For The Record 2.27.13

FOR THE

RECORD VOL. 1 • ISSUE NO. 8 FEB. 27- MARCH 5, 2013

YOU DRINK THEY DRIVE UC business students change food delivery game

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A NEW WIZARD IN TOWN

James Franco talks about his new film, “Oz: The Great and Powerful”

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The News Record

FOOD

Entrepreneurs deliver goods

UC students make late-night snacking quick and easy natalya dauod | sENior REPORTER Two students from the University of Cincinnati are making late-night snacking easier for the Clifton community.

Their motto: “Have fun this weekend #youdrinkwedrive.”

Founded in 2012 by Sheroz Zindani, fourth-year entrepreneurship and economics student, and Kasim Ahmed, fourth-year information systems student, Zooted Delivery provides food to customers from restaurants that don’t deliver.

“We didn’t go to anyone,” Zindani said.

“We didn’t get any loans. We didn’t do any of that. We did it all home grown.”

They marketed themselves by passing out about 5,000 fliers, creating banners, hosting a promotion party and developing a website.

“I was expecting to lose money for the first couple months, but we ended up being in the green from the first week to the 15th week,” Zindani said.

Neehar Swali, third-year information systems student and Zooted Delivery customer, heard about the business from a campus flyer.

Swali enjoys the fact that food from one of his favorite restaurants, Buffalo Wild Wings, can be delivered straight to his house.

“I think they’re innovative in the fact that

they deliver for restaurants that don’t have deliveries,” Swali said.“I think that’s a pretty good business strategy on their part.”

Although Swali likes the concept, he thinks more options should be added to the restaurant list. As of now, the startup delivers fare from Buffalo Wild Wings, J. Gumbo’s, Chicago Gyros, Habaneros, Olives, Martino’s on Vine, Tom+Chee, Istanbul Café and Corinthian.

Jim Lothrop, a third-year nutrition student, enjoys having access to restaurants that reach as far as Ludlow Avenue and downtown.

“I like how it’s a few UC students that started up a business,” Lothrop said.“It just pretty much makes it [easier] for college kids that don’t want to go out to get food or don’t have a car or [are] on the other side of campus … it just makes it easier on us.”

Zindani has about five to six drivers who get paid about $3.50 an hour.

Customers are charged 15 percent of the total cost of the meal and a $3.50 service fee. Zooted Delivery makes about 40 to 60 deliveries per weekend.

Beginning March 8, Zooted Delivery will extend its reach to Xavier. The hours will change from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Pricing will change to a $1.99 service fee plus 10 percent per total cost of order.

PHOTOS BY PHIL DIDION | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

THE ZOOTED GUYS Kasim Ahmad, left, and Sheroz Zindani, right, deliver the goods.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Alums have opera company moving

‘Intimate environment,’ talented crew could lead to bigger things EMILY BEGLEY | SENIOR REPORTER Two recent graduates of the CollegeConservatory of music have taken their passion for George Frideric Handel and turned it into an opera company.

The Cincinnati Chamber Opera, an opera company founded by UC alumni Shawn Mlynek and Autumn West, will add shows performed in intimate chamber settings to the city’s arts scene.

Mlynek and West, who graduated from the CCM in 2012, were compelled to create the company because of Handel’s 1718 serenata “Acis and Galatea.”

West was fixated on the piece; when a grant from CCM did not apply to the work, West and Mlynek were determined to continue the project by obtaining their own funding. The two realized they were establishing a new company as soon as they sat down for their first meeting.

“The point of our company sort of is to do smaller works,”West said. “It’s definitely a smaller, sort of more intimate environment for opera.”

The majority of people involved in the company are CCM students and alumni. “[The company] is really rewarding so far, and there’s been so much support for it in the community — the CCM community and then Cincinnati in general,”West said.

The company strives to give opportunities to emerging artists.

“CCM trains so many great singers, but unfortunately when you’re in a mecca of vocal performance, you can’t hire everybody,” said Mlynek. “We just want to give Cincinnati a chance to see their work and to give all of us, us included, a chance to keep working, to keep doing stuff.”

Although the company already scheduled its first performances, funding and administration provided major obstacles for the cofounders.

“It’s been a high learning curve I think

for both of us,” Mlynek said. “CCM trains us so well to sing, but we didn’t really know the administrative side of, you know. How do you write contracts? How do you schedule spaces? How do you hold auditions? We’re always on the other side of the spectrum.”

However, both regard these challenges as being helpful to the company overall.

“We’ve been on the other side, we know what goes into it; it’s just understanding the amount of work that you really have to put in,”West said. “We both have been putting in dozens of hours a week on this.”

The performances of the company’s first production — a unique rendition of “Acis and Galatea” — will take place at 8 p.m. March 1 and 2 at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in St. Bernard and 2 p.m. March 3 at the Westwood First Presbyterian Church.

Director Sarah Hutchings has replaced the piece’s typically fantastical setting with a modern college campus at which main characters Acis and Galatea, played by Mlynek and West, are a basketball coach and chorus teacher.

Seeing the piece come to life is rewarding for Mlynek and West.

“Seeing the bodies in the room, with the pianist, everyone singing, hearing the director give the concept for the show, I mean it makes your hair stand up,” Mlynek said.

The company is already looking ahead to its next season. Mlynek and West plan to produce two shows a year.

Assembling the creative team was only the first step.

“I’m so confident and proud of the people that we have involved,”West said.

“Just seeing them do their thing is the most rewarding part for me.”

To purchase tickets to “Acis and Galatea,” visit http:// cincinnatichamberopera.eventbrite.com/#.

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Concerts

Bilingual artist to perform in Cincy

Roberto Lange will transport crowd to another world while visiting the Southgate House Revival HEATHER WILLIAMS | CONTRIBUTOR Roberto Carlos Lange, the son of Ecuadorian immigrants, creates an illuminating music experience under the name Helado Negro.

Lange will play at The Southgate House Revival March 4, to promote his new album, “Invisible Life,” set for a March 5 release.

Lange’s experience growing up in South Florida immersed him in the local bass music/freestyle, Latin culture.

These influences inspired “Invisible Life,” his seventh release on Asthmatic Kitty Records.

The songs from “Invisible Life” Lange previewed on his website, “Dance Ghost” and “Junes,” weave a dreamlike experience with synth beats, his haunting voice and poetic words such as, “Nightmares get confused every time they come to you.”

Lange is a bilingual singer, and the song “Dance Ghost” is the first English track on the record.

The song tells a story about immigrants who came to the United States for a better life.

Lange sings about children passing through an entire school system, but they couldn’t atten a university because they didn’t have social security numbers.

Lange remembers a friend who was rewarded a full scholarship to a university, but had to pass it up because they did not have a social security number.

People he knew were afraid to leave their homes or go out at night because they might be asked to display a green card and get deported back to a country they don’t remember, Lange said.

“Invisible Life” tells an illuminating story with beautifully crafted, Latininspired spirit and electronic vibes.

It creates the feeling of being in a crowded room, but still all alone.

The first track on the record, “Ilumina Vos,” opens listeners up to a new world — a world they can further explore when he performs at The Southgate House Revival, March 4.

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HELADO NEGRO Roberto Carlos Lange, who goes by the stage name Helado Negro, will perform at The Southgate House Revival March 4. He will release his latest album, “Invinsible Life,” a day later March 5.

mOVIES

Franco, Raimi discuss land of ‘Oz’

Movie reinvents classic tale with comedy, romance Jordan Ittel | contributor Ever since L. Frank Baum introduced us to the Land of Oz in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in 1900, people have reinterpreted the famous story. One hundred and thirteen years later, Sam Raimi directed another take on the tale.

“Oz: The Great and Powerful” features a dynamic cast including James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz.

Raimi’s Land of Oz follows Oscar Diggs (Franco), a traveling magician who seeks fame and fortune as a means to achieve happiness.

Oscar gets caught in a storm and finds himself trapped in Oz, much like Dorothy in the original story. Viewers beware, Oscar is nothing like the sweet, innocent girl with sparkly red slippers many came to love years ago.

“His character starts off as a flawed man,” Franco said in a conference call for the film.“He’s a bit of a charmer. He’s a con man. He’s a magician. He’s an adventurer [but] he can be brave and cowardly.”

The people of Oz believe Oscar is the wizard who can free them from the Wicked Witch’s wrath.

While Oscar is the film’s hero, “he gets into a lot of awkward situations that can be played for comedy,” Franco said.

Raimi incorporates the dark humor which characterizes his films, such as “Army of Darkness” and “Evil Dead 2”.

“Oz” is filled with epic adventure and spurts of comedy, and the audience can also expect to see romance. “[Oscar is] in Kansas, and he has a love story with a girl named Annie, played by Michelle Williams, and this is a love that’s right before the wizard if only he would recognize it and embrace it,” Raimi said.

“He would really be happy.”

With Raimi at the helm, viewers can look forward to exciting visuals.

“You have the yellow brick road, and the emerald city, and witches, and flying monkeys, and a bunch of strange creatures and munchkins,” Franco said.

“All the things that make up what we imagine Oz to be.”

Raimi, who also directed the Spiderman trilogy, drew inspiration from Baum’s original vision of Oz. But he also was inspired by the connection between characters in the film, “The Wizard of Oz.” “What inspired me about the Wizard of Oz movie was the characters’ sense of love that they have for each other.” Raimi said.

The feeling he describes is something he hopes the audience experiences after viewing his film.

“Ideally, I’d like them [the audience] to feel uplifted,” Raimi said. “There’s a simple beauty about loving another person and friends coming together and being selfless, and that’s what this movie’s message is.”

The movie opens nationwide Friday, March 8.

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BEER

Cincinnati bar-hopping made easy Students offer tips for happyhour deals Syron Townsend | STAFF REPORTER Even during happy hour, bar tabs can be expensive.

Three University of Cincinnati students created a website to solve that problem.

Natibars.com, a happy-hour, deal-hunting database, finds and compares drink and appetizer specials at bars in Clifton, Newport, Mt. Adams and surrounding Cincinnati neighborhoods.

“For people who are going to going to go out and have a good time, there is no reason you can’t save a little bit of money,” said Cody Clark, co-founder of NatiBars and fifth-year biomedical engineering student.

During the website’s current testing phase, launched Feb. 5, the site will be open to improvement and critique. In the coming weeks, viewers can expect to see general bug fixes, increased mobile-browsing compatibility and the addition of a number of new bars.

“We now have over 100 bars and over 500 drink specials in our database,” said co-founder and fourthyear aerospace engineering student Billy Schlich.

“Our plan for the next few weeks is to get all of Cincinnati within about a five-to-six-mile radius of campus. We have about 100 more bars to go.”

The NatiBars’ founders strive for ease in navigation.

Visitors can filter through categories such as wine, liquor and snacks, among others.

The website will use GPS to locate users and list bars within a certain radius.

“We want [Cincinnatians] to go to NatiBars first and see what the drink specials are in their area and make a decision based on that,” said co-founder and fifth-year computer science student, Thomas Bachmann.

The site’s mission is to benefit bar-hoppers and bar owners alike.

Since its launch, the site has hosted more than

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BAR-HOPPING ON A BUDGET Three engineering students at UC collaborated to put together a website where Cincinnati residents can find deals within walking distance on drinks, appetizers and more.

1,400 unique visitors.

After generating enough traffic to the site, the NatiBars’ founders hope to market the website as an advertisement service.

“We think a lot of businesses advertise in ways that aren’t effective — postage, flyers, Facebook ads,” Clark said.

“Through the use of technology, we can reach far more people far more effectively — people who are actually looking for this information.”

The three engineering students hatched the idea for NatiBars at the local pub, Uncle Woody’s.

“We were talking with one of the owners, Lori, and she was telling us about the different drink specials that they have during the week,” Schlich said.

“We had no idea that Woody’s had these deals and we started thinking about what other deals were just right off campus that we didn’t know about.”

What began as sharing a few good deals with friends and frat brothers soon evolved into a hightech link between the bartenders and pub-crawlers of Cincinnati.

The team enlisted the help of the Bearcat Launchpad program, a startup incubator for students, to get their idea off the ground.

The three-month intensive program, offered through the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, utilizes informative workshops, mentorship and networking opportunities to give students the tools they need to turn ideas into successful business plans.

“We would have launched a lot quicker had we not gone through Launchpad, [but it] probably would have tanked pretty quickly,” Clark said.

With the help of Launchpad, they’ve got a successful start, but the group still has a lot to learn.

“There’s a lot more that goes into starting a business than you realize when you first sit down with your friends in a bar and say, ‘Hey this would be

fun to do,’” Schlich said. “Stocks, lawyers, bringing in more people — there was a lot of upfront work, and now that we’re getting into it, there’s a lot of upkeep involved.”

It’s also been difficult for the group because of their close friendships with one another.

“Team dynamics are hard — holding each other accountable,” Clark said.

“Tom and Billy are two of my closest friends. You can’t call in sick because you partied too hard the night before because those are the people I was out with. It’s hard to separate the business from personal … but there’s a very deep level of trust.”

As they juggle a budding business, full class loads as well as quickly approaching graduation dates, time management is key to the success of NatiBars — so is not sleeping.

Even though they’ve devoted a great deal of time to NatiBars, it’s actually helped them in their studies.

“I’ve learned more about actually programming from this than I have from any class I’ve ever taken because the scale of the project is just so much bigger than what you can do in a class,” Bachmann, who heads the website’s programming, said.

Clark also cites the responsibility he and Schlich share as good preparation for the full-time sales position he is slated to take after graduation.

The students hope to develop NatiBars.com into a mobile app, and perhaps expand to the bar scenes of Columbus, Cleveland and even Chicago. For now, the founders’ plan to focus on correcting the current model.

“We created something people actually use in their real lives. A lot of what I work on in college gets put in a binder, stuck in a desk drawer and kind of forgotten about,” Clark said.

“If we get to do the things that we want to do [with NatiBars], hopefully it will be something that lives on.”

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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All apartment rental/sublet advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for apartment rentals or sublets which is in violation of the law.

Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis.

FOR RENT 1-6 Bedroom Apartments/ Houses Available University Investments, LLC ucapartments.org 513-202-6694 Terrific Locations at Affordable Prices Apartment for rent. One bedroom. $345/month. Near UC. 513-3829000.

Two-bedroom, available now or through January 1. Go to our website, UC4Rent.com, or call 513-621-7032 FIVE BEDROOM, TWO BATH, REMODELED THREE-STORY HOUSE. Two blocks to campus, oversized eat-in kitchen with dishwasher, large bay window living room, laundry, parking, cats welcome free. Available in August. $1,650 per month. Call Jeff, (513) 379-5300, or email gray5393@mailstation.com. No text messages, please.

FOR RENT Looking for an apartment? www. ucapartments.com Now leasing for 2013-2014 school year! www.ucapartments.com SIX BEDROOM, THREE BATH, REMODELED THREE-STORY HOUSE. Three blocks to campus, eat-in kitchen with dishwasher, laundry, parking, central A/C, large yard, cats welcome free. Available in August. $1,750 per month. Call Jeff, (513) 379-5300, or email gray5393@mailstation.com. No text messages, please.

FOUR BEDROOM, TWO BATH, REMODELED TWO-STORY HOUSE. Three blocks to campus, eat-in kitchen with dishwasher, hardwood floors, laundry, parking, cats welcome free. Available in August. $1,195 per month. Call Jeff, (513) 379-5300, or email gray5393@mailstation.com. No text messages, please.

FOR RENT TWO HOUSES BEING REMODELED NOW!!

EVERYTHING NEW!! Each three stories, four blocks to campus, five and six bedrooms, three baths, eat-in kitchens, laundries, parking, cats welcome free, Available in August. $1,695 and $2,095 per month. Call Jeff, (513) 379-5300, or email gray5393@ mailstation.com. No text messages, please.

Now Renting for Fall Video Tours @ UC4RENT.COM 513-621-7032 Two-bedroom, available now, $950. UC4Rent.com 513-6217032.

3-Bedrooms in HYDE PARK. 3-BR (over 1,200 sq. ft.) with 2 bathrooms, balcony, hardwood floor, double garage. HEAT & WATER PAID. Rent $1,350/month.

Call us at (513) 477-2920 or pgspropertiesincincinnati@gmail. com.

Completely re-modeled FIVE BEDROOM, TWO BATH, THREE-STORY HOUSE. University Ave. Oversized eat-in kitchen with dishwasher, laundry, a/c, cats welcome free. Sorry no dogs. Available in August. $1495 per month. Call Jeff, (513) 379-5300, or email gray5393@ mailstation.com. No text messages, please.

EMPLOYMENT GO SHOPPING. GET PAID! Become a Secret Shopper in Your Area. To learn more visit us at http://joinstn.com/ ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT A busy executive is in urgent need for an executive administrative assistant. Candidate must have computer literacy and ability to multitask. Email comprehensive resume to starkmaradm@gmail. com Want to be a MillerCoors Promotional Specialist?

Come to the Casting Call at: Mount Adams Pavilion 949 Pavilion Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Thursday, February 21st, 7-10 PM Questions? e-mail amillergreenhouseagency.com NOW HIRING SUMMER LIFEGUARDS Spend ten weeks this summer guarding at Camp Brosius in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. Food and lodging included. Guard certification reimbursable. www. campbrosius.com NOW HIRING SUMMER LIFEGUARDS Spend ten weeks this summer guarding at Camp Brosius in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. Food and lodging included. Guard certification reimbursable. www. campbrosius.com

TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT COMPLETLEY RE-MODELED. Restored hardwood floors, eat-in kitchen with dishwasher, balcony, heat-paid, free off-street parking, laundry, a/c, cats welcome free, sorry no dogs. $695 per month.

Call Jeff, (513) 379-5300, or email gray5393@mailstation.com. No text messages, please.

EMPLOYMENT Insurance broker needed for Randolph County agency. Excellent retail location. Prefer experienced, independent licensee in property and casualty, but will work with other lines. Fax resume and cover letter to (336) 799-4301 or mail to 805-B High Point St., Randleman, NC 27317.

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FOOD

Incline redefines flavor Eatery offers food from scratch

Diana Weckenbrock | STAFF REPORTER Although Price Hill has a reputation for a high crime rate, it can now be proud of a new dining addition located in one of the oldest parts of town.

The Incline Public House, which opened Feb. 1, provides a perfect view of the Cincinnati skyline for hungry customers.

One featured item is the hand-tossed mushroom pizza, which is baked at 575 degrees in a large brick oven. A simple white sauce forms the base of this vegetarian pizza. Caramelized onions and roasted red peppers give it a slightly sweet aftertaste, while sautéed portabello and shiitake mushrooms mix with goat cheese and a spiral of pesto to increase the flavor.

But pizza is not the only thing on the menu, which is mostly made from scratch.

“We make everything we can from scratch,” said Jason Campbell, executive chef of Incline Public House. “Which means not buying frozen. For example the Italian sausage is in-house smoked.”

One other item is the Grippos-crusted mac and cheese. It layers Grippos chips over top a combination of several cheeses, which gives it a zesty kick.

The restaurant is tucked into the corner of Matson Place and W. Eighth Street and is named for the notorious Cincinnati

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Incline built to make East Price Hill more accessible for residents in 1874.

Inside, dim lighting blankets the restaurant. Windows line the two walls to create an ‘L’ shape, and provide a better view of the surroundings. On opposite wall stands the bar, stocked with a selection of local craft beers.

“We didn’t want the normal Bud Light on tap,” Campbell said.

Candles and white carnations decorate the wood tables and chairs that fill the dining area. Every visitor receives his or her own complimentary vase of either sparkling or tap water, a nice feature if the waitress is too busy to refill their drinks.

Since Incline Public House recently opened, Chef Campbell is still perfecting many aspects of the restaurant, like he lack of a reservation list, which can lead to a long wait time.

“I am always trying to improve. I am never 100 percent happy with the food, and I am working everyday on different techniques,” Campbell said.

One of the improvements Campbell hopes to implement is a Sunday brunch, which he would like to start before Easter.

Glitches and kinks should be expected at a new restaurant, but at the Public Incline House, food isn’t a problem.

Incline Public House, W. Eighth St. Cincinnati, OH 45204, 513.251.3000

PHOTOS BY KEITH BOWERS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER