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CINCINNATI’S NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT SOURCE | AUGUST 19 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 | FREE

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Meet the bartenders their peers say are carrying the city’s cocktail culture forward — then try their recipes yourself. BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC

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Flying Pig’s parent organization breaks ground on new headquarters By Kane Mitten

ig Works, the umbrella organization of the Flying Pig Marathon, Queen Bee Half Marathon and other events, held a formal groundbreaking of its new Coughlin Campus offices July 29. Located in East Walnut Hills at 792 E. McMillan St., the 17,000-square-foot campus will not only provide offices for members of the organization, but will be a meeting place for runners, for the community and for activities that will energize the neighborhood. “The Flying Pig instills us with pride here in the Tri-State region, but also helps brand and communicate the values and priorities and principles of our community on a global stage. After all, it was ranked the best marathon in the country, and that doesn’t just happen. It requires a world-class organization behind it, like Pig Works,” said Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval at the event. “But what is really inspiring for me about today is that Pig Works takes its place next to so many other nonprofit and arts organizations who are continuing to invest in our historic Walnut Hills neighborhood and … completely reshape the future of this beloved community.” The campus is named after Bob Coughlin, the founder of the Flying Pig Marathon. Coughlin is also the founder of Paycor, Inc., and the honorary chairman of the organization’s current $12 million

THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR PIG WORKS’ COUGHLIN CAMPUS OFFICES. PHOTO BY ETHAN BLOOMFIELD | CITYBEAT

capital campaign. Mark Ramler, the chairman of the board at Pig Works, expects the campus to become “a vital community hub” to raise the stature of the organization’s events even further. “We are very proud to have this facility here in Walnut Hills … and to our partners, donors and of course the participants of Pig Works events, who have over nearly three decades made the Pig one of the toprunning festivals not only in the country

but in the world,” Ramler said. Doug Olberding, CEO of Pig Works, told CityBeat the campus is “more than a place for us to just go to work and keep our stuff,” and pointed out the building’s proximity to the Flying Pig itself. “Our course runs through Gilbert Avenue, right over there… it’s almost a driveway to our start and finish line,” Olberding said. “This is going to be a place for running groups to gather to begin and end their training runs, and then

when they finish up, they can go over to Esoteric or Fireside or any of the lovely restaurants that are here in in the area and enjoy the neighborhood … We are going to activate the neighborhood, bring energy and continue the energy that’s already happening here in Walnut Hills.” For more information on Pig Works, visit the organization’s official website. Ethan Bloomfield contributed reporting to this article.

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Local spa relocates to larger space in OTR

THE EXTERIOR OF OMEGA BEAUTY’S NEW OVER-THE-RHINE LOCATION. PHOTO PROVIDED | 3CDC

INSIDE OMEGA BEAUTY’S NEW OVER-THE-RHINE LOCATION. PHOTO PROVIDED | 3CDC

By Kane Mitten

‘quiet room’ with tea and snacks. In the future, Silvers plans to expand into the building’s basement and to do various collaborations with local nearby businesses like Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Redtree Coffee & Art. She’s most excited for her employees to reach a new customer base. “I’m excited for them to work in a space that functions really well, and I’m excited for new people to come in to be able to experience us. You know, my staff is just the best. They’re so kind and they’re so sweet, and we just really try to pour into our clients and really show love,” Silvers said. “Really, I’m excited for the city to be able to meet everybody and try some new services that maybe they haven’t tried before. Silvers is leasing the 2,600-square-

Cincinnati-based spa is now open in a larger Over-the-Rhine space. Omega Beauty, a spa originally established in Pendleton, held a grand opening of its new space at 212 W. 12th St. next to Queen City Radio late last month. “Opening our new home in OTR is an incredibly exciting milestone for us,” said Michele Silvers, the spa’s owner. “My team and I have poured a great deal of time, energy and passion into creating a space where clients can unwind and enjoy an elevated experience … We’re excited to begin this next chapter, share our new space with clients both old and new, and immerse ourselves in the dynamic, thriving community that defines OTR.”

The spa originally specialized only in permanent makeup services, but began providing a ‘Japanese head spa’ service in the past few years, which “went viral” and brought in a ton of business, according to Silvers. Since then, the spa has added facials, spray tans, lash extensions, liquid microneedling, Korean lash lift and tints, esthetics, foot spa services, scratch therapy — a new practice which offers a sensory reset through gentle scalp scratching and light ASMR-style touch applied across the scalp, neck, back, legs and shoulders — and more. In the new location, which is more than double the size of their prior space, Omega Beauty will have several new rooms and services. The spa’s marquee addition is eight all-new private rooms, alongside other new amenities like a

foot space from Cincinnati Center City Development Corp, or 3CDC. Located within The Annie, a mixed-use redevelopment completed by 3CDC in 2024, the spa occupies the property’s ground-floor commercial space beneath 29 mixed-income apartments created through the restoration of four historic buildings near Washington Park. “This move positions Omega Beauty in one of OTR’s most dynamic corridors,” said 3CDC’s EVP of civic & commercial space activation, Christy Samad, in a statement. “Located just steps from Washington Park and several of Cincinnati’s premier arts, dining and entertainment destinations, the spa is a great addition to the neighborhood and further diversifies the experiences available to residents and visitors alike.”

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AUGUST 19 - SEPTEMBER 1

Martibel Payano

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Tokyo Kitty 575 Race St. in the Central Business District

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MARTIBEL PAYANO. PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC | CITYBEAT

Meet the bartenders their peers say are carrying the city’s cocktail culture forward — then try their recipes yourself. BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC

MOLLY WELLMANN IS A PROMINENT NAME IN CINCINNATI’S BAR SCENE. PHOTO PROVIDED | MOLLY WELLMANN

CityBeat asked a range of industry professionals in the region to help us identify the people who are the future of Cincinnati’s cocktail scene. These are just some of the talented individuals — all with different experience levels and styles — who’ve been identified by their peers as carrying the torch.

herapist, bodyguard, friend, quiet spy, matchmaker, life coach: These are just some of the roles bartenders play when they step behind the stick. “They’re a big part of the community,” Cincinnati’s cocktail queen, Molly Wellmann, told CityBeat. A great bartender or mixologist doesn’t just produce a killer drink, they play a key character in the story of your night. They give you a micro-moment that makes you feel special, welcome and important, she said. “The ones that give me a great experience … I want to come back and hang out,” Wellman said. Barkeeps also act as ambassadors for the city and each of its 52 unique neighborhoods. “Think about when you go travel,” Wellmann said. “The first thing you do after you check in to your hotel or Airbnb is usually go to the bar … the first person you meet is the bartender.”

Wellmann knew this when she opened Japp’s - Since 1879. The bar debuted on Main Street in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood back in 2011. The business is widely credited as Cincinnati’s first modern cocktail bar, which kickstarted a nightlife cultural renaissance in the city. “When I started, I was really into introducing these classic cocktails with the story behind them so people could really … go back in time,” Wellmann said. “That was my whole philosophy” It was through this philosophy that Wellmann became arguably the most famous mixologist in the region. In addition to Japp’s, she’s owned several bars including the Famous Neons Unplugged, Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, Myrtle’s Punch House and more. Wellmann published her book “Handcrafted Cocktails: The Mixologist’s Guide to Classic Drinks for Morning, Noon & Night” in 2013, and in 2023, she released her Cincinnati Gin brand, a collaboration between Northern Row Brewery & Distillery, Five Stories Spirits and the Krohn Conservatory. It can now be found behind most bars across the region. Julia Petiprin has also earned her spot among Cincinnati’s cocktail royalty. She helped open apothecary-themed OTR cocktail bar Sundry and Vice in 2015. She now owns nationally recognized

HomeMakers Bar and Cincinnati’s Fifty Fifty Gin Club along with design company House of Departure. “When I opened Sundry and Vice, that was at the height of craft cocktail culture,” Petiprin said. It was a time when cocktails in Cincinnati became a culinary art form. Dimly lit bars became the galleries. Bartenders were the artists, each glass their canvas and every guest the critic. It’s a bit of a different world now. “After the pandemic, it was a slow trickle,” Petiprin said, “where guests started to just want familiarity. So now instead of creating the weirdest cocktail that you’ve never heard of with all these crazy ingredients that nobody recognizes, we’re finding ways to create twists on the familiar.” Although national data shows younger generations are drinking less alcohol, bar culture overall is still very much alive in Cincinnati. “The cocktail culture now, I’m really impressed with, especially here,” Wellmann said. There’s an endless amount of creativity behind the city’s bars as cocktailers continue to adapt to give their customers what they’re looking for, while still blowing them away with an experience they’ll never forget. And it’s not limited to the city’s urban core.

artibel Payano has played just about every role on the card. When she’s not acting, doing improv, training in the gym or on tour as a professional wrestler, you can catch her making cocktails at Cincinnati karaoke bar and night club Tokyo Kitty. “I have a lot of hands in a lot of different things,” Payano said. She’s been wrestling since 2009 and has toured the world working for various organizations under ring name Marti Belle, including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment and more. With more than 141,000 Instagram followers and around 26,000 followers on her professional Facebook page, it’s safe to say she’s a big deal. About three years ago, a friend encouraged her to step behind the bar for the very first time. “My entire adult life, everyone’s always been like, ‘You’d be such a great bartender,’” she said. The New York City native has worked a lot of service industry jobs throughout her life, but never bartending. She went into her first interview with zero experience but was able to land a job at Covington Yard, an open-air food court, beer garden and social entertainment space in Northern Kentucky. St. Patrick’s Day and Cincinnati Reds Opening Day were among her first shifts. “It was literally sink or swim,” she said. About a year later, she landed a job at Tokyo Kitty. “I genuinely enjoy coming to work,” Payano said. She loves the people. And when you’re a bartender, you get a glimpse into the lives of strangers every single shift. “You get to see people sometimes at their worst … but you also get to see people celebrating,” she said. From birthday parties to weddings to event divorce parties, she’s seen it all. Bartending allows Payano to be creative in a different way. To her, cocktailing is a lot like baking.

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Kiki Hunter Avalos-Gould (She/They)

Fifty Fifty Gin Club 35 E. 13th St. in Over-the-Rhine

KIKI HUNTER AVALOS-GOULD. PHOTO BY DONNIE MASSINGALE

MARTIBEL PAYANO. PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC | CITYBEAT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

“You can take someone’s recipe and make it your own,” she said. “Very rarely are you ever gonna invent something for the first time ever.” Tokyo Kitty’s cocktail menu is created by the staff, and Payano’s Yokai cocktail recently landed a spot. On the surface, it’s a tequila cocktail with a little blue curaçao for a bit of fun. But to Payano, the drink’s meaning cuts deep. It’s a tribute to her late friend Adam Ramey, the lead singer of the American nu metal band Dropout Kings. He passed away in May 2025 shortly before his 32nd birthday. The cocktail’s colors, style and name are all inspired by the band’s 2025 album with the same name. “I get to honor my friend in a really cool way,” she said. “When the menu was approved, I took a picture of it and I sent it to the other singer in the band and he was just so stoked because it’s like our friend’s memory is going to always live on.” Although she’s only been in the industry for a few years, the social drinking culture has become a significant part of her lifestyle. “I’m Dominican, I grew up in New York and I grew up surrounded by family and nobody loves to party more than 8

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Dominicans,” she said. “Any occasion to get together with family, to get together with friends is welcome. And there will always be food and there will always be a lot of drinks.” Bartending and mixology in general help her feel connected to her family, even when she’s away. Making a Caribbean rum cocktail can bring back childhood memories of family traditions. It can be a way to honor her cultural heritage, Payano said. Although she’s got a lot of responsibilities and is a bit of a career chameleon, Payano is confident that bartending is going to be a mainstay in her life for many years to come. “Down the line, something that would be really cool for me is I would love to either own a small bar that does like a small club type thing,” Payano said.

iki Hunter Avalos-Gould is at the top of her game. Her creativity and talent have earned AvalosGould recognition on national and international stages, both for the drinks she creates and the expertise she brings to the craft. She’s currently the lead bartender at Fifty Fifty Gin Club. She’s also the catering manager in charge of HomeMakers Bar and Eat Well Catering’s partnership. They’ve worked under Petiprin for the past five years. Her work has gotten them national and global recognition. In 2024, she won the U.S. Tastemaker of the Year title during the United States Bartenders’ Guild World Class Top 30 competition. That same year, they advanced to the national finals as one of the Top 30 bartenders in the United States in the Diageo World Class competition, one of the most prestigious global bartending competitions. In 2025, Avalos-Gould landed a judging spot for the Bartender Spirits Awards. Their first bartending job was at Catskeller, the student bar on the University of Cincinnati’s campus. After

graduating from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning with a BFA in fine arts in 2013, she spent some time bartending in Northside before transitioning into fine dining. Naturally, she takes a gourmet approach in her creative process. “I really like learning weird culinary practices,” they said. “I learned how to do a lot of molecular gastronomy. It’s like messing with the structure of the items.” Curiosity and a thirst for knowledge drive their passion. “I love just learning,” they said. Recently, they’ve become known for developing culinary and beverage menus while curating intimate, limitedseat omakase pairing experiences. These usually come to life after Avalos-Gould asks her managers if they’ll let her pursue their “weird idea.” “She should have a James Beard Award,” Petiprin said. As Avalos-Gould continues to push the cocktail scene forward, she’s also thinking about their own future and surprisingly, it isn’t behind a bar. “I romanticize the idea of making this pivot to being a morning person as opposed to a nighttime person,” she said. “I’m definitely interested in becoming a pastry chef.” In a perfect world, Avalos-Gould’s work will evolve into a role that isn’t locked down to one or two spaces. “It’s being kind of like a pop-up person who gets to do high concept stuff and then be done with it and move on to a new idea.” In the meantime, stop by Fifty Fifty or HomeMakers, and Avalos-Gould and her team will take good care of you.

Cocktail recipe: Yokai 1.5 oz Lunazul Reposado tequila 1 oz Hana Lychee sake 0.5 oz melon schnapps 0.5 oz lime juice 0.5 oz simple syrup Shake and strain into a rocks glass Float with blue curaçao Garnish with lychee fruit

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KIKI HUNTER AVALOS-GOULD. PHOTO BY DONNIE MASSINGALE

Cocktail recipe: Curry Wallbanger 2 oz of acid adjusted orange juice (or alternatively, 1.5 oz fresh orange juice, 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice) 0.5 oz simple syrup 0.5 oz madras curry infused Galliano liqueur 2 oz bison grass vodka Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass that has been halfrimmed with everything bagel seasoning Top with Hazy IPA

Luis Ildefonso Saucedo Lomeli (He/Him)

The Overlook Lodge 6083 Montgomery Road in Pleasant Ridge

LUIS ILDEFONSO SAUCEDO LOMELI. PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC | CITYBEAT

uis Ildefonso Saucedo Lomeli has been behind the bar for more than a decade. He’s currently the manager at the Overlook Lodge, a rustic neighborhood bar themed after the iconic horror movie “The Shining,” located in Cincinnati’s Pleasant Ridge neighborhood at 603 Montgomery Road. It’s a career Lomeli never thought he’d have, but he wouldn’t want it any other way. “The creativity, the freedom and the openness” are gifts, he said.

Lomeli grew up in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which is about 300 hundred miles north of Mexico City. When he was young, his grandfather Ildefonso Jesus Lomeli Fernandez — one of his biggest inspirations — made sure he developed a palate for the good things in life. “He would say the best pleasure in life is to eat good,” Lomeli said, “(and) to drink good.” His grandfather’s advice has been a throughline in his life. When Lomeli was just 17, he chose to travel and work in Canada instead of going to medical school in Mexico. After spending some time in the Great White North, he found himself back in his home country, this time studying the culinary arts at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. When he graduated, he bounced around different kitchens and resorts. He fell in love with cocktailing while working at a big vacation destination near Playa del Carmen. Resort bartending was more about speed than quality, but “I enjoyed it more,” he said. He eventually worked his way up to managing a gin and tequila bar in Mexico, but he felt stuck. The ownership made the big bucks, but Lomeli would never get the chance. In Mexico, Lomeli said it is very common for people to travel abroad and send money back to their families. So that’s what he did. Lomeli landed in Cincinnati with a plan to stay for a few months, leave and go work in Spain, but that quickly changed when he met his now-wife, Emily. “She’s a Cincinnati girl,” he said. They’ve been married for five years,

just about as long as he’s been working for the bar’s owner, Jacob Trevino. Many industry veterans often hop around between bars. But, Lomeli found success working his way up within the organization. The culture, in large part, is what’s kept him coming back. “It felt like it was a good place where I could fit in … like I wouldn’t feel weird,” he said. As an immigrant, Lomeli said it can be difficult to find a place where he can feel normal and not like an outsider of sorts. “It’s 100% more welcoming than a lot of other places where I’ve been,” Lomeli said. Bartending gives him the opportunity to keep the flavors of his home close at hand. “I miss it a lot of the time,” he said. “You can bring all ingredients, say, from your hometown into the cocktails and make a story from there. Cacti and prickly pear are grown in my town. You can bring them into a cocktail, it’s super simple.” His proud Mexican heritage isn’t the only inspiration for his work. An idea can take shape from a song, the weather, a type of glass or even just one ingredient, Lomeli said. For example, Room 217, which is currently on the cocktail menu at the Overlook Lodge, was born through Lomeli’s love of the animated American sitcom “King of the Hill.” Character Dale Gribble famously said “Boil up some Mountain Dew, it’s gonna be a long night.” “I ended up making a Mai Tai with the Mountain Dew syrup,” Lomeli said. Creating weird drinks is fun and all, but when he’s not working, Lomeli is “studying the classics.” You need to know the rules to be able to break them, he said.

The spirit world is a humbling space, Lomeli said. There is never a dull moment and the opportunities to learn something new are endless. Right now, rum is his obsession. “It’s so different everywhere you try it,” he said. Tiki cocktails are his new passion, after attending a recent convention. Lomeli’s long-term goal is to open his own bar. Right now, he loves the idea of opening a Tiki bar somewhere where the weather is really cold. “In the middle of the winter you can go into this Tiki bar and it’s like you’re on an island,” he said. “It’s like an escape for people.” In the meantime, he’s curating a momentary escape from reality for Cincinnatians at the Overlook Lodge. And even if he doesn’t serve you, he’s had a hand in anything you’ll order off the menu.

Cocktail recipe: Monkey Business 1.5 oz Malort 0.5 oz Doctor Bird Jamaican rum 0.75 oz lime juice 0.5 oz pineapple 0.5 oz orange juice 0.5 oz falernum 0.25 oz orgeat 1 bar spoon of allspice hake everything with ice, serve S over fresh crushed ice in a big rocks glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.

COCKTAILS BY LUIS ILDEFONSO SAUCEDO LOMELI. PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC | CITYBEAT

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Al Coleman (They/Them)

Wildweed 1301 Walnut St. in Over-the-Rhine

AL COLEMAN LEADS THE BEVERAGE PROGRAM AT WILDWEED. PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC | CITYBEAT

l Coleman leads the beverage program at Wildweed, one of Cincinnati’s most celebrated and respected restaurants. James Beard Award-nominated chef David Jackman and his wife Lydia opened the upscale pasta-centric restaurant with a focus on hand-forged ingredients in 2024. It’s been in the national spotlight ever since, getting prominent features in the New York Times, Bon Appétit, the Wall Street Journal and more. “I wanted to work here since I heard it was opening,” Coleman said. Coleman, who’s been at the restaurant since November 2025, was drawn to Jackman’s idea of excellence. “David pushes his staff to take it further,” they said. Coleman left their job crafting the cocktail menu at another upscale restaurant (Metropole, located in Cincinnati’s 21c Museum Hotel) for a chance to just be inside the building.

“When I started everyone knew that I was a skilled bartender. But I was like, ‘just put me where you need me,’” They said. “I just wanted to be here.” Naturally, Coleman ended up behind the bar. They humbly attribute much of their recent success to luck, but in reality, their talent and drive is what led them into such a coveted role. “I fell into it at the right time,” they said. “Then all of a sudden, the house cocktails were all made by me.” There’s a natural alignment to Wildweed’s ethos and Coleman’s upbringing. “This place is about the land we’re on,” they said. “This is about the Midwest. And so it kind of hit me one day. My family has been in this region for basically as far back as records go. “They’ve always been farmers. They’ve always tended to this land.” Coleman takes a holistic approach to craft cocktailing. It’s about respecting the land and paying homage to where they came from and working within their community sustainably. At Wildweed, consistent ingredients are fleeting. And that’s not a bad thing. At the beginning of a shift, Coleman will walk down into the basement prep kitchen and take a look at what’s in the walk-in fridge because it is a steady parade of fresh and unique produce. “David will be like, ‘I’ve got something cool for you,’ and it’ll be like the nicest smelling cantaloupe I’ve ever seen in my life and he’s like, ‘Just think about what you could do with this,’” they said. The creative possibilities within Wildweed’s walls are virtually endless. “There’s so many odd and amazing tools here,” they said. “There’s a centrifuge so you can completely clarify things within minutes.” Coleman believes mixology has a supernatural element. “I’m a haunted individual. I think most of us are,” they said. “I’ve lived a lot of places. I’ve known a lot of people. I’ve

THE INGREDIENTS USED TO MAKE WILDWEED’S COFFEA COCKTAIL PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC | CITYBEAT

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AL COLEMAN PREPARES COCKTAILS BEHIND THE BAR AT WILDWEED. PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN LEDUC | CITYBEAT

failed a lot of love … all of that I carry with me in my work.” Sometimes inspiration strikes at really strange times that aren’t always convenient. Other times it’s more reasonable. “I will typically be working a bar shift here and an idea will hit me or I’ll notice spirits that we aren’t going through,” they said. “So sometimes I’ll have strange flavor combinations outside of here, you know … write it down … we need to do something with this.” How do they know when a drink is done, especially when the ingredients can become so complicated? Much like any artist, Coleman said they can feel it. They also pull on their years of experience in various roles within the industry when creating new menus and leading the team of bartenders. From working at a sushi restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, to stints as a barista in Los Angeles, to running a coffee shop in Manchester, England, they’ve done it all. “It’s the only thing that I am able to stick to in my life,” they said. “I cannot do a nine-to-five. I’ve tried it.” Working at Wildweed hasn’t just been helpful from a career perspective; it’s been therapeutic on an extremely personal level. “This is the first place I’ve been where they’ve only known me as a trans person,” they said. “It’s the first place that I’ve actually ever been myself and that people have met me as myself.”

It’s been really weird to go from being a woman for 30 years and figuring out what rules come with that, Coleman added. They felt like they were wearing a costume every day. “I was extremely unhappy,” they said. “Now I can’t really hide anything. People look at me and immediately know. And I just can’t separate my work in that.” They’ve struggled to align themselves with the status quo, and while transitioning has unlocked a goldmine for Coleman, it comes with a new set of gaps to close. “I don’t know what the rules are,” they said. “The rules that do exist weren’t created for anyone like me.” Their healing journey has allowed them to show up to work with a new sense of freedom. “These are the most authentic kind of interactions I’ve had today,” Coleman said. “Which is the most authentic way of producing art.”

Cocktail recipe: Laura Palmer 1 .5 oz earl grey gin (made by simply adding any earl grey tea to any bottle of gin) 0.75 oz Italicus 0.5 oz earl grey-infused simple syrup 0.5 oz of lemon juice 2 dashes of lemon bitters Shake, strain and serve up!

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C I T Y B E AT. C O M

ARTS & CULTURE

Local DJs host “spin lab” program to teach OTR kids music, art skills

SKYLINN JENKINS (LEFT) TEACHES STUDENTS HOW TO DJ. PHOTO PROVIDED | SYDNE BLACKBURN A STUDENT LEARNING TO DJ AT A “SIX-WEEK SPIN LAB.” PHOTO PROVIDED | STUDENTS DJING TOGETHER AS PART OF A “SIX-WEEK SPIN LAB.” PHOTO PROVIDED | SYDNE BLACKBURN SYDNE BLACKBURN

By Kane Mitten

group of Cincinnati DJs is partnering with local community organizations to give children in Over-the-Rhine and the West End a new creative outlet. “Six-Week Spin Lab,” a new six-week class for local area youth, teaches kids to explore music, build confidence and develop new skills while feeling supported by their local music community. Each participant learns basic mixing, looping and transitions using DJ equipment — and what’s more, they get paid for attending. By the end of the six-week course, each child will have received enough cash to buy their own DJ equipment. Sydne Blackburn, a local DJ with the stage name NYMPH, used to be a grant writer for Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, or OTRCH, before pursuing music. “When I worked there, I told some of the staff that I’d love to one day teach kids how to DJ at the Children’s Creative Corner [CCC], which is a free after-school art program OTRCH runs up on East

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Clifton Avenue,” Blackburn said. “When I stepped away from the role in October, I was able to actually explore the possibility. I met with Caroline Dziubek, the CCC’s coordinator, talked it through, presented it to the nonprofit, and they were down.” While planning the course, Blackburn shared her ideas with Alex Rushing — another local DJ with a background in community organizing and charity work — and Skylinn Jenkins, a local journalist and DJ with an interest in community outreach. Rushing and Jenkins were already collaborating on programming at Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses, prompting Blackburn to ask, “Why don’t we just join forces and make this a big thing?” “After getting Seven Hills on board, I wrote up a grant proposal and a curriculum and timeline. We decided it should be a summer program, and the main focus really should be for the youth to explore music, creativity, self-expression and just getting them to understand the foundations of DJing,” Blackburn said. During the course, students attend various lectures on the history of DJing

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while getting personalized one-onone teaching on how to operate all the equipment that goes into a typical set. At the end of the six-week period, participants played in a special showcase inside Redtree Coffee & Art’s OTR location on Aug. 9. For Blackburn, assisting with the program has provided what she felt her life was missing. “Working for a nonprofit, there’s a certain level of fulfillment you get from that, and DJing is also fulfilling. But I was missing the aspect of giving back to the community, that sort of direct impact,” she said. “I mean, I live down here, right? I live on the street parallel to the CCC, and I see these kids hanging out all the time. I know it’s summertime and there’s all types of things they could be getting into, and I just thought that this was maybe a better alternative for their free time where they could also gain a skill they could potentially use for the rest of their lives.” In the future, the spin lab courses will “hopefully” continue every year, and there are already plans for future installments to be bigger and better. At the moment,

though, Blackburn is focused on the most important aspect: her students. “A lot of these kids are low income. A lot of them have familial burdens at home where they’re the oldest sibling and they have to take on a lot. So for them to have that individualized one-on-one time with someone who’s really investing in them, and then just to see the smile on their faces after they do their first successful transition or match the BPM… it’s everything,” she said. One of her students, she said, reminds her of herself when she was younger. “It’s been fun seeing her open up a little bit. She was super shy when we first started. She wouldn’t even introduce herself to me at first, but as I had that oneon-one time with her, as I encouraged her and really tried to instill confidence within her, she’s opening up, she’s talking to people now. She even said, ‘Oh, maybe I might want to perform at the showcase,’” Blackburn said. “I think that’s my favorite part of all of this. The new confidence boost I see in them, and just seeing their confidence build and build. It’s the biggest payoff for me.”

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EATS

Nolia’s owner to revive his New Orleans restaurant in new Pendleton location

JEFF HARRIS, OWNER AND HEAD CHEF OF NOLIA IN OVER-THE-RHINE. PHOTO BY LOGAN OLESON

INSIDE THE BAR AT NOLIA IN OVER-THE-RHINE, WHICH FEATURES A PHOTO OF JIMMIE LOU GREEN, HARRIS’ GREAT-GRANDMOTHER. PHOTO BY LOGAN OLESON

THE FRONT OF JIMMIE LOU’S, NOW LOCATED AT 1201 BROADWAY ST. IN PENDLETON. PHOTO PROVIDED | JEFF HARRIS

By Kane Mitten

a Big Shot right off the rip. Pineapple or vanilla cream flavor,” he says) or pig lips and potato chips. “We’re taking people beyond what they know of New Orleans. Like, we’re gonna show you what you’d really get inside the neighborhood,” Harris said. “When you come to the city as a tourist, you’re not gonna go inside the neighborhood unless you know someone, right? We’re gonna open those doors. When you cross the threshold, you’re coming from the 513 into the 504, you know?” In comparison to Nolia’s fine-dining atmosphere, the new Jimmie Lou’s will be more of a casual spot targeted at locals. But that doesn’t mean the same finedining standards won’t be applied. Harris is specifically seeking out fish “from the Gulf of Mexico only in Louisiana” for the restaurant’s dishes, and will be busting out new entrees that he knows people in the city are searching for — like roasted oysters and Louisiana-style fried chicken — alongside the New Orleans staples that people already expect from the restaurant. He also plans to have special items that you can only have while seated at the bar. And speaking of the restaurant’s aim towards neighborhood locals, Harris is already in talks to collaborate with his Pendleton neighbors; he mentioned

fter receiving countless accolades for his work as chef and owner at Nolia, New Orleans native Jeff Harris is taking it back to where it all began. Later this year, the acclaimed chef is reviving his beloved New Orleans restaurant Jimmie Lou’s in the former Razzo space at 1201 Broadway St. in Pendleton. He originally opened the restaurant — his first ever solo venture — in June 2021 as part of the Oakley Kitchen Food Hall, but it closed shortly after Nolia opened in late 2022 due to the food hall’s rapid demise. At Jimmie Lou’s, New Orleans classics like jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee and beignets lined the menu; Harris even had po’boys with Leidenheimer bread imported directly from the Crescent City. When it opened, it was one of the first restaurants in Cincinnati to truly nail authentic Cajun and Creole cuisine, so it’s no surprise that diners have been clamoring for Harris to bring it back. Four years later, Jimmie Lou’s will finally make its long-awaited return. “People would always tell me, ‘Hey, man, we love what you’ve got going at Nolia, but I miss going to Jimmie Lou’s 14

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and getting a po’boy,’” Harris said. “There were plenty of times when I thought I was gonna bring it back sooner than this, but nothing ever worked out, so we put it on pause and kept moving forward … When we originally got this space, I was planning on doing something totally different. But when me and my wife walked inside here, we came to the conclusion that this space is definitely Jimmie Lou’s.” The restaurant’s name comes from his great-grandmother, Jimmie Lou Green, who helped spark his love of cooking when he was just 4 years old. Touches of her influence are all over Nolia, too — the restaurant’s decor uses green as its primary accent color in her honor, and a framed photo of her sits in the window at the restaurant’s bar. But with the return of the restaurant that started it all, Harris is excited to “go down memory lane” by bringing his hometown back to the Queen City. Inside the restaurant, Harris is leaning hard into a New Orleans aesthetic. Fleurde-lis iconography lines the windows, and the restaurant’s playlist is filled with his favorite artists from the city. He even plans to bring up some of his favorite New Orleans snacks, like Elmer’s Chee Wees, Big Shot sodas (“I don’t drink soda often, but when I go back home, I’m going for

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nearby businesses Hart & Cru, Lucius Q, Urbana Cafe, Cantina and Pendleton Parlor as future partners for special dishes. “We’re trying to make a special identity for the place and make it ours, but we also want to utilize the whole neighborhood that we’re in,” he said. “It’s a really nice area. It’s a nice little walk away from the hustle and bustle of OTR. When you go over there, it almost feels like you’re in another city.” While it’s likely that Harris will receive instant acclaim when the restaurant reopens this year, that’s not what he’s focusing on. More than anything, he wants to put on for his hometown. “Here, they get to go to another part of the United States without leaving the city, you know? I want them to be like, ‘all right, we going to Jimmie Lou’s tonight,’ and you already know what you’re getting into. You will be in New Orleans,” he said. “And it’s still going to be just as competitive as Nolia, even if it’s more neighborhood friendly. Hopefully some people catch wind of what we’re doing, but I don’t really care about the accolades. We just want to put out good food regardless.” Jimmie Lou’s will reopen in Pendleton later this year.

MUSIC

CityBeat’s local band highlights By Ethan Bloomfield

elcome back to our new local music highlight section! CityBeat recently launched a weekly video series on social media to show off some of Cincinnati’s music scene in a fun and unique way, and get you, our audience, involved. Below are the most recent features. If you’ve got suggestions for a band you think I should cover, leave a comment on my band highlight video (posted every Wednesday on CityBeat’s Facebook and Instagram pages) or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com

KNOTTS

KNOTTS PERFORM. PHOTO PROVIDED | KNOTTS.SPACE

KNOTTS wants you to know that the Queen City’s local band culture is all about community. Their new album “Together is a Feast,” aims to be about more than just soft, catchy indie tunes.

Like the joining of hands around a bouquet on the cover, the Woodward Theater is set to become a gathering place for community art and entertainment at the end of August — a litany of local bands, artists, nonprofits and more will be showing up to support the release of KNOTTS’ new project with a blowout party for the community. So, who’s KNOTTS anyway? Adalia Powell-Boehne is the vocals of the group — on tracks like “Blue Jean Ballad” or the very Mazzy Star “Green” off their upcoming album, her emotive croon is front-and-center. She sits at the delicate core of the project, but doesn’t smother it; she knows when to hang back and let her bandmates shine. And the other two thirds of KNOTTS, guitarist Jordan Wilson and drummer Isaiah Cook, both shine in their own ways. On “Bookmark,” the last single from their new record, the band maintains a balancing act to not overpower PowellBoehne’s quieter, playful delivery, while on tracks like “Green,” the hazy instrumental fills the space around her powerful voice. In short, I’m excited for the new record. If you are too, make sure to check it out and swing by the Woodward Theater Aug. 28.

Mic. Carr/Shades One of the most surprising parts of the Cincinnati music scene is just how

MIC. CARR PERFORMING WITH SHADES AT NOSTALGIA WINE AND JAZZ LOUNGE. PHOTO PROVIDED | MIC. CARR VIA INSTAGRAM.

geographical it is. That may sound silly, but hear me out. The third track of Shades’ new selftitled EP, “Kinda Country,” tells the story of a man from the Deep South who meets a woman from the Midwest — and you might see where I’m going with this. Take a look through my past highlights: The Tillers, The QCSS, The Silkies, Linwood. Cincinnati-area music is special because a part of the Queen City finds itself in the storytelling and the sound across genres and styles. Enter Shades’ frontman, Mic. Carr, a veteran of R&B and hip-hop with over a decade of releases behind him. Originally from Tennessee, he has made Cincinnati his home and blended its long music history throughout his various projects. This new effort feels like a hopelessly optimistic chapter being started in his career.

Before the album even opens, renewal and rebirth are already front and center: the album art depicts a stork carrying a baby through dark clouds, with both the baby and stork wrapped in a Seussianlooking horn. The clouds might be dark, but the stork flies through anyway. The opening seconds of the EP confirm as much: the words “hard times never broke me baby” kick off the project over boom bap drums and slick brass, creating a moody but unmistakably hopeful texture. And the songs really take their time, traveling with the listener through them. The shortest studio track is over three minutes, giving ample time to experience the vibes of each song. “Kinda Country” opens with the sound of a tape machine and builds to a polished shine over its first minute — another example of the EP literally moving through something. “Kinda Country” fades through brass, strings and ultimately the main guitar melody before transitioning to the live portion of the EP, which opens with “3 AM in Cincy” off his last project “Broken Crayons Still Color.” Remember what I said about Cincinnati being part of the music? Mic. Carr and Shades have one message for you at the end of this record. The big takeaway from this new EP (and if you didn’t absorb it from listening, you should hear it again) is that: bad days never last, so grab your shades — the sun’s coming.

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