingtons, meatballs, and more.

thehumcov.com

atmosphere of grandeur and refinement. There is a sense of drama not only in the decor but in everything it serves. In some dishes, there is a painterly sense of contrast and surprise, like the maple tuile served with the maple mascarpone cheesecake. In others, there is a dramatic suspense, like the whole egg yolk quivering in the center of the beef tartare waiting to be broken. While staying mostly grounded in the fundamentals of Italian and French cuisine, Boca has an air of international sophistication that sets its food apart. The hamachi crudo, an old standby on the menu, takes Japanese flavors and gives them new dimensions with grapefruit suprêmes and slivers of shishito pepper. This is food of extraordinary creativity and flair.

114 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 542-2022, bocacincinnati.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS. $$$

Top10 BOUQUET RESTAURANT

Normally diners aren’t pleased when a restaurant runs out of something. At Bouquet, though, surprise changes to the menu are simply a sign of integrity. The restaurant is serious about using seasonal ingredients, and if the figs have run out or there is no more chicken from a local farm, so be it. The flavors at Bouquet are about doing justice to what’s available. Preparations are unfussy, complexity coming from within the vegetables and proteins themselves. A spring salad—wonderfully fresh and vibrant, so you know the strawberries included have just come off a nearby vine—is dressed with candy-striped beets, jerk-seasoned pepitas and whipped goat cheese. This determination to make something delicious out of what’s on hand, to embrace limitations, gives the food at Bouquet a rustic, soulful quality.

519 Main St., Covington, (859) 491-7777, bouquetbistro. com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

MELT REVIVAL

In this Northside sandwich joint, the restaurant’s name pretty much dictates what you should get. Diners have

their choice of sandwiches, including the vegetarian cheesesteak—seitan (a meat substitute) topped with roasted onions, peppers, and provolone—and The Gobbler, turkey burger served with curried aioli, red cabbage slaw, pickled red onions, and arugula. For those who require meat in their meals, try the verde chicken flatbread: juicy pieces of chicken intermingle with pesto, zucchini, and provolone. Not sure you’ll want a whole sandwich? Try a half-sandwich with a half-salad or half-soup order—a popular selection with the lunch crowd.

4100 Hamilton Ave., Northside, (513) 818-8951, meltrevival.com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tues—Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $

Top10 MITA’S

It’s fitting that Chef/Owner Jose Salazar named this restaurant after his grandmother, because there is something deeply homey about the food at Mita’s. With a focus on Spanish and Latin-American tapas, it always feels, in the best possible way, like elevated home cooking. Its sophistication is modestly concealed. The flavors are bold and direct, whether the spicy freshness of the ceviche de camarones with passionfruit leche de tigre or the intensely bright sourness of the pozole verde. The tacos de barriga de cerdo, which come in pairs, are made with fried pork belly, citrus gastrique, habanero slaw, huitalacoche mayo, and are served on house-made corn tortillas. But what mainly comes through is the warm-hearted affection a grandmother might have put into a meal for a beloved grandson. It’s the kind of big hug everyone needs from time to time.

501 Race St., downtown, (513) 421-6482, mitas.co. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC. $$$

SENATE

Ever since it began dishing out its lo-fi eats, Chef Dan Wright’s gastropub has been operating at a velocity few can match. From the howl and growl of supremely badass hot dogs to the palate-rattling poutine, Senate has led the

charge in changing the local conventional wisdom about what makes a great restaurant. Consumption of mussels charmoula means either ordering additional grilled bread to soak up every drop of the herby, saffron-laced broth or drinking the remainder straight from the bowl and perfectly crisped and seasoned truffle fries inspire countless return visits.

1100 Summit Place Dr., Blue Ash, (513) 769-0099, senateblueash.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MC, V, DS. $

TASTE OF BELGIUM

Jean-François Flechet’s waffle empire grew from a back counter of Madison’s grocery at Findlay Market to multiple full-service sit-down spots. There’s more on the menu than the authentic Belgian treat, though it would be a crime to miss the chicken and waffles: a dense, yeasty waffle topped with a succulent buttermilk fried chicken breast, Frank’s hot sauce, and maple syrup. There are also frites, of course, and Brussels sprouts—served with pancetta and sherry vinaigrette—plus a gem of a Bolognese. And let’s not forget the beer. Six rotating taps offer some of the best the Belgians brew, not to mention those made in town.

1135 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 396-5800, and other locations, authenticwaffle.com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tues–Sun, breakfast and lunch Mon, brunch Sun. MCC, DS. $$

WILDWEED

Before it opened as a restaurant, Wildweed developed a loyal fan base through the hundreds of pasta pop-ups that Chefs David and Lydia Jackman held around the city. Even today, it retains some of the freewheeling quality from its pop-up era with a palpable sense of restlessness in the food. Part of the menu changes from week to week, based on what’s available in the woods and from local farms. If you see things like ravioli and cappelletti on Wildweed’s menu and go expecting Italian-inspired flavors, you will be disappointed. Instead, you should be prepared for flavors that

*3x the electrolyte sodium (660mg, 216mg) per 16 oz vs. the leading sports drink.

SMALL BUT MIGHTY

In June, Covington was named No. 4 on Food&Wine’s list of top small cities for food and drink.

“Just across the river from Cincinnati, Covington is where smooth bourbon meets savory goetta, and North meets South,” the publication wrote.

“This walkable river town blends Appalachian, German, and Southern influences into a culinary identity all its own.” foodandwine.

com/best-smallunited-states-cities-forfood-11744712

come from everywhere. A local vinegar is transformed into a sweet-and-sour Vietnamese nuoc cham. Tart preserved lemons, often associated with Middle Eastern cuisine, are paired with wild lobster mushrooms in ravioli. A Chinese-inspired chili oil and mushroom XO share space with local quark cheese. What makes Wildweed a place to return is its sense of adventure. This place is always pushing itself to try something different.

1301 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 246-4274, wildweed-restaurant.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$$

COLETTE

At his new “mostly French” restaurant Colette, which occupies the former Zula space across from Washington Park, Chef Danny Combs has built a more laid-back home for his focused, pristine cooking. While there is classic bistro fare, like steak frites, on the concentrated menu, there are also less familiar but equally classic French dishes, like Brandade de Morue (a silky emulsion of whipped salt cod served with rustic bread) and the savory puff pastry known as Vol-au-Vent. One can turn to the extensive drink menu (also “mostly French”) to find a wine or cocktail to go with any dish on offer. Like Zula, Colette would function just fine as a wine and cocktail bar, though we can’t imagine coming to a place this good and not eating something.

1400 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 381-1018, coletteotr.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DC. $$

FRENCH CRUST

Located in the old Globe Furniture building at the corner of Elm and Elder Streets, this Jean-Robert de Cavel creation offers French fare in the heart of Over-the-Rhine. Swing by for lunch and have a quiche Lorraine (French Crust’s quiches are unrivaled in our humble opinion) and an avocado and shrimp salad, or opt for a more hearty entree—like cassoulet—for dinner. If you’re an early bird, a Croque Monsieur (with a sunny side-up egg) is a great way to start the day. You’ll also find the much-loved French Lunch Tray, a throwback from the Jean-Robert’s Table days. Served on a cafeteria tray, the four-course meal of the bistro’s favorites changes every week and is only available at the bar for the low-for-fine-dining price of $19. 1801 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 455-3720, frenchcrustcafe.com. Breakfast and lunch Wed–Sun, dinner Thurs–Sat. MCC. $$

Top 10

LE BAR A BOEUF

If it’s been a couple of years since you’ve been to Le Bar a Boeuf—the late JeanRobert de Cavel’s fun-yet-refined French bistro located on the first floor of the Edgecliff Private Residences in East Walnut Hills—it may be time for a revisit. The formerly burger-centric menu now approaches the full repertoire of bistro classics. The menu reads like a greatest hits list of bistro fare, with escargot, beef tartare, duck leg confit, steak frites, and French onion soup all making appearances. As France’s influence on American fine dining has waned, it’s refreshing to see a restaurant committed to not only preserving the French classics but reinvigorating them. 2200 Victory Pkwy., East Walnut Hills, (513) 751-2333, lebarboeuf.com. Dinner Wed–Sat. MCC. $$

A TAVOLA

In 2011, Jared Wayne opened A Tavola Pizza with two friends just as OTR was blowing up. A Ferrara pizza oven was ordered from Italy; Wayne, a skilled woodworker, built custom tables; and the menu was fleshed in with trendy crowd-pleasers like charcuterie and craft cocktails. Fast-forward a decade. The OTR outpost is closed but the second location is still going strong in the ’burbs: A Tavola Madeira capitalizes on the menu from the Vine Street location, including the fresh and zesty artichoke pizza on a Neapolitan crust; gooey mozzarella-filled arancini, or risotto fritters;

and the zucchini mozzarella. Wash down your small plates with a glass of crisp and grassy Sannio falanghina or an ice-cold Rhinegeist. They’re definitely going to need a bigger parking lot. 7022 Miami Ave., Madeira, (513) 272-0192, atavolapizza.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. V, DC, MS, AMEX. $

Top 10 NICOLA’S

Chef/Restaurateur Cristian Pietoso carries on the legacy of his father, Nicola, as the elder Pietoso’s Over-the-Rhine eatery celebrated 25 years in business in 2021. You can still get the old Italian classics, and they’ll be as good as ever, but the rest of the menu has blossomed into a freewheeling tour of modern American cuisine. Any establishment paying this level of attention to detail—from the aged balsamic and lavender honey on the Italian cheese board to the staff’s wine knowledge—is going to put out special meals. Rarely have humble insalate been so intricately delicious, between the non-traditional summer gazpacho, filled with crab, zucchini, peaches, and squash, or the balance of the tangy, salty, and citrusy Siciliana salad. Order an old favorite, by all means, but make sure you try something new, too. 1420 Sycamore St., Pendleton, (513) 721-6200, nicolasotr.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS. $$$

PRIMAVISTA

Besides offering the old-world flavors of Italy, Primavista also serves up a specialty no other restaurant can match: a bird’s eye view of Cincinnati from the west side. The kitchen is equally comfortable with northern and southern regional specialties: a Venetian carpaccio of paper-thin raw beef sparked by fruity olive oil; house-made fresh mozzarella stuffed with pesto and mushrooms; or artichoke hearts with snails and mushrooms in a creamy Gorgonzola sauce from Lombardy. Among the classics, nothing is more restorative than the pasta e fagioli, a hearty soup of cannellini, ditali pasta, and bacon. Most of the pastas are cooked just a degree more mellow than al dente so that they soak up the fragrant tomato basil or satiny cream sauces. The fork-tender osso buco Milanese, with its marrow-filled center bone and salty-sweet brown sauce (marinara and lemon juice), is simply superb. Desserts present further problems; you’ll be hard-pressed to decide between the house-made tiramisu or bread pudding with caramel sauce, marsala-soaked raisins, and cream.

810 Matson Pl., Price Hill, (513) 251-6467, pvista.com. Dinner Wed–Sun. MCC, DC, DS. $$

Top 10 SOTTO

There are certain books and movies that you can read or watch over and over. Eating at Sotto is a similar experience: familiar, but so profound and satisfying that there is no reason to ever stop. Unlike other restaurants, where the techniques are often elaborate and unfamiliar, the magic at Sotto happens right in front of you, using ordinary elements and methods. When you taste the results, though, you realize that some mysterious transmutation has taken place. The wood-fired branzino with zucchini, matched with the warm, smoky taste of the Calabrian pepper, offers a flavor that you could go on eating forever. From the texture of the chicken liver mousse to the citrusy lemon aioli on the tartare di fassone, most of the food has some added element of soulfulness.

118 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 822-5154, sottocincinnati.com. Dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$

ANDO

You don’t go just anywhere to dine on uni sashimi (sea urchin) or tanshio (thinly sliced charcoalgrilled beef tongue). Don’t miss the creamy béchamel sauce cooked in the panko breaded and fried croquettes, or the buttery amberjack collar marinated in a Japanese citrus infused

soy sauce and grilled over charcoal. Noodles are also well represented, with udon, soba, or ramen options available. And don’t forget to ask about the specials; owners Ken and Keiko Ando always have something new, be it kamo negi maki (grilled duck breast stuffed with organic green onions) or a chocolate crepe and matcha parfait, delicacies that you’ll be hard-pressed to find in anywhere else.

11255 Reed Hartman Hwy., Blue Ash, (513) 9540041, andojapaneserestaurant.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $$$

RIVERSIDE KOREAN RESTAURANT

Come for the jham bong—a seafood soup with flour noodles in a spicy broth with pork, shrimp, squid, mussels, and vegetables. Revered for its medicinal properties, the dinner-sized soup will leave your eyes glistening and your brow beaded with sweat. It’s a detox for your overindulgence, rejuvenation for when you’re feeling under the weather. Expect crowds on weekends. Expect too, that dozens of them have come for dolsot bibimbap, the hot stone pots filled with layers of rice, vegetables, meat or tofu, egg, and chili paste. Characterized by its electric color and addictive flavors, Riverside Korean’s version is a captivating bowl of heaven.

512 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 291-1484, riversidekoreanrestaurant.com. Lunch Tues–Fri, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

Top 10 PHOENICIAN TAVERNA

No matter how much restraint you go in with, meals at Phoenician Taverna quickly become feasts. There is just too much that’s good, and everything is meant to be shared. With fresh pita bread continuously arriving from the ovens, and a table of quickly multiplying meze (hummus, falafel, muhammara), there is a warmth and depth to the cooking that envelops you. With such traditional cuisine, you may think there isn’t much left to discover beyond simply executed classics prepared according to time-tested methods. But there are always new discoveries as the flavors mingle from plate to plate: the tabbouleh with the hummus, mixed with a touch of harissa, or the smoky baba ghanoush spooned onto falafel. Phoenician Taverna keeps taking these classics a little further.

7944 Mason Montgomery Rd., Mason, (513) 770-0027, phoeniciantaverna.com. Lunch Tues–Fri, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

MAZUNTE

Mazunte runs a culinary full-court press, switching up specials to keep both regulars and staff engaged. Pork tamales arrive swaddled in a banana leaf, the shredded pork filling steeped in a sauce fiery with guajillo and ancho chilies yet foiled by the calming sweetness of raisins. The fried fish tacos are finished with a citrusy red and white cabbage slaw that complements the accompanying mango-habañero salsa. With this level of authentic yet fast-paced execution, a slightly greasy pozole can be easily forgiven. Don’t miss the Mexican Coke, the margaritas, or the non-alcoholic horchata.

5207 Madison Rd., Madisonville, (513) 7850000, mazuntetacos.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $

TAQUERIA MERCADO

On a Saturday night, Taqueria Mercado is a lively fiesta, with seemingly half of the local Hispanic community guzzling margaritas and cervezas or carrying out sacks of burritos and carnitas tacos—pork tenderized by a long simmer, its edges frizzled and crispy. The Mercado’s strip mall interior, splashed with a large, colorful mural, is equally energetic: the bustling semi-open kitchen; a busy counter that handles a constant stream of take-out orders; a clamorous, convivial

chatter in Spanish and English. Try camarones a la plancha, 12 chubby grilled shrimp tangled with grilled onions (be sure to specify if you like your onions well done). The starchiness of the rice absorbs the caramelized onion juice, offset by the crunch of lettuce, buttery slices of avocado, and the cool-hot pico de gallo. A shrimp quesadilla paired with one of their cheap and potent margaritas is worth the drive alone.

6507 Dixie Hwy., Fairfield, (513) 942-4943; 100 E. Eighth St., downtown, (513) 381-0678, tmercadocincy. com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $

ROSEWOOD SUSHI, THAI & SEAFOOD

Chanaka De Lanerolle sold Mt. Adams Fish House back in 2011, and Rosewood Sushi, Thai & Seafood is its reincarnation—and reinvention. Most of the menu includes crowd favorites such as Pad Thai, made with rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, and a choice of protein. The handful of ethnic experiments on the menu—like the Black Tiger Roll, one of the chef’s special sushi rolls, made with shrimp tempura, eel, shiitake mushrooms, and topped with eel sauce—are among its most vibrant offerings.

3036 Madison Rd., Oakley, (513) 631-3474, rosewoodoakley.com. Lunch Fri–Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$$

JEFF RUBY’S

Filled most nights with local scenesters and power brokers (and those who think they are), everything in this urban steakhouse is generous—from the portions to the expert service. White-jacketed waiters with floor-length aprons

deliver two-fisted martinis and mounds of greens dressed in thin vinaigrettes or thick, creamy emulsions. An occasional salmon or sea bass appears, and there’s a small but decent assortment of land fare. But most customers are there for the slabs of beef (dry aged USDA prime). The best of these is Jeff Ruby’s Cowboy, 22 ounces of 70-day dry-aged bone-in rib eye. This is steak tailor-made for movers and shakers.

505 Vine St., downtown, (513) 784-1200, jeffruby.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC. $$$$

Top10 THE PRECINCT

Part of the appeal of the Ruby restaurants is their ability to deliver deep, comfort-food satisfaction. And the steaks. The meat is tender with a rich mineral flavor, and the signature seasoning provided a nice crunch, not to mention blazing heat. The supporting cast is strong—the basket of warm Sixteen Bricks bread with a mushroom truffle butter, the addictive baked macaroni and cheese, the creamy garlic mashed potatoes, the crisptender asparagus with roasted garlic and lemon vinaigrette—and dinner ends on a sweet note with a piece of Ruby family recipe cheesecake. Neither cloyingly sweet nor overwhelmingly creamy, it’s a lovely slice of restraint.

311 Delta Ave., Columbia-Tusculum, (513) 321-5454, jeffruby.com/precinct. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$$$

TEAK SUSHI & THAI

Owner Chanaka De Lanerolle has said that he decided to bring back Teak’s take on Thai food because of the renewed vibrancy in Over-the-Rhine. But for all of the hype around the restaurant’s re-emergence on the scene, it’s probably best to consider it a reimagining rather than a reopening. While long-time favorites show up on the menu, prepared by many of the same kitchen staff members from Mt. Adams, some adaptations have been made to better meet expectations of modern diners. Letting go of preconceived notions about Teak will serve you well. With a two-sided, standalone sushi menu and a wide variety of main plates

ranging from small bites to signature dishes, you have plenty of room to craft your own dining experience.

1200 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 421-8325 ; 110 S. Second St., Loveland, (513) 583-8325, teakotr.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

PHO LANG THANG

Owners Duy and Bao Nguyen and David Le have created a greatest hits playlist of Vietnamese cuisine: elegant, brothy pho made from poultry, beef, or vegan stocks poured over rice noodles and adrift with slices of onions, meats, or vegetables (the vegan pho chay is by far the most flavorful); fresh julienned vegetables, crunchy sprouts, and herbs served over vermicelli rice noodles (again, the vegan version, bun chay, is the standout); and bánh mì. Be sure to end with a cup of Vietnamese coffee, a devilish jolt of dark roast and sweetened condensed milk that should make canned energy drinks obsolete.

1828 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 376-9177, pholangthang.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS, DC. $

CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, (ISSN 0746-8 210), August 2025, Volume 58, Number 11. Published monthly ($19.95 for 12 issues annually) at 221 E. Fourth St., Ste. 130, Cincinnati, OH 45202. (513) 421-4300. Copyright © 2025 by Cincinnati Magazine LLC, a subsidiary of Hour Media Group, 5750 New King Dr., Ste. 100, Troy, MI 48098. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or reprinted without permission. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and artwork should be accompanied by SASE for return. The magazine cannot be held responsible for loss. For subscription orders, address changes or renewals, write to CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, 1965 E. Avis Dr., Madison Heights, MI 48071, or call 1-866-660-6247. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send forms 3579 to CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, 1965 E. Avis Dr., Madison Heights, MI 48071. If the Postal Service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year.

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Pit of Despair

NO HIKING TRIP IS COMPLETE WITHOUT A LIFE-SIZED TABLEAU OF ANCIENT BISON IN THE throes of death—at least not at Big Bone Lick State Park. The diorama pit, originally built in 1975, has been moved and slightly changed over time but has remained a park fixture for 50 years. “The diorama was originally installed to show the interaction of animals visiting the salt springs to lick mineral nutrients and becoming entrapped in the sticky mud, as that was the original theory used to explain the large accumulation of bones dating back to the 18th century,” says Park Interpreter and Bison Caretaker Claire Kolkmeyer. “After an excavation in 2008, the theory pivoted to a more accurate explanation of the bone build-up as a hunting and butchering site.” The pit was then renovated by Friends of Big Bone to include new signage and Paleo-Indian figures. Even with the update, visitors of all ages can enjoy the accurate megafauna sinking into the ground and having their guts spill out. —CLAIRE LEFTON