One of Cincinnati’s most notable names in the beverage scene is opening her own bar and restaurant.

Katie Reeder, the former wine director at Oakley Wines, is partnering with Chef Justin Koontz to take over the former Kiki space in College Hill at 5932 Hamilton Ave. The new spot will be dubbed “A Bar Called PUP.”

“We wanted to create a place that feels approachable, but never ordinary,” Reeder said in a statement. “Wine and food have an incredible ability to bring people together. PUP is about creating those moments in a space that feels welcoming, creative and authentic.”

Reeder has plenty of experience in the service industry — especially with wine — at local institutions like Oakley Wines, The Rhined, and Boca Restaurant Group. Koontz, meanwhile, has risen to culinary fame thanks to his work as a chef in New Orleans at restaurants like the MICHELIN-recognized Cochon and the James Beard-winning Jewel of the South.

“Food should make people want to gather around the table,” Koontz said. “We’re interested in taking great ingredients, treating them with respect, and creating food that is exciting without making it feel complicated. PUP gives us the opportunity to have fun with that.”

The two are working with the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. (CHCURC) to revitalize the space. The new bar is just one part of the organization’s mission to turn College Hill into a vibrant, walkable business district and give residents new reasons to gather, dine, shop and spend time in the neighborhood.

“We believe College Hill is exactly the kind of community where a concept like PUP can thrive,” Reeder said. “There is a real sense of energy here, and we want PUP to contribute to that energy while becoming a place that feels like it belongs to the neighborhood.”

Additional details regarding the bar’s opening, location, hours, menu and events will be announced in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on CityBeat for more details.

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Soon, one of Over-the-Rhine’s largest bar and restaurant spaces will have a new owner.

The building that holds Oddfellows Liquor Bar and Mikey’s Late-Night Slice, known for serving pizza until 3 a.m. or later, is going up for auction — including the furniture and fixtures from both shops, and the liquor license, too.

Patrons of either location know how gargantuan the place is. Located at 2014 Elm Street near Rhinegeist Brewery, the building sports 5,280 square feet of space along with an outdoor patio and a 3,000 square foot lower-level speakeasy, which makes it one of the largest restaurant spaces in the city.

The auction will take place on Wednesday, November 4 at 11 a.m. It will be led by Colliers Senior Vice President and Auctioneer Real Estate Salesperson Mark Abood, along with the company’s Vice President Senior Broker Josh Rothstein.

Both the bar and the pizzeria are still in operation. Since the auction includes all furniture, fixtures and equipment as well as the liquor license, whoever the winning bidder is could resume business immediately, if they so choose.

“Opportunities to acquire a turnkey, established venue in the Over-the-Rhine district are rare,” Rothstein said in a statement. “The offering presents a compelling opportunity to acquire a prominent asset with significant value-add potential.”

For more information on the auction, visit the official website. To learn more about Oddfellows in Over-the-Rhine, visit the bar’s official Instagram page.

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While The Birdcage may have flown the coop, the building will finally return to its roots when a new LGBTQ+ bar opens at the same address later this month.

The Corner, as the bar is now called, plans to open near Halloween at 927 Race Street downtown. It is owned by Pride Holdings Group, a publicly-traded company that specializes in LGBTQ+ hospitality venues.

As queer Cincinnatians likely remember, The Birdcage closed without warning on Christmas Eve 2024.

The closure came after a failed expansion attempt into the former 7,000-square-foot Rebel Mettle Brewery space downtown on Central Avenue in June 2023; that space closed shortly after opening in February 2024, and The Birdcage returned to its original location.

The bar’s final closure was announced on Christmas Eve 2024 via a Facebook post, and despite many rumors of acquisitions and reopenings, the building has sat unused — until now.

CityBeat toured the space on Monday night with Pride Holdings Chief Operating Officer Joshua Cooper, who was hard at work on construction to get the space in tip-top shape.

He shared that the bar would be open on afternoons and most weekdays, unlike many other queer spaces in the area. Two major differences between The Birdcage and The Corner will be a larger stage for performances and a giant LED screen placed on the back wall — although those two elements won’t be ready in time for the bar’s opening.

Currently, there are already plans for karaoke, drag bingo, movie nights, special Bengals watch parties and more.

“The Corner represents the first of many organic openings by Pride Holdings Group,” said Tim Majors, the company’s CEO, in a statement. “Joshua Cooper has done a wonderful job getting this location ready for opening and demonstrating our commitment to creating thriving and inclusive LGBTQ+ spaces.”

After Cooper completes “phase 1” of opening — that is, getting the main bar up and running — he’ll transition to work on a second phase in the winter, where he’ll transform The Birdcage’s former dressing room into another bar.

This bar will be a small, speakeasy-style lounge with couches. He joked that since his husband is a DJ, he’s constantly surrounded by music and likes having a place to relax that isn’t so loud. He hopes that this second bar will provide something similar for people who want to go to a queer space but aren’t necessarily interested in a ‘club’ vibe that night.

While it’s anyone’s guess whether The Corner will reach its projected opening date of “October 2026,” Cooper was brimming with confidence that the bar will be open by then —and even if it doesn’t, whenever it arrives, it’ll be filling a major hole in Cincinnati’s LGBTQ+ community.

CityBeat will have more information on The Corner later this month. In the meantime, visit The Corner’s official Instagram page.

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If you’re a whiskey fan, there might not be a better place to go this weekend than Northern Row.

The Over-the-Rhine brewery and distillery is hosting “Cincy Whiskey Fest” this Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. inside the taproom, which will bring together 11 local and regional distilleries for an afternoon of whiskey tasting, judging and celebration of the growing distilling scene across the region.

The event will feature both guided and self-guided tasting experiences, with a panel of local whiskey experts helping evaluate the selections. Guests will have the opportunity to sample a wide range of American whiskey styles, meet the people making them and discover something new along the way.

In addition, several professionals will judge each whiskey available at the event. Judges include Cincinnati cocktail queen Molly Wellmann, Brandon Spinner from Whiskey Weather, local vintage whiskey enthusiast Brad Bonds and Adam from Whiskey & Pancakes. Attendees will vote themselves, too, as part of a People’s Choice award.

“Cincinnati has a great whiskey history, and there are some really interesting things happening with distilling in this region right now,” Brenden Douglass of Northern Row said in a statement. “We wanted to put together an event where people can try a bunch of different whiskeys, talk to the folks behind them and have a good time doing it. Whether you’re a serious whiskey drinker or just getting into it, there’s something here for you.”

General admission tickets are $50, and include a tasting passport with samples of each participating whiskey. For $50 more, VIP tickets include a guided tasting with Brandon Spinner of Whiskey Weather, a distillery tour, a cocktail or full pour and samples of unreleased whiskeys from Northern Liberties Whiskey Co., Northern Row’s in-house distilling operation.

Tickets for the festival are available now on Northern Row’s website.

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A downtown wine bar has closed after two years in business, with plans to relocate to a different location in the future.

Something to Wine About, located near Fountain Square on 136 W 4th Street, closed on Sept. 11. The bar was unique in that it featured self-pour service with various machines scattered across the building, in addition to a more traditional bar. Customers used reloadable cards to serve themselves as much wine as they wanted.

Bar owner Orlando “Lando” Chapman posted on social media asking customers what they want to see in the bar’s next iteration. Chapman is well-known in Cincinnati’s entertainment scene, having organized or hosted events all across the city for 25 years.

“As we weigh our options for the next home of Something to Wine About, our #1 priority is keeping you safe while providing an amazing, heartfelt experience every time you walk through our doors,” he wrote. “We want our next location to feel welcoming, comfortable, secure and built around the people who have supported STWA throughout this journey.”

For more information, visit Something to Wine About’s Instagram page and Chapman’s Facebook page.

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In October, one of Covington’s biggest bars will seem a little haunted.

Galaxie, the nightclub and cocktail bar located on 815 Madison Ave., will transform into “The Haunting on Madison” starting October 1. The new pop-up experience is run by Miracle Cocktails, Inc., who hosted a similar Christmas-themed pop-up at Galaxie last holiday season.

The Haunting on Madison will offer a Halloween-themed cocktail experience filled with spooky décor, elaborate cocktails and mocktails, themed glassware, food, DJs, karaoke, costume parties and other Halloween events.

“We loved bringing the holiday cheer of Miracle to Covington,” said Thor Morgan, owner of Galaxie, in a statement. “The Haunting is the next chapter of this fun ride, and we can’t wait to celebrate Halloween with great drinks and playful frights. Every Friday and Saturday night throughout October, we’re hosting Halloween parties with DJs and themed events. This is not your scary, gory Halloween but instead a fun place to get together with friends, coworkers, and family.”

The Halloween cocktail menu features plenty of themed drinks, including the Poison Apple (calvados, bonded rye whiskey, fino sherry, bitter apple, miso), a Scream-Sicle (blanco tequila, spiced vanilla liqueur, carrot & orange cordial, habanero, and lemon), and the Tangled Web (vodka, ube, passion fruit, vanilla, lemon, and prosecco foam).

Guests can also enjoy spirit free options and a seasonal shot that’s served in an exclusive keepsake shotglass. Meanwhile, the food menu offers fall-themed twists on Galaxie’s signature fries and flatbread tacos. And like Miracle, The Haunting will have its own collection of collectible glassware and mugs available for purchase.

The Haunting on Madison will open at 3 p.m. every day, except Saturday, where it opens at noon. For more information, visit the official website.

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This bird isn’t flying south for the winter anymore. King Pigeon, the cocktail bar and coffee lounge that closed in March, has reopened under new ownership.

Located at 2436 Gilbert Avenue in Walnut Hills, King Pigeon was well-known for its espresso program and creative cocktails.

Cincinnati native Nick Kallenberg formerly operated the lounge for two years, but closed it earlier this year when he moved to Massachusetts to “start a new chapter with our expanding family.” Ownership has now passed on to fellow Queen City native Zeus Andres, who grew up in Walnut Hills and currently works as a photo editor for Conde Nast.

“Taking over King Pigeon is both an honor and a responsibility,” Andres said. “Nick created something that means a great deal to this neighborhood, and our family is committed to preserving that spirit while adding our own energy and perspective. We want King Pigeon to remain a place where people feel welcome, connect with one another, and experience the best of Walnut Hills. We’re grateful for the opportunity to continue its story and look forward to serving both familiar faces and new visitors.”

At the new King Pigeon, the menu will remain largely the same, but there are some new partners; namely, Devoción Coffee, the NYC-based, Colombian-sourced coffee shop; La Cabra Coffee, which started in Denmark in 2011; the worldwide culture magazine Kinfolk; the apparel brand Cadence; and plant-based milk provider KOATJI.

“We’re so excited to welcome everyone back to King Pigeon and continue being part of the Walnut Hills community,” the shop said in a social media post.

For more information, visit King Pigeon’s official Instagram page.

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The Overlook Lodge, a bar ran by Gorilla Cinema Presents and inspired by Stephen King’s “The Shining,” is celebrating its 11th year of business in Pleasant Ridge with some fun new Halloween scares.

From October 1 through Halloween, guests can head to 6083 Montgomery Road to view a collection of spooky items in a “haunted museum” that Gorilla Cinema owner Jacob Trevino sourced from his summer trips to Mystic, Connecticut.

The new “Haunting of the Overlook Lodge” pop-up experience inside the bar draws inspiration from Rod Serling’s work (like “The Twilight Zone”) and will feature graphics by Katie Treviño of Wonderlush Design and projection mapping by Brave Berlin, the original founders of BLINK.

Additionally, the bar has partnered with Cocktail Kingdom for a selection of Halloween-inspired cocktails, like the Scream-sicle, which features tequila, licor 43, Aperol, spice carrot-orange cordial and lemon juice, or the Clown Pear-Anoia, which has mezcal, suze, vermouth, pear, fennel, and lemon.

In the week leading up to Halloween, the bar will be hosting several special events, like an interactive “Horror Movie Survival Camp” experience, “Killer Trivia” with Jacob Trevino or an “Emo Night” where a DJ will play all your favorite emo songs.

For more information, visit the Overlook Lodge’s official website.

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As I scoured around the waterfront at Sawyer Point for today’s Oktoberfest media preview, I grew frustrated with myself. They said there’s a two-story tower around here, so why can’t I find it? I thought. Then I rounded the corner near the pickleball courts, passed the still-ongoing festival construction, and laughed as I finally reached my destination. Wow, they weren’t kidding. That’s a two-story tower, alright.

This year’s marquee addition to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati — which begins this Thursday at 4 p.m. and carries on throughout the weekend — is a giant clock tower inspired by a traditional German glockenspiel, featuring a bar on the ground floor, a performance stage on the second, and a 31-foot-tall bell tower on top. Every hour, on the hour, performers will burst out of the stage like a human cuckoo clock to perform. Sometimes those performers might include a public figure, or a government official, or some other notable Cincinnatian.

Most of the design elements of the ‘Glockenspiel Stage’ were handcrafted, too. For example, the bells in the tower were 3D printed in such a way that they’d all sound different; the clock matches the one at the Cincinnati Museum Center, and the backdrop on the stage is full of small nods to the Queen City — like one of the houses on stage having a street number of #513 listed on the door.

“We thought about different traditions they hold in Munich, Germany, and there’s a giant clock tower in the center of town, and everyone gathers on the hour during Oktoberfest to celebrate the next hour of the day,” said Chelsea York, vice president of events and experiences at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber. “We figured, why not bring that tradition here to our Oktoberfest?”

It’s a clear indicator of how the Cincinnati Regional Chamber is going big for the 50th annual Oktoberfest Zinzinnati. The German festival is Cincinnati’s largest annual event, and the largest Oktoberfest in the world outside of the original in Munich.

For Amy Fitzgibbons, vice president of marketing for the Chamber, she says the city knew this year’s golden anniversary needed to be something special.

“I am not from Cincinnati, and I have learned so much just in the last four years I’ve been doing this event,” she said. “It’s really woven into the fabric of the city. People love it. People appreciate it. People look forward to it, and I don’t think you could replicate it literally anywhere else.”

This year’s festival isn’t solely notable for the giant stage, however —although it is quite the selling point.

The return of the “World’s Largest Chicken Dance” carries some surprises this year, although Fitzgibbons swore us to secrecy. (All we can tell you is that Bob Herzog of Local 12 fame will be leading this year’s special edition.) The Running of the Wieners has been moved to Sunday, given its status as one of the festival’s premier events.

This year’s fest has also introduced a sports zone, which is essentially a giant outdoor sports bar so Bengals and FC Cincinnati fans can watch their teams while at the festival, and a paid VIP experience that includes shaded seating, a souvenir mug, a dedicated bar, five free drinks, a free shot of Jägermeister and a free on-site meal from Schmidt’s.

The Gemütlichkeit Games once again feature local figures duking it out in various physical competitions, where you’ll see some CityBeat staffers trying and failing to complete a stein race. The Stein Hoisting Competition is back too, of course, and will be emceed by Evan Millward as attendees compete to go the longest without spilling their beer.

Speaking of beer, all that up above doesn’t even begin to cover the most important part of the festival: the food and drink. All your local German favorites — Fitzgibbons shouted out Servatii, Mick Noll’s, Schmidt’s and more — are here, alongside an all-new Graeter’s flavor and more brews than you can shake a spiral potato on a stick at.

Samuel Adams will present its special Oktoberfest Zinzinnati 50th Anniversary Lager, but that’s not all: over 20 breweries are participating, along with countless other vendors. Whether you’re looking for authentic German bier, a German-style lager, something a little more classic or anything in between, you’ll find it at this year’s fest. You can even buy a special stein from Rookwood Pottery.

“This year is really everything you know and love about Oktoberfest: biergartens, German food, potato pancakes, pretzels, sausages, brats, all of that,” York said. “It’s the festival at its best, and we invite people who haven’t been in a while to come back and experience the festival for the 50th and celebrate with us.”

Oktoberfest Zinzinnati runs at Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove from Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit the event’s official website.

The post Behind the scenes at Oktoberfest, and what you can expect this weekend appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

One of Mt. Adams’ oldest institutions is under new ownership.

City View Tavern, which opened back in 1875 at 403 Oregon Street, is now owned by retired lawyer and current podcast host Randy Freking as of this week. The bar went up for sale in 2020 from Debra Henning, who has owned the tavern since 1985. Freking will be just the fifth owner in the bar’s 150-year history, which is best known for its spectacular view of the entire city from the top of Mt. Adams.

Freking is best known for hosting the Reds-focused podcast “We Love Our Team” with fellow attorney Jack Greiner. Local real estate agent Joshua Rothstein of Colliers was responsible for managing the sale and was “thrilled” to be involved.

“This is a Cincinnati icon, so I wasn’t necessarily motivated by the dollar amount as much as I was … handing it to the next steward, who’s hopefully going to keep it amazing. It’s an honor, really, to be involved because I’m a huge fan of dive bars and City View is the epitome of a dive bar,” Rothstein said. “And the fact that it’s survived for this long, it’s like a little engine that could, and it’s finally about to get supercharged, so I’m excited.”

In terms of changes to the bar, Freking wants the bar to keep the same vibe as a great place to watch Bengals and Reds games. But there will be a few changes. Furniture upgrades, new TVs, extra staffing and the addition of vegetarian options to the bar’s menu are the marquee highlights, but the biggest change is one that most Cincinnatians will be surprised by.

Famously, City View Tavern does not serve tequila, and the reason why is one of Cincinnati’s best urban legends. If you didn’t know, Charles Manson — yes, the cult leader — was a native Cincinnatian, and legend has it that City View Tavern was his favorite bar in the city when he resided here.

The story goes that he would pound shots of tequila all night, then threaten to jump off the bar’s balcony if ownership stopped serving him, so the bar stopped serving tequila altogether as a way to get Manson to stop coming in. The policy has existed at the bar for decades now, but Freking will do away with it and serve tequila once more.

“I’m thrilled for what Randy’s got lined up. He’s not going to change the bar, but he’s going to enhance it,” Rothstein said. “It’s not going to look drastically different, but it’s going to feel much better on the inside. I’m thrilled about that for everybody, not only as a listing agent, but as a customer.”

City View Tavern is located at 403 Oregon Street in Mt. Adams, and is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to midnight.

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