CityBeat | March 22, 2023

ARENSTEIN, BRIAN BAKER, STEPHEN NOVOTNI, BRIAN CROSS, HAYLEY DAY, JANE DURRELL, BILL FURBEE, JASON GARGANO, GREGORY GASTON, AUSTIN GAYLE, MCKENZIE GRAHAM, NICK GREVER, KATIE GRIFFITH, KATIE HOLOCHER, BEN L. KAUFMAN, DEIRDRE KAYE, JAC KERN, HARPER LEE, MADGE MARIL, ANNE MITCHELL, LAUREN MORETTO, TAMERA LENZ MUENTE, JACKIE MULAY, JUDE NOEL, GARIN PIRNIA, KATHY SCHWARTZ, MARIA SEDA-REEDER, LEYLA SHOKOOHE, SAMI STEWART, STEVEN ROSEN, KATHY Y. WILSON, P.F. WILSON, MORGAN ZUMBIEL

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

HAILEY BOLLINGER, SCOTT DITTGEN, JESSE FOX, PHIL HEIDENREICH, KHOI NGUYEN, BRITTANY

More Former Employees Are Claiming flow Owner Rhys Watkins Didn’t Pay Them

One employee said that she endured several unpaid 11-hour training sessions and then received no communication or payment from Watkins.

BY KATIE GRIFFITH

Additional former employees of flow coffee shop are coming forward with allegations against owner Rhys Watkins.

In February, CityBeat reported on the claims that Kay Ratliff had levied against Watkins, her former employer at flow (stylized in lowercase letters). An hourly employee, Ratliff alleged that Watkins had altered time cards, did not compensate her for overtime work and required unpaid training sessions (Watkins disputed Ratliff’s claims).

Since then, a number of other former flow employees have shared similar experiences, with some seemingly sharing a pattern of going through long periods of unpaid training without being added to the work schedule afterwards.

Watkins has not responded to CityBeat’s multiple interview requests since an initial interview on Feb. 2.

Rachel Moon’s claims

Rachel Moon served as the general manager for flow’s Newport location as well as the shop’s now-closed locations in Over-the-Rhine and Northside as well as Watkins’ Newport deli Full of Bologna. She told CityBeat that she was a salaried employee in September and October and received a weekly $558.58 net pay.

Moon told CityBeat that she resigned in October, citing wage differences among employees as well as Watkins’ lack of communication, not paying employees for training and making employees work long hours

without breaks.

“I had missed a paycheck when I first started for whatever reason,” Moon told CityBeat. “He said he couldn't issue it to me and that he would have to pay me in cash, so I got at least one paycheck in cash. And then when I quit, he refused to pay me my last paycheck.”

Moon said that Watkins withheld her final paycheck until she filed a complaint action with the Kentucky Department of Labor. After reviewing paychecks and other documents, the department called Watkins and told him that he needed to pay her, Moon said.

“I was tracking my own hours, actually – Rhys never asked me to track my hours. But I was doing it myself because I thought it was really weird that he wasn't asking me to do it,” Moon said. “So I sent all [of] that to the Department of Labor.”

Moon said she resigned on Oct. 26 and was supposed to receive her final paycheck on Oct. 28. According to Kentucky labor laws an employer has 14 days to provide a final paycheck, regardless of their reason for leaving. But Moon said that she did not receive her check until around Nov. 18, more than 20 days after her final date of employment.

James Metz’s and Emily Hockman’s claims

James Metz was a flow employee in August and September. He told CityBeat that he worked for Watkins a total of 40-60 hours, including training.

Metz told CityBeat that he had agreed to making $10 an hour plus tips. He added that Watkins soon offered him extra responsibility, but Metz didn’t take it because Watkins hadn’t paid him for any of his work to that point.

Metz said that when he brought up compensation to Watkins via phone and text message, a weeklong text conversation ensued. It was not until Metz provided screenshots of Kentucky labor laws that Watkins agreed to pay for the work, Metz said.

“He said the only way he would pay me was through cash,” Metz told CityBeat. “So I showed up at the Newport location, and he gave me a wad of bills that was like $53 dollars short of what we had agreed upon over text. That was the first and only time I got paid.”

Metz told CityBeat that he was owed $350, but Watkins only gave him $273 in cash. Metz added that he did not receive any credit card tips that he’d earned during his time at flow.

When CityBeat asked Watkins on Feb. 2 for a prior story if he had ever paid an employee in cash, the flow owner said that there was only one instance.

“I believe it was Christmas and payroll was going to come through on a Monday,” Watkins said at the time. “So I did it as manual checks and I paid the employees cash instead and offered them the ability to have printed pay stubs along with it.”

It’s unclear which employees were the benefactors of Watkins’ holiday cash payment.

“I was only offered cash,” Metz told

CityBeat. “No pay stub was mentioned and it was nowhere near Christmas. All of the tips I had earned during my time just kind of floated away somehow.”

Watkins told CityBeat in February that he has never altered an employee's tips, adding that tips are automated and assigned to an employee when they clock in using their specific passcode.

In a prior interview with CityBeat, Ratliff said that Watkins uses the point-of-sale system Square for both customer orders and tracking employee hours. She claimed that’s where Watkins allegedly had altered payment details.

According to squareup.com, the owner of a business should have “full access” to all permissions and actions throughout the system. Access pertaining to time cards and tip settings reveals the ability to “view and edit timecard data” and “choose the tip distribution method,” Square’s materials say.

The Square website also declares, “Owners can manage all content and settings.”

Watkins previously had told CityBeat that he didn’t have control over employee tips.

“They are fully automated from when the employee clocks in in the morning. It tracks them using a passcode,” Wakins said in a Feb. 2 interview. “When I contacted the payroll system, they told me that the employee, if they do not enter the passcode on the system, it does not track their tips.”

But Emily Hockman, who worked at flow last summer, told CityBeat that she had never been compensated at all for her time there. Hockman said she was hired at $9 per hour plus tips. She estimated that she worked 40 hours total but that there was no formal way of clocking in or out. It’s unclear if Watkins used Square for tracking employee hours at that time.

Hockman said that once she finished training, Watkins did not respond to her calls or texts about being added to the schedule or about compensation. She said that some of her training was unsupervised and that each shift was 11 hours long. After several attempts to connect with Watkins, Hockman said she cut her losses.

“As soon as I finished training, I texted [Watkins] and I just asked him, ‘When can I get on the schedule?’ And it was radio silence,” Hockman told CityBeat. “So that was the point where I was like, okay, nothing's gonna happen further with this.”

As of press time, Watkins has not responded to CityBeat’s repeated inquiries concerning Metz’s and Hockman’s allegations.

flow coffee shop in Newport

PHOTO: KATIE GRIFFITH

Cincinnati Police Union President Calls CCA Reform Recommendations 'Garbage'

BY MADELINE FENING

Cincinnati’s Citizen Complaint Authority (CCA) has approved a set of recommendations for police reform as a result of the 2020 George Floyd protests in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. But Cincinnati's police union president told CityBeat that the report is "garbage," blaming “ANTIFA” for the need for mass arrests.

The CCA is a city-funded independent oversight board for the Cincinnati Police Department, reporting directly to the city manager’s office. Investigators with the CCA look into allegations of police misconduct, like excessive use of force or civil rights violations. The board makes police reform recommendations to CPD based on its findings.

CCA’s recent report on the May and June 2020 George Floyd protests here says that more than 500 people were arrested (a jury later convicted white former Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after he'd killed Floyd, a Black man, while on duty). Complaints were filed by 37 people alleging police misconduct over the course of the protests. These included allegations of an officer using a white nationalist hand gesture, unnecessary use of tasers and mace and an officer intentionally breaking a protester's eye glasses, among others.

According to the report, one man told the CCA that he was taking photos during a protest near Music Hall that May when a foam-marking round fired by police hit him in the eye, causing permanent vision damage. His complaint was not sustained because CCA was unable to prove who fired the round.

In total, 26% of all findings reached were sustained due to sufficient evidence of a policy, procedure or training violation, while 50% of findings were not sustained due to insufficient evidence. 11% of findings were exonerated and 13% were deemed unfounded.

The recommendations

The CCA made 10 recommendations to the Cincinnati Police Department as a result of its investigation:

• Limit the use of mass arrests for nonviolent offenders as a part of protest management.

• Adopt a new policy to address the role of police in facilitating First Amendment expression.

• Emphasize and strengthen “protest facilitation” models and approaches that deemphasize “disturbance control."

• Require all officers using force to personally author and submit a separate use of force report that includes a narrative specifying the circumstances that preceded the use of force.

• Formalize best practices emphasizing the important role of bodyworn-cameras during police crowd control.

• Provide training to all officers regarding criminal offenses that are most likely to apply should arrests become necessary during protest activity.

• Review its process for documenting the specific officers who arrested persons during mass arrest scenarios.

• Provide training on the First Amendment to officers and supervisors, including training addressing the scope of protected activity, scenariobased training, and instruction addressing implicit and explicit viewpoint bias or discrimination.

• Review its policies and procedures on the duty to render medical aid.

• Strengthen official officer manual language to state that officers shall not discourage any person from making a complaint.

Gabrial Davis, the director of the CCA, told CityBeat that there is nothing in Article 28 – which is the codification of the Collaborative Agreement, a set of police-community relationship values outlined between the Cincinnati Police Department, Cincinnati Black United Front, American Civil Liberties Union

and community members in 2002 – that would require the city to adopt the recommendations, but he hopes they will be considered.

“It is our hope that they’re taken seriously, that they’re adopted. We expect to have a set of conversations with the police department about the recommendations,” Davis said. “The first recommendation in the report – that the department significantly limit the use of mass arrests for non-violent offenders as a part of protest management – I think that, to me, stands out as perhaps being the most important."

Police union pushes back

One person who doesn’t expect to be invited to the conversation about recommendations is Dan Hils, the officerelected president of the Fraternal Order of Police, CPD’s police union. He told CityBeat that the recommendations are “garbage," especially the recommendation on mass arrests.

“I think the CCA’s recommendations against mass arrests is insane. I think that we knew ANTIFA was here, we knew people were here to cause trouble, to cause damage, to cause violence, and the best way to deal with it was mass arrests,” he said. “We should be commended for their actions through the George Floyd arrests and not criticized and told they should be going in a whole ‘nother direction, so I believe the report was garbage.”

When asked what evidence Hils had that ANTIFA (decentralized anti-fascist,

anti-racist) agitators were at the Cincinnati protests, he said the department's intelligence units were tracking protestors who he said were “definitely ANTIFA affiliated.”

“I don’t think ANTIFA goes about its business in formal matters – they’re terrorists,” he said. “But our intelligence units were picking up on communications, social media and otherwise, that there were people that were coming to town with the intentions for doing wrong and some of those were definitely ANTIFA affiliated.”

Hils also took issue with CCA’s recommendation to the department to better facilitate First Amendment expression, saying the department did just that during the summer 2020 protests.

“Why is it that a government entity wants to try and tear down the tremendous efforts and work of CPD that made us safer and kept us from going into fullfledged rioting? We never once stopped the ability for people to facilitate their First Amendment rights,” he said. “The CCA is greatly offended because I said ‘garbage!’ Garbage is not a dangerous word, it’s an opinion.”

Davis, who said the report also commends the actions of most officers during the protests, said Dan Hils did not represent all CPD officers.

“I don’t know that Dan Hils speaks for all police officers, certainly even most police officers,” Davis said. “We, in fact, commend the police department and most officers. In fact, we say in cases where there’s sufficient evidence to answer the allegations brought by citizens, the evidence tends to indicate the officers did not violate policy.”

Davis said he will meet with leadership from CPD later in March to discuss implementing the recommendations.

Demonstrators join the Cincinnati Black Lives Matter march in June 2020 to protest the death of George Floyd and others at the hands of police.

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

Here’s What’s on Tap for the Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day Parade and Game

BY ALLISON BABKA

The sun is hitting Cincinnati a lot more these days, and that means baseball is just around the corner.

Former Cincinnati Reds pitchers

Bronson Arroyo and Danny Graves will lead the traditional opening day parade through downtown as grand marshals on March 30, the Findlay Market parade committee recently announced. They'll be joined by a variety of former athletes, marching bands and other groups as part of the float contingent.

The parade and game

The opening day parade will step off at noon from Findlay Market. The

group will make its way south on Race Street before turning east on 5th Street and ending at the Taft Theatre.

In addition to Arroyo and Graves, former athletes participating will include Reds outfielder George Foster, Bengals kicker Jim Breech, Bengals tackle and offensive lineman Anthony Muñoz, Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson and Olympic track star Mary Danner Wineberg. There also will be a wide array of other veterans from the Reds, Bengals, FC Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati and MMA fighters.

According to the parade website, there will be nearly 160 entries taking part in the event.

After the parade, fans can proceed south to Great American Ball Park,

where the Reds will welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

Bronson Arroyo

Bronson Arroyo spent eight consecutive seasons with the Reds between 2006 and 2013. He followed that up with a final season in Cincinnati in 2017 before retiring from the game.

During his time in the big leagues, Arroyo was an innings eater and shutout machine, and he had at least four go-to pitches – slider, changeup, moving fastball and curveball – that served him well. As a Red, he pitched more than 200 innings in every season except for two, even nabbing 240 2/3

innings in 2006. Arroyo also was good for strikeouts, routinely throwing more than 120 per Reds season except for in 2017. Over his entire Reds career, Arroyo tossed 1,157 strikeouts – something just five other pitchers for the club have done.

Arroyo’s big 2012 postseason moment endeared him to Queen City fans forever. As the Reds' starter for game two of the National League Division Series, Arroyo had a perfect game through five innings and the team beat the San Francisco Giants 9-0 (Cincinnati would end up losing the series in five games).

Arroyo won a World Series championship with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and was traded to Cincinnati in 2006. An avid music lover, Arroyo's group the Bronson Arroyo Band has regularly performed throughout Greater Cincinnati since his retirement.

Arroyo was announced as 2023's first inductee for the Reds Hall of Fame in October, having been selected by fans, Reds alumni and media. He was on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2023 but did not receive enough votes for future voting.

Danny Graves

Danny Graves was traded to the Reds in July 1997, where he would spend the most productive years of his career. The following season, Graves began making his mark, nabbing eight saves and a 3.32 ERA. That was a taste of what was to come, as Graves became the Reds' all-time career saves leader with 182. During his five full seasons as the team's closer, Graves led the squad in saves, one of only six Cincinnati pitchers to do so over four or more consecutive seasons. In 2004, he earned 41 saves, the third-most a Reds pitcher has seen over a single season.

Over his career, Graves was in MLB's top-10 for saves four times. In 2003, Graves became a starter for one season before returning as the dominant closer he'd become. He earned MLB All-Star honors in 2000 and 2004. In addition to his pitching prowess, Graves drew notoriety behind the plate. Coming up during an era in which National League pitchers batted for themselves, Graves knocked homers in 2000 and 2001. He played for the Reds until he was traded in 2005.

Graves was selected by the Reds Hall of Fame veterans committee for a 2023 induction.

Along with the late general manager Gabe Paul, Arroyo and Graves will be inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame this summer as the class of 2023, with activities scheduled for July 15 and 16.

Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo will be one of the grand marshals for the opening day parade.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY THE CINCINNATI REDS

Cyclones Prepare for Kelly Cup Run

More playoff hockey is coming to Cincinnati.

During the March 11 game against the Tulsa Oilers, the Cincinnati Cyclones cemented postseason action with a 4-1 win on the road. With the victory, the 'Clones became the third team in the ECHL to clinch a spot in the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs.

In 2022, Cincinnati saw a Kelly Cup run for the first time since the 20182019 season, getting to the semi-finals with head coach Jason Payne taking his inaugural turn at the helm. The 'Clones have been crowned the Kelly Cup champs twice in their history, most recently in 2010.

The Kelly Cup will begin in April, and game dates will be determined by standings. Division semi-finals are scheduled to begin April 19, with championship finals being played June 2-14.

In the meantime, the Cyclones have a few weeks left in the regular 20222023 season. Tickets are available at cycloneshockey.com.

– CityBeat Staff

Roller Derby Is Back

The Cincinnati Rollergirls are skating back into the rink this spring, with their first bout of the season taking

place at 6 p.m. April 8 at Xavier University’s Cintas Center.

For the season-opening, singleheader event, the Black Sheep – the Rollergirls’ A-team that scores in national rankings – will welcome Louisville Roller Derby. The game also will mark Pride Night, which CRG will stage in partnership with Cincinnati Pride.

CRG’s schedule for 2023 features battles running April through June. After the opener, the rest of CRG’s announced games will be held at 6 p.m. at Sports Plus in Evendale on the following dates:

• April 22

• May 13

• June 10

"We're excited to let our fans throughout the Cincinnati area know about our 2023 season," CRG owner Lauren Bishop said in a press release. "We've been practicing hard since January. The energy is great, and the teamwork is impressive. The recruits from our recent open tryouts are already proving to be valuable additions."

In August, CRG returned to competitive skating for the first time since 2019 following a pandemic hiatus. Tickets are available at cincinnatirollergirls.com.

– CityBeat Staff

Cincinnati Rollergirls have wheels down in Cincinnati again.

PHOTO: JEFFREY SEVIER

The Cincinnati Cyclones are heading back to the playoffs.

PHOTO: ALLISON BABKA

Dogs at Cincinnati Animal CARE enjoy solo kennels.

PHOTO: MADELINE FENING

Cincinnati Animal CARE is beyond capacity, but Hamilton County’s animal shelter has a few challenges before it gains more space for its pooches.

BY MADELINE FENING

Glenda the dog is hooked up to a feeding tube, laying on a warm bed next to the desk of the vet working to save her life.

She was found locked in a cage in an apartment stairwell, covered in her own waste and severely emaciated when good samaritans brought her to Cincinnati Animal CARE (CAC) in Northside. The staff at CAC keep a close eye on Glenda, but she’s not sleeping in an office because of her condition – there’s just no kennel for her.

“This is a space issue,” Ray Anderson, CAC community engagement manager, tells CityBeat. “If we had a better hospital suite, a quiet place for patients to go… but she’s immobile and there is no kennel to put her in right now.”

CAC, which Anderson says is Hamilton County’s only open-intake animal shelter, has only 100 kennels it considers to be appropriate for the well-being of their dog population. Those kennels are part indoor, part outdoor, giving dogs some room to move around and get fresh air.

But 100 kennels doesn’t begin to cover the demand at CAC, and that demand seems to be increasing.

“As of [March 1], there were 197 dogs being housed at Cincinnati Animal CARE. In 2022, we averaged 179 dogs onsite each day. I believe our highest at any point is 235,” Anderson says.

Anderson says CAC has been housing the overflow of dogs in backup cages that don’t have an indoor-outdoor option, and there’s only so much room for the few dozens of cages.

“This should not be the solution, but it’s the reality of what we’re dealing with right now,” Anderson says while pointing to rows of overflow kennels in an air-conditioned garage, the dogs’ excited barks echoing against concrete walls. “100 dogs at a time is really what we’re built to house, and if we just had those kennels to focus on at any given time, we’d be in great shape.”

To CAC’s relief (and a dog’s delight), other spaces for dogs that don’t have a kennel can include offices, which are often shared by multiple staff members. Anderson shares his office with a wiggly one-year-old mixed breed named Prosecco. She jumps and nuzzles her nose on his lap for treats while he works, her bubbly personality living up to her name. Anderson gives her a nibble of a donut, which she takes gently.

“That’s a gooood girl,” he tells her. Anderson doesn’t mind sharing his office with Prosecco, or really any dog that comes through CAC’s doors, but overcrowding is still a concern as the staff works tirelessly seven days a week to keep each dog comfortable and stimulated. Anderson says the space issue is actually the result of more humane treatment than animals were experiencing when Cincinnati SPCA was operating the

shelter (Cincinnati SPCA is not affiliated with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, known as the ASPCA).

“There’s no longer euthanasia for space or length of stay,” Anderson says.

“If it gets too full in here, it used to be you’d see four, five, six dogs in a kennel together. We have a strict one-dog-perkennel policy.”

Reconciling past and present

Cincinnati SPCA is the private organization that previously operated the Hamilton County animal shelter in Northside starting in 1965, though it’s been around since 1873 when it became one of Ohio’s first animal shelters. While also running a private shelter in Sharonville, Cincinnati SPCA was Hamilton County’s private-public hybrid shelter for decades before Cincinnati Animal CARE took over in 2020. A spokesperson for Cincinnati SPCA tells CityBeat that the organization decided to end its decades-long partnership with the county because of funding issues.

“As an organization, the SPCA Cincinnati chose not to renew the contract with the county due to lack of funding by the county,” the SPCA tells CityBeat “At the conclusion of SPCA Cincinnati’s contract with the county, the Northside facility was left with empty cages and our organization was operating at 90% live release rate.”

Anderson says he’s skeptical of the idea that there were empty cages during SPCA’s tenure, saying accounts from previous volunteers suggests hundreds of dogs were dying each year from kennel sharing, a practice he says is dangerous for dogs as well as for the humans who interact with them.

“When you have four dogs in a kennel together and you’re feeding them together, that leads to problems,” Anderson says. “We were seeing an average of 300 dogs dying per year in their cages with the other animals. They were killing each other.”

SPCA tells CityBeat that kennel-sharing was common practice under SCPA management but that starting in 2017, it was greatly reduced until the shelter was down to one dog per kennel. SPCA says Anderson’s claim that hundreds of dogs were dying each year from kennelsharing is not accurate.

“There is no way to provide a number on the dogs which passed due to harm inflicted on another dog as a result of kennel sharing. This is because the occurrence was so low; the incidents were few and not at a significant rate,” SPCA says.

Anderson also attributes Cincinnati Animal CARE’s space issues with a lower euthanasia rate for dogs since taking over as the county shelter.

County data provided to CityBeat shows that Cincinnati SPCA euthanized 11,618 dogs between 2011 and 2019, the last full year the SPCA ran the Hamilton County shelter.

The SPCA admits the numbers were high but says the organization has made strides recently in reducing euthanasia overall.

“The euthanasia numbers are higher in years past, as would be any humane society in the business with our tenure. Those numbers predate the work which has since been done as a whole in our community to combat said challenges,” the SPCA says. “The SPCA Cincinnati has consciously worked with other organizations to reduce pet overpopulation, like The Joanie Bernard Foundation, and our humane society has initiated programs that keep pets healthy and in loving homes, like our Chow Now Pantry and Humane Education programs.”

The number of dogs euthanized during SPCA’s final full year running the Hamilton County Animal shelter in 2019 was 967.

CAC clinic dog specialist Mike Ward treats a dog with a broken leg. | PHOTO: MADELINE FENING

As of March 1, CAC houses 197 dogs. | PHOTO: MADELINE FENING

Data provided to CityBeat from CAC shows that 167 dogs were euthanized in their care in 2022. Of those cases, 40 were for chronic illness or injury.

“Critical injury, terminal illness, those are things that the average pet owner might have to euthanize their pet for,” Anderson says.

One of the cases of euthanasia was court-ordered, and the other 126 cases were classified as behavioral or temperamental. CAC determined that some of these dogs were an imminent threat to public safety after repeated or severe bites, while other dogs had displayed signs of mental distress and deterioration. Anderson says the mental deterioration problem becomes worse the longer a dog stays at the shelter, which has been a growing problem at CAC.

“The more we have animals coming in who do stick around, we start to see that quality of life deteriorate,” Anderson says. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, he looks sad.’ It’s that he’s digging at the concrete in his kennel to the point he wears his nails down to blood.”

When staff start to notice this kind of digging, spinning or jumping in a pattern that signals a panicked, stressed dog, Anderson says it’s critical to either adopt out the dog or place them in a foster home as soon as possible. Otherwise they may need to be euthanized.

“If we feel they’re too far gone, that – to us – is not humane to keep an animal in that kind of living condition,” he says.

Training the wardens and agents

Glenda the dog died just a few days after CityBeat visited Cincinnati Animal CARE, but she was not euthanized.

Anderson says Glenda died in her sleep after arriving at CAC in critical shape due to emaciation. In situations like this, the Hamilton County dog warden steps in to investigate the possibility of cruelty charges.

“Our medical team believes she had likely been ill for quite some time. I cannot comment further as it’s now an open investigation being personally handled by chief dog warden Troy Taylor,” Anderson said.

Including Taylor, CAC has seven dog wardens on staff who are all sworn humane agents for the state of Ohio. Taylor’s work uniform and protective equipment aligns him visually with police officers or sheriff’s deputies, but the position of dog warden is unique in its own right. County dog wardens are sworn in by a county judge to enforce state law but are not members of the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office does, however, provide oversight if there were to be a complaint against a dog warden, such as excessive use of force or improper conduct.

Private shelters like Cincinnati SPCA have humane agents who are not dog wardens. Anderson says understanding the distinction is important, especially when private humane agents appear visually similar to dog wardens.

“Anybody can be a sworn humane agent. Anybody can go through humane agent training,” Anderson says. “The difference is when they are sworn in by a judge – which I believe SPCA Cincinnati’s have been – they still don’t have prosecutorial power or backing.”

When sharing details about humane agent training, SPCA says agents are approved by a judge.

“Humane agents must successfully complete a minimum of twenty hours

Glenda and several other dogs share office space with humans at CAC due to overcrowding.

| PHOTO: MADELINE FENING

Because of the increase of dogs at CAC, some spend time in kennels in an air-conditioned garage. | PHOTO: MADELINE FENING

CAC chief dog warden Troy Taylor holds Pua the puppy. | PHOTO: MADELINE FENING

of training on issues relating to investigation and prosecution of cruelty and neglect of animals, then be approved by a probate judge in the county,” the SPCA says.

In addition to having the power to issue dog licenses and taking in strays, Hamilton County dog wardens prosecute cases relating to animals, and CAC’s short tenure as the county’s shelter already has been dotted with shocking and strange cases.

On March 8, Taylor, the chief dog warden, filed felony charges in the case of Dwayne Dickey, a suspect accused of breaking into a Clifton apartment and fatally shooting the resident’s dog, Raya. And on March 9, agents for the county recovered the last of three stolen puppies that had been missing for weeks.

Most notable in 2023 so far has been Cincinnati Animal CARE’s recovery of a serval cat with cocaine in its system. Dog wardens seized it from a tree in Oakley without the use of weapons or tranquilizers. While Amiry the cat suffered a broken leg during the confrontation, Anderson says the wardens could have suffered way more. CAC brought in a big cat expert to confirm the breed of the 35-pound serval cat, who took little time reaching a conclusion.

“He came in and took one look at it and said, ‘Oh, no, that’s absolutely a serval,’” Anderson says. “He asked us how we got it out, and I told him that the dog wardens climbed up a tree and got it, and he told us, ‘I would rather deal with a tiger.’”

Charges for the illegal possession of the serval and for the presence of cocaine in its system aren’t being filed at the moment, but Taylor says charges are still possible.

“Just because we said no charges are being filed now doesn’t mean they won’t be in the future. This is an ongoing investigation, we’re still looking into that,” Taylor says.

Clearing up confusion

Anderson worries the lack of public understanding of the differences between private humane agents vs. county dog wardens could create confusion for those wondering if Cincinnati SPCA is still the county shelter.

With Cincinnati SPCA’s decades of history in Northside, Anderson says a large educational campaign is needed to shift the public’s understanding of who is in charge of animal welfare in Hamilton County. He says it could take ten years for public consciousness to catch up to the administration change.

“I’d say it’s probably our biggest hurdle in terms of outward messaging,” Anderson said. “The fact that SPCA Sharonville was running Hamilton County operations for 60 years – that’s a long time.”

Anderson wants to shift the narrative

about hometown animal welfare to Cincinnati Animal CARE, which currently runs Hamilton County’s services.

“We’re what you think of when you want to donate money to ‘the dog pound’ or you want to help out the shelter, we’re who you give money to now. SPCA Cincinnati still exists, still accepts donations, but they’re a private organization with managed intake,” Anderson says. “That’s a big distinction. That’s going to be a decade-long project.”

According to Anderson, total expenses for operating CAC were $4.3 million in 2021 and $4.75 million in 2022. Anderson praises the county for its financial assistance and repairs to the aging CAC building on Colerain Avenue but says the shelter will be expected to raise funds to partially cover the cost of operations. CAC’s fund-raising goal for 2023 is $1 million.

While Cincinnati Animal CARE straps in for the long-haul effort to establish its fund-raising arm, the Hamilton County board of commissioners is searching for land to build a new county shelter, which CAC will continue to operate. John P. Bruggen, assistant county administrator for Hamilton County, tells CityBeat that construction of the new shelter could take three to five years after the land is purchased. The estimated cost for the new shelter isn’t yet clear.

To remedy the issue of overcrowding and long-time shelter dwellers in the meantime, CAC is calling on dog-lovers to consider fostering a dog.

“With 100 kennels and 8,000 animals annually, there’s no way we could house only one dog per kennel and be a no-kill organization without fosters,” Anderson says. “They literally save lives everyday.”

Fostering is free, and Cincinnati Animal CARE provides the necessary supplies and veterinary care, depending on the needs of the dog. CAC works with each foster family to create a custom agreement based on the family’s availability and if they already have pets in their home. Fosters can house a dog indefinitely, for one day, or for a “slumber party,” Anderson says.

CAC fosters dogs, cats and other small animals that might come to the shelter, but Anderson says dog fosters are their greatest need right now.

Those who are interested in learning more about fostering can attend the CAC Foster Open House at 6 p.m. March 31 at the shelter at 3949 Colerain Ave. in Northside.

While CAC waits for the space they need, Anderson is looking ahead to a future where Hamilton County’s dogs can all live their best lives.

“Gone are the days of the dog pound,” Anderson says. “But we don’t do this alone – this is a community effort, and we need an active and engaged community to make this happen.”

CAC’s More Surprising Animals

Amiry the serval cat is not the only oddball animal seen by Cincinnati Animal CARE staff. In fact, Amiry isn’t even the only exotic animal to test positive for drugs at the shelter.

“The highest profile one that we’ve dealt with in the past twoand-a-half years was Neo the capuchin monkey, who was given methamphetamines,” says Ray Anderson, community engagement manager. “That case is a case that we just wrapped up and won. That monkey is safely at an undisclosed location now resting comfortably at a sanctuary.”

Beyond the wild and exotic, most of the more peculiar animals at CAC are farm-types, like chickens and goats.

“A decent number of pigs will come through [and] I think we just had a goat,” Anderson says. “A peahen – we had a female peacock come through. Lots of roosters, lots of chickens. That’s becoming more and more common because people have chickens in their backyard now. Anytime we get a rooster, they go against city code, so we have to take those in.”

Anderson spoke affectionately about one misfit animal in particular – one people normally consider a nuisance, or at least on trash day.

“We had a domesticated raccoon back in 2020 that was pretty fun. His name was Edward Scissorhands,” Anderson says. “He would sit right on your shoulder, and it looked like you were wearing a Daniel Boone cap. He was the sweetest thing. He went to a sanctuary, as well.”

There are some animals that are more difficult to take in, so CAC will work with area rescues with a specific animal specialty.

“We get the occasional raptor hawk or eagle. We have raptor rescues that we work with in those cases. We’ve dealt with a few horse cases as well,” he says.

Sometimes the animal isn’t the only odd thing CAC staff sees, it’s the way the animal ends up in their care.

“Once we had a case where the police chased a suspect in a foot pursuit and when they tackled him his bearded dragon popped out of his pocket, we’ve had that happen before,” he says.

–Madeline Fening

Ray Anderson, CAC community engagement manager, is looking forward to getting a larger animal shelter. | PHOTO: MADELINE FENING

ARTS & CULTURE

Going Hollywood

Here’s how the Lakeside Inn in Middletown became a filming haven for Austin Butler and Tom Hardy of The Bikeriders.

BY KATIE GRIFFITH

Last summer, Brian Mack purchased the Lakeside Inn in Middletown, which hadn’t been open for business in more than eight years. The previous owners tried to renovate but were overwhelmed by the amount of money and work necessary to rehabilitate the building that was over 100 years old, Mack tells CityBeat

A local real estate appraiser of 30 years, Mack says he’d dreamed of owning and renovating a bar in his hometown. But before Mack could tackle much, Hollywood knocked on the door just weeks after he’d purchased the property.

“I’m starting to do all the maintenance and getting ready to fix everything, and in June or July, we got the knock.” Mack tells CityBeat, recalling when a film location scout showed up at his door. “And they go, ‘The director needs to come back and look at it and see if he wants to use it.’

To Mack’s surprise, a crew was interested in using the Lakeside Inn as a filming location for The Bikeriders, an upcoming crime/drama movie that follows a midwestern motorcycle gang through its members’ lives. It stars Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and Michael Shannon and is directed by Jeff Nichols.

“So meeting two happened, and I got down here and there were like fourteen cars in the parking lot,” Mack says. “I walk in to all these people – the producer, director, set designer, script writer. I mean, everybody was here. It was kind of shocking.”

The fictional story that The Bikeriders details is based on a book of photos by the same name. Published in 1967, the book documents photographer Danny Lyon’s real-life experience in the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club over four years.

Mack says as soon as the second meeting concluded and a

representative asked him to talk outside, he knew that he’d eventually see the Lakeside Inn on the big screen.

“In my head I’m going, ding-dingding-ding-ding,” Mack says, thinking about how big the inn’s reputation was about to get. “They said, ‘We want to use the Lakeside Inn and its name in the movie.’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’”

Hollywood’s intervention provided Mack with some capital and

much-needed interior restoration. Filming took place for about a week, but as part of the contract with Mack, crews were working on the inn for a couple of months beforehand. Producers rented the space from Mack at an undisclosed amount and renovated parts of the space that appear in the movie. Crews also filmed segments at other sites throughout Ohio and Kentucky.

Two large rooms make up most of

Film crews will replace the missing burnt awning at Middletown’s Lakeside Inn.

PHOTO: KATIE GRIFFITH

Brian Mack was able to keep some of the props left behind by The Bikeriders film crew.

PHOTO: KATIE GRIFFITH

the Lakeside Inn, with a long, narrow kitchen in the back. Pre-Hollywood, drop ceilings and wooden panels dated the interior. That changed for the film, though. To get the look that producers wanted for The Bikeriders, crews removed the drop ceiling in the main bar room, revealing an 11-foottall space. Most of the paneling was replaced with drywall that set designers painted a deep crimson. Mack says he’ll keep the color and will use it throughout the inn to create an intimate atmosphere.

The original Lakeside Inn bar is still intact, Mack says, but set designers mounted a deer head above a vintage cash register prop and decorated the bar with old bottles and mirrors. Mack was able to keep props like signage, the deer head and items burned during a controlled, explosive fire scene.

“They took accelerant and they rolled it on with a paint roller,” Mack says. “They burned the living jack out of this building. They even took out the front windows and made firebox windows, so it really looked like the building was on fire.”

Looking at the building today, evidence of the fire is nonexistent. Mack says it left no structural damage and crews repaired anything that was ruined, but an exterior awning was sacrificed. As of press time, Mack is awaiting the arrival of a new one, paid for by the film.

Mack says he plans to use props from The Bikeriders to decorate the Lakeside Inn once construction is finished. He wants to install a photo-opp corner that features scorched props (including the Lakeside Inn’s sign) that were burned during filming.

Mack and his family were used as extras and stand-ins during the fire scene and a handful of others.

Tom Hardy was out here playing with one of the neighborhood dogs. Austin Butler was the nicest person you would ever want to meet.”

A storied history

Mack says the production crew had a name in mind for the fictional bar that would appear in Bikeriders, but they liked Lakeside Inn’s own name better. And just like that, the 100-year-old bar and restaurant gained another extraor dinary notch on its already notable timeline.

Mack says the building was erected sometime in the late 1920s and has always operated in some form as a bar or restaurant. In the ’30s, it became known as the Lakeside Inn, he says.

“It was one of the more happen ing spots back in the day,” Mack tells CityBeat. “I first came in here with my grandfather when I was very young, probably in the early ’70s. It always was a nicer place.”

In addition to now being a film location, the establishment holds another claim to fame. Mack says that according to tales passed down by locals, Clyde Barrow – half of the criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde – is rumored to have stopped by the Lakeside Inn for a drink. Barrow was arrested on March 18, 1930, in Middletown after a stint of robberies. The Middletown Division of Police keeps the jail record and photo in its lobby.

“Clyde was actually in this restaurant,” Mack says. “I guess he came in here and drank and then ended up going down to Gough-Lamb Cleaners [and] tried to rob it. I heard he threw his gun in the canal right by Smith Park.”

Mack – who co-owns the property with his son, Josh Mack – says he’d planned to honor the history of the inn before Hollywood even became part of the picture.

“The plan was to get it open and then do food trucks – real good ones – and just have them rotate. And we’d have bands – my son is a singer-songwriter in Nashville and my brother’s in a band, my cousins are in a band. We’re all in music,” Mack says.

Looking ahead

“It was absolutely surreal. They let me, my son and my daughter – we were all extras in the street watching it burn,” Mack says. “[Mack’s son] Josh was in four or five different scenes. It was just so cool, seeing all the stars up close.

Since filming concluded in the fall, Mack has been finishing renovations and plans to open for business by the end of the summer. The Lakeside Inn will again be an operating bar that now pays homage to both its history and the filming of The Bikeriders, Mack says, adding that he’ll build indoor and outdoor stages and include as many film props in the decor as he can.

The Bikeriders is scheduled to debut in late 2023.

“I felt blessed the whole time,” Mack says. “They came to ‘Middle-tucky.’ They could have used anywhere, and they actually even used our name. It was honestly God’s favor the way everything worked out.”

A Chorus Line to Be First Production Staged at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s New Theater

PREVIEW BY RICK PENDER

open seats available since some in the front row can be removed to extend the “apron” of the stage). The complex has an expansive new lobby space with an abundance of windows. Behind the scenes are new rehearsal spaces, a spacious costume shop, more dressing rooms and a comfortable “Green Room” lounge for actors with windows overlooking Eden Park.

Of course, we would be thrilled and very open to whatever the next step might be.” He mentioned a recent conversation with Broadway star Donna McKechnie, winner of a Tony Award when she originated the role of Cassie back in 1976. She told Robison, “The word’s out. Everybody knows about this production. Everybody’s eager to see what you’re making down there.”

After more than six decades a new era is dawning at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park with the opening of Moe and Jack’s Place – The Rouse Theatre, a new mainstage for the renowned regional theater. A Chorus Line, the monster Broadway hit and 1975 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, will be the first production there.

According to Blake Robison, the Playhouse’s producing artistic director who’s staging the show about 17 dancers competing for a role in a new Broadway musical and baring their souls during auditions, it’s the perfect production for this moment. In a recent interview with CityBeat, he said, “A Chorus Line is a musical about theater and the people who make it. It celebrates the theater building itself, it celebrates the artists onstage, it celebrates what’s onstage, it celebrates everything that it takes to follow one’s dreams and make something new.”

The show was suggested by Moe Rouse, the lead benefactor of the new facility alongside her husband Jack Rouse. Robison recalled that Moe suggested A Chorus Line. “As soon as she said it, it was like the clouds parted, and I just went, ‘Ah, that’s the perfect show.’” Not only is it all about why people do theater, he added, “It’s exactly the kind of show that we could not do in the

Marx Theatre. It’s a show that’s built for a proscenium stage (a deeper, arched stage). They spend 70 percent of the show in a straight line.”

It also seemed the right show emerging from the pandemic. “There was literally no work for actors for two years,” Robison mentioned. “When they sing, ‘God, I hope I get it! I really need this job!’ you know it means something today that we didn’t even understand five years ago.” In an early rehearsal one actor tearfully shared that she hadn’t worked in three years. “I’m so happy to be here,” she exclaimed, according to Robison.

The Rouse Theatre, the centerpiece of the Playhouse’s $50 million mainstage theater complex, is the only new theater from the ground up and opening in the U.S. in 2023, according to a press release. Replacing the 50-year-old Marx Theatre and its outmoded thrust stage, the Rouse’s proscenium configuration with an overhead “fly house” enabling set pieces to be lifted up or lowered into place, means increased options for set design and more partnerships with other theater companies.

With 537 seats on three levels, better sightlines and a balcony overhanging the lower level, more theatergoers can be close to the Rouse Theatre’s stage. (In some cases, like during the run of A Chorus Line, there will only be 510

Robison’s production has updated Chorus Line’s concept. “It’s pretty rare these days for anyone to audition in an empty Broadway theater,” Robison pointed out. “It was more common back in 1975. Nowadays there are studios peppered all over New York City for auditions and rehearsals. To really give a sense of what it’s like literally to be there in the room with the nerves and the sweat and the anticipation and everything, we now start this production of A Chorus Line in the studio. Over the course of the show, as we get deeper and deeper into it, that studio starts to disappear. In the end, you are in the mythic, empty theater space that we all think of when we think of A Chorus Line.”

Robison and choreographer Alex Sanchez were granted permission to develop for the first time new choreography for the production. “Alex has brought a freshness and a passion and a style that is more contemporary. He says that dancers are trained differently now. They are in the conservatory from a very, very young age, and they are stronger and more skilled, in the same way that athletes are bigger and stronger now.” Sanchez worked with renowned Broadway choreographer Bob Fosse, Robison mentioned, “so there’s a little bit more sizzle and a bit less standard ’60s and ’70s musical theater dancing.”

A Chorus Line broke Broadway records with its legendary long run from 1975 to 1990. It was revived in 2006. Might the Playhouse’s production find its way to Broadway? Robison said, “We’re aiming for something that will be fresh and relevant to today’s artists.

Robison’s cast includes Drew Lachey as Zach, the director who’s deciding the fate of the dancers. Lachey is a Cincinnati native and a singer (he was a member of the boy band 98 Degrees) with extensive Broadway experience.

“He’s got chops, that combination of someone who’s really experienced, just the right age and stature to bring something special to Zach,” Robison says.

For the Playhouse’s production, Shiloh Goodin steps into the Cassie role. She was in Paradise Square last season on Broadway. “I was just blown away by her in the auditions,” says Robison. “She has that thing that great performers can’t train for but seem to exude. When she is onstage you can’t take your eyes off of her.”

Tickets for A Chorus Line have been selling rapidly. Robison reported that the first weeks of the five-week run are nearly sold out. The show can’t be extended, since August Wilson’s Seven Guitars comes in as of April 23.

Robison also reminded theatergoers that Lloyd Suh’s The Chinese Lady opens in the Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre on March 25. “It’s very easy for a smaller Shelterhouse show to get overshadowed by A Chorus Line and the new building. The Shelterhouse was also part of this renovation project.” Suh’s play is the story of Afong Moy, supposedly the first Chinese woman to step foot on U.S. soil in 1834.

A Chorus Line, presented by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, opens its new mainstage in Eden Park, Moe and Jack’s Place –The Rouse Theater, on March 16. The show will continue through April 15.

Musa Hitomi (Connie), Diego Guevara (Paul), Courtney Arango (Diana), Drew Lachey (Zach), Jonathan Duvelson (Richie) and Erin Chupinsky (Sheila) star in A Chorus Line.

PHOTO: CLINTONBPHOTOGRAPHY

The cast of A Chorus Line will perform at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

PHOTO: MIKKI SCHAFFNER

FOOD & DRINK

Room for Improvement

The new iteration of Khora at the Kinley Hotel is a bit lackluster compared to its 2020 debut.

REVIEW BY PAMA MITCHELL

What comes to mind when you encounter the phrase “hotel food?” That might depend on how often and how recently you’ve traveled.

Overall, food service in American hotels these days ranges from the prepackaged “free” breakfasts (factored into the cost of the room) at the big hotel chains to chef-driven, cuttingedge restaurants such as Metropole in downtown Cincinnati’s 21c Museum Hotel. What seems to be an endangered species, however, are hotel restaurants somewhere between those two extremes.

I travel a fair amount and have noticed that many of the pandemicinduced cutbacks in hotel service have not been restored. For instance, I haven’t been offered daily housekeeping service for a hotel room in years. That probably doesn’t matter too much to hotel guests, who would just as soon not have staff coming into their rooms, but it has put a lot of housekeepers out of work. Another noticeable fallout from COVID-19 has been the diminishment of hotel dining facilities, either by eliminating in-house restaurants

altogether or significantly cutting the hours and range of their offerings.

The restaurant at downtown’s newest hotel, the Kinley, has followed the boom-and-bust food-service cycle I’ve encountered on visits to other cities. The hotel opened with a splash late in

2020 – the splash coming mostly from its high-profile restaurant, Khora. The hotel is part of Marriott’s boutique brand, Tribute Portfolio Hotels. As of press time, it is one of two Kinley properties, with the other in Chattanooga.

Before it opened, Khora received national attention due to its staffing dream-team that included chefs Kevin Ashworth and Edward Lee, pastry chef Megan Ketover and general manager Blair Bowman. The opening came after the COVID-19 shutdown early in 2020 but before the vaccines became available in 2021 – obviously, not an ideal

time to lure either travelers to the hotel or locals to the restaurant.

The dream-team Khora was one of my first fine-dining forays after the shutdown, and the experience definitely lived up to the hype. It was wonderful to break the COVID isolation and go out with friends to a place where everyone in the room was having a terrific time. Highlights included Ashworth’s spectacular pasta dishes and everything from Ketover, who had been pastry chef at Orchid’s, the fivestar restaurant in the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel. The culinary team was

Khora’s dining room has retained the same charm as its original iteration.

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

Khora’s menu no longer features a wide assortment of pasta dishes.

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

so impressive that Esquire magazine announced plans to name Khora one of the nation’s best new restaurants that year.

Then it fell apart when the hotel’s corporate owners fired Ashworth and Lee, followed shortly by the departure of Ketover and Bowman, late in 2021. Esquire’s published list did not include a Cincinnati entry, and within a few months, the restaurant closed. The lovely dining room sat empty, while the hotel offered minimal food service to overnight guests in its lobby bar, the Exchange.

Then, sometime in 2022, Khora quietly reopened. It’s had some time to create a new identity, so I decided to see if it bore any resemblance to the Khora of 2020-21.

The physical property retains its original charm, with lovely light fixtures, comfortable seating and a generous amount of space between the tables. The 2020-21 menu featured pastas made from unusual grains; in fact, the name “Khora” derived from the Khorasan grain of Middle Eastern origin that some Ohio farmers have revived.

But the focus on pasta was not evident in the menu we were offered, which listed only two pastas: vegetarian gnocchi and ramen chicken. Starters included roasted squash soup, two salads, beef tartare, fried cauliflower and broccolini. We ordered the soup and poached pear salad. The soup had a nice flavor profile, sweetened with poached pears and accented with roasted pecans, but they served it lukewarm. The salad included delicious bits of pumpkin seed granola and chopped quark, but the lackluster greens detracted from those ingredients.

The entrees were similarly hit-or-miss. I lucked out with the salmon dish, which was finished to a perfect “medium” level of doneness, accompanied by equally well-cooked cauliflower and brussels sprouts; at table, the server poured a broth of chili oil and lemongrass over the dish. It was excellent. Two of my companions had the smash burger, served with candied bacon, provolone,

and caramelized onions on a 16 Bricks bun. They loved it. However, the ramen chicken was flavorless; I think the kitchen may have omitted the chili oil ingredient listed on the menu. Three of our table of eight went for the daily pasta special, tagliatelle in a wild mushroom sauce. Everyone said the mushrooms were great, but the pasta itself stuck together in a gummy blob. The whole thing was room temperature, as was the ramen chicken and, as mentioned, the soup.

For now, the hotel seems to be putting an emphasis on the breakfast and lunch bars served in the lobby area. The breakfast sandwiches, toasts, espresso drinks and lunch items are available for hotel guests and the general public. You can get some decent cocktails from the bar, as well. But Khora itself is definitely still finding its way.

While trying to understand the evolution of this restaurant, I hit a wall in navigating the Kinley-Tribute PortfolioMarriott bureaucracy. Nobody wanted to talk about why management pulled the plug on the restaurant that the company said was “unprofitable” after one year in operation, even after the departing chef publicly called it “unfair” to abandon ship in the middle of a pandemic. And although Kinley’s current general manager Zackary Oxley said Tribute Portfolio was planning a “new direction” for Khora in the coming weeks and months, he was able to offer no details.

Oxley would only say that the restaurant’s food would be “more approachable” and “designed for the local community as well as guests from out of town who want to experience what Cincinnati is all about.”

Going forward, while the restaurant may not have the sky-high aspirations it did in 2020, I’m hopeful they’ll be able not only to feed overnight guests but also to entice the rest of us by producing consistently good food.

Khora, 37 W. 7th St., Downtown. Info: khorarestaurant.com.

Khora quietly reopened in 2022 after being shut down for nearly one year.

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

22 of Cincinnati’s Most Reliable Fish Frys in Greater Cincinnati

BY KATHERINE BARRIER AND KENNEDY DUDLEY

Church of the Resurrection

1619 California Ave., Bond Hill

Carryout-only fish frys are held 4-7 p.m. every Friday through March 31.

St. John Neumann

12191 Mill Road, Colerain Township

Fish frys are hosted in Daniel Hall 5-7:30 p.m. every Friday until March 31.

St. Vincent Ferrer

7754 Montgomery Road, Kenwood Fish frys are 5:30-7:30 p.m. every Friday in March.

St. Columban

894 Oakland Road, Loveland

It’s the Lenten season in Cincinnati, which can only mean one thing: fish fry Fridays are in full swing (that, and someone you know temporarily has given up chocolate). Many local churches — plus assorted savvy eateries — are offering some type of special fried fish dish on Fridays. Here are some of our tried-and-true favorites.

The Pony

1346 Main St., Over-the-Rhine

The fish sandwich and fish fry are available Fridays from noon until sellout.

R&R Quality Meats

4029 Harrison Ave., Cheviot

The fish fry menu is available 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. every Friday until April 7.

Nation Kitchen & Bar

1200 Broadway, Pendleton; 3435 Epworth Ave., Westwood; 203 Mill St., Milford

Nation serves fried haddock filet with shredded lettuce, pickles and tartar sauce on a toasted hoagie roll with a side of Saratoga chips. It’s available every day throughout March.

Mary, Queen of Heaven

1150 Donaldson Highway, Erlanger

The fish fry is 4-8 p.m. every Friday until March 31. Dine-in, drive-thru and curbside pickup are available.

St. John the Baptist

5361 Dry Ridge Road, Colerain Township

Fish frys are held 5-7 p.m. every Friday through March 31.

St. James the Greater 3565 Hubble Road, White Oak Fish frys are 4:30-7:30 p.m. March 31.

Guardian Angels Parish 6531 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington Fish frys are 5-7 p.m. every Friday through March 31.

Germania Society 3529 W Kemper Road, Colerain Township

Fish frys are held every Friday through March 31. Dine-in is 5-8 p.m., while drive-thru is available 5-7:30 p.m.

The Kolping Society 10235 W. Mill Road, Mt. Healthy Fish frys are held 5:30-7:30 p.m. every Friday through March 31.

St. William 4108 W. Eighth St., West Price Hill Drive-thru-only fish frys are held 4-7:30 p.m. every Friday in March.

St. Boniface

4305 Pitts St., Northside

A fish fry happens 5-7 p.m. every Friday through March 31.

St. Al’s Bridgetown

4390 Bridgetown Road, Bridgetown Drive-thru-only fish frys happen 4:30-7 p.m. every Friday until April 7.

St. Veronica

4473 Mt. Carmel Tobasco Road, Mt. Carmel

Fish frys are held in the parish hall 5-7:30 p.m. every Friday through March 31.

American Legion Post #318 Patriot Center, 6660 Clough Pike, Anderson

Fish frys are held 5-7 p.m. every Friday until April 7.

American Legion Post #484 1837 Sutton Ave., Mt Washington

Fish frys are 4:30-8 p.m. every Friday through April 7. Carryout is available.

Fish frys are held 5-7:30 p.m. every Friday until March 31. Drive-thru, seating in the parish hall and online ordering (credit card only) are available.

Immaculate Heart of Mary 7820 Beechmont Ave., Anderson Township Fish frys are held in the cafeteria 4:30-7 p.m. every Friday until March 31.

Our Lady of Sorrows 330 Lebanon St., Monroe Fish frys are 4:30-7:30 p.m. every Friday.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross 23345 Gavin Lane, Bright Fish frys are held 4:40-7:30 p.m. every Friday until March 31. Dine-in and carryout are available.

Fish sandwich at Nation Kitchen & Bar.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY NATION KITCHEN & BAR

Fish fry at American Legion.

PHOTO:FACEBOOK.COM/AMERICANLEGION484

Fish fry basket at St. John the Baptist.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK.COM/STJOHNDRYRIDGE

Americana

MUSIC

“I lived in Nashville for about 25 years,” Forbert tells CityBeat from his home in Asbury Park, New Jersey. “But I didn’t do a lot of playing around there, and there are only like three places to play in Mississippi where I’m from. The majority of the work and culture, if you will, is in the Northeast, from Washington, D.C. all the way to Portland, Maine.”

“I’ve had a lead guitarist with me now for the last few years,” Forbert says. “I don’t play solo as much anymore because I did it for so long, and I found a guitarist, George Naha, who can really accompany what I’m doing very well. It gives you a whole lot more with just two people. That’s what I’m going to be doing in March, for instance, at the Southgate House.”

The title track on Moving Through America, which Forbert recorded previously on 2018’s The Magic Tree in more of a full band version, sets the tone for the cartographic cruising as the driver/narrator navigates between the heartland’s cities and observes the never ceasing flow of life around him in cascading imagery.

and harmonica rack, Forbert’s early songwriting prowess focused more on youthful exuberance and personal testimony. Through the years, his writing has become more observational, utilizing character-based vignettes.

“There are still songs like ‘Buffalo Nickel,’ which are very personal, and that’s me moving through America,” Forbert says. “But when you look at a song like ‘It’s Too Bad’ about a guy with a gambling problem — those are things I see around. But I’m putting my observations out there in terms of these things happening to other people. You have the last song, ‘Palo Alto,’ which is about a cement ship decaying off the coast of Cali. I just wrote about it. It’s kind of a travelogue — there’s a lot of movement on the record.”

As music origin stories go, it’s difficult to beat Steve Forbert’s: a 21-year old hillbilly cat from Meridian, Mississippi, takes an Amtrak train to New York City in 1976 to find fame and fortune with his acoustic guitar; begins busking in Grand Central Station; opens for new bands like the Talking Heads at CBGB’s; shares the same manager with the Ramones; and signs a record contract and releases his classic debut, Alive on Arrival

Some 40 years later, Forbert writes about these formative experiences in his 2018 memoir, Big City Cat. In addition to publishing his recent book, he’s still releasing records at a prolific pace, having finished a covers project, Early Morning Rain, in 2020, and he’s now touring in support of last year’s Moving Through America. He plays the

Southgate House on March 31. Moving Through America underscores Forbert’s strengths as a singer/ songwriter: his tender rasp of a voice, wry, charming perspective, and a penchant for melody. Thematically, it’s a travelogue of songs that charts his tours driving through the highways, byways and towns of the Midwest and other regions of America.

Forbert explains how traveling around America has changed: “Well, there’s a lot of traffic out there—and just more input. As I get older, it’s not as easy to take it all in. Now I see it all as more manic. But I would also say, on the other hand, a lot of people complain about gentrification and how homogenous it is, like Targets and Ruby Tuesdays everywhere. But I’ll just tell you, when we do these duo shows my percussion is stomping on a piece of plywood that I mic in the mix — so what I’m getting at here is if I need to land in Chicago and play a show or drive up to Milwaukee, I can easily find a Home Depot or Lowe’s to get the freaking piece of plyboard, which makes a difference.”

Songwriting has always propelled Forbert’s career. Nicknamed one of the “new Dylans” by critics back in the ‘70s because of his solo approach

Moving Through America features buoyant folk-rock floods with warm melodies and textures. A few of the highlights of the album include songs like “Fried Oysters”, where a Houston man worries about the next hurricane while declaring his love for his “oyster girl”; “Living the Dream,” where an excon tries to deal with newfound freedom; and “Times Like These,” where a homeless person keeps moving from camp to camp with his meager possessions.

Blue Rose Records released the aptly-titled An American Troubadour: The Songs of Steve Forbert, a tribute collection of Forbert songs covered by over 20 artists, in 2017. It’s an obvious honor, and celebrates Forbert’s longevity, as well as the accumulative appeal of his songs over the decades. The roots music revival this millennium has helped Forbert stay relevant and expand his audience.

“Writing songs still means a lot to me. The ‘Americana’ label might have made things better, and made me more easily understood if you will,” says Forbert. “If it hadn’t been for that, I might have been more of an anachronism. They call it Americana now, but I’ve been doing that for a long time. Maybe it made it more palatable, I don’t know what would have happened if it hadn’t become a real popular style of music. Of course, it was also real popular back in the singer-songwriter days.”

Steve Forbert plays the Southgate House Revival at 8 p.m. March 31. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Info: southgatehouse.com.

‘Moving’

Steve Forbert’s latest effort, Moving Through America, cements his status as a pioneering force in the Americana genre.

BY GREG GASTON

Steve Forbert.

PHOTO: MARCUS MADDOX

“I don’t play solo as much anymore because I did it for so long, and I found a guitarist, George Naha, who can really accompany what I’m doing very well.”

MUSIC BRIEFS

Cincy Artist Propels Creed III Soundtrack

Arin Ray definitely has the X factor now.

The rising R&B artist and Cincinnati native has two songs included on the star-studded soundtrack for Creed III, the ninth installment of the Rocky franchise. Creed III: The Soundtrack features “Hate Me Now” (which Ray created with Mereba and Omen) and “Burn Bridges” (with Lute, Cozz and Reason).

Ray, who grew up in the Bond Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA). He appeared on Fox’s X Factor before graduating and then moving to Los Angeles, where he’s since written for acts like Jason Derulo and DJ Mustard. Ray released his debut R&B album Platinum Fire in 2018 and his sophomore album Hello Poison in 2022, collaborating with artists like Ari Lennox and Ty Dolla $ign.

Slick Rick to Celebrate Hip-Hop Anniversary in Cincy

Cincinnati Music Festival organizers have announced the lineup of performers for a tribute celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.

Taking place July 20, the concert will kick off the Cincinnati Music Festival. The event at the Andrew J Brady Music Center will feature hip-hop legends Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and Doug E. Fresh, according to a press release.

On July 21, the 2023 Cincinnati Music Festival will be headlined by Al Green, Jill Scott, Jodeci, Midnight Star and Gerald Albright. Snoop Dogg, Babyface, P-Funk Connection, Avery Sunshine and Norman Brown will lead the festival on July 22.

Performances on July 21 and 22 will take place at Paycor Stadium.

Snoop Dogg originally was scheduled to be a headliner for the 2020 event until it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Green’s last performance at the Cincinnati Music Festival was in 1974.

Festival information is available at cincymusicfestival.com.

– Ashley Moor

Bootsy Collins Launches Funky Coffee

Cincinnati-based king of funk Bootsy Collins now has his own coffee blend.

According to media materials, the Bootzilla Blend Coffee is a handcrafted blend that features three different coffee beans from Latin America. The beans were grown at a high altitude and in volcanic soil before being medium roasted, a product description says.

The tasting notes are described as sweet with flavors of dark chocolate, orange, black cherry and walnut, with an aroma of daffodil-like flowers.

The Bootzilla Blend retails for

$19.99 for a 12-ounce bag, which comes in either whole bean or ground, as well as regular or decaf. It’s available at concerts.cafe/product/ bootsy-collins-bootzilla-blend-coffee.

The coffee is another mark Collins is making on the retail world in recent weeks. Earlier in March, Super7 released a Bootsy action figure, decked out in a red-and-white jumpsuit and wearing star-shaped sunglasses.

– Katie Barrier

The soundtrack for Creed III was released in March along with the movie, which stars Michael B. Jordan (of Black Panther fame) and Jonathan Majors (who plays Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). The film hit theaters in the United States on March 3 and debuted at No. 1 at the box office, earning $58.7 million in its first weekend and becoming the highestearning sports film ever.

Creed III: The Soundtrack was executive produced by J. Cole’s Dreamville Records. Ray’s albums are available at arinraymusic.com.

– Kennedy Dudley

Slick Rick will perform in in July ahead of the Cincinnati Music Fest.

PHOTO: DOMINIK LIPPE AND YANNIC LIPPE, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

R&B artist and Cincinnati native Arin Ray is now linked to the highest-earning sports film ever.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK.COM/ARINRAYCAMP

SOUND ADVICE

J.I.D. AND SMINO

March 28 • Andrew J Brady Music Center

Rappers J.I.D. and Smino boast musical styles suited for the intimate venues of a garage jam session or cafe, but they’ve been taking on the big stage as of late.

The co-headliners will be performing in Cincinnati as part of their Luv is 4Ever Tour — a play off the pair’s most recent albums, Smino’s Luv 4 Rent and J.I.D.’s The Forever Story

St. Louis native Smino’s music exists in a serene haze sure to lift moods and sedate qualms. Sauntering flows that weave back and forth between drawling, charismatic croons and insouciant rapping are staples of his catalog. Luv 4 Rent is no different, with flowery instrumentals propelled by intricate drum patterns and dreamy vocal harmonies.

Atlanta rapper J.I.D. is heralded for his poetic wordplay and flows that feel like a musical ride through an obstacle course

— no flow is identical to the next. With tracks ranging from smooth jazz grooves with staunch bass lines to formidable boom bap deep cuts and moshpit-ready trap bangers, J.I.D.’s sound runs a gamut that enshrines him with the best in his field.

On The Forever Story, J.I.D. escorts listeners through introspective glimpses into past and present experiences, boldly calling out systemic racism while reflecting on the Black experience in America.

This performance of vulnerable and outspoken commentary to a sold out crowd of thousands at the Andrew J Brady Music Center should make for an emotionally staggering night. The acts will perform with a live band, infusing the raw and eclectic nature of their sounds into the large-scale live renditions.

J.I.D. and Smino play the Andrew J Brady Music Center at 8 p.m. March 28. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Info: bradymusiccenter.com. (Killian Baarlaer)

J.I.D.

PHOTO: THE COME UP SHOW, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

SONNY LANDRETH AND CINDY CASHDOLLAR

March 30 • Southgate House Revival

If guitar is your passion, whether through listening or playing, one of the more inspirational shows of the year will be the six-string nirvana pairing of Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar at the Southgate House Revival on March 30. Landreth, the Louisiana-based bluesman, has been a renowned slide player for decades, earning his cred way back as a young prodigy and eventually developing into a master. Blacktop Run, his most recent release in 2020, combines electric, Cajun blues instrumentals, Southern swamp-rock and acoustic roots anchored by his emotional vocals and fingerpicked National steel guitar. Landreth’s history also includes gigs as a member of John Hiatt & The Goners, as well as collaborations with John Mayall, Allen Toussaint and Eric Clapton.

Landreth discusses his diverse influences with Premiere Guitar, and explains,

“I heard BB King when I was 16, and at a funky little club in Louisiana I heard Clifton Chenier for the first time — the Zydeco King. He invited me inside and my world changed that night. I also saw, heard, and met Jimi Hendrix in the late‘60s when he played Baton Rouge.”

A former member of Asleep at the Wheel, the veteran Texas swing band, Cindy Cashdollar is a lap-steel, dobroplaying virtuoso. Like Landreth, she has collaborated with the best, adding her steel guitar twang on many records by artists including Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton as a studio musician. Landreth and Cashdollar share the stage as a seated duo on this tour, accompanying each other on guitar and vocals as they deliver country and blues standards and their own music.

Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar play the Southgate House Revival March 30. The Suitcase Junket opens the show. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Info: southgatehouse.com.

(Greg Gaston)

SIMON JOYNER

April 5 • Torn Light Records

Omaha, Nebraska singer-songwriter Simon Joyner will be bringing his brand of unique and poetic folk to Cincinnati in early April with a show at Torn Light Records in Clifton. After more than 30 years in the music scene, Joyner continues to churn out carefully crafted records, though his newer releases are slightly more polished production-wise and a far cry from his lo-fi roots in the ‘90s.

Joyner’s influence can be heard in the songwriting of contemporaries and selfdescribed Joyner fans, like fellow Omaha native Conor Oberst, Beck and Kevin Morby. Listening to a Joyner song is in some ways akin to reading a short story by Raymond Carver or Andre Dubus: you get an immediate sense of the narrator’s vision and skillful handling of words while a character’s whole life is played out from start to finish in just under four minutes, like “Jefferson Reed” from 2015’s Grass, Branch & Bone

Joyner recently returned from a European tour with his daughter, Frances

Joyner, in tow, making stops in England, France, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Denmark. He’s funded his upcoming U.S. tour with an interesting project consisting of ten songs from any of his previous albums re-recorded per a fan’s request, and available to purchase as One Carried A Lantern on his Bandcamp page.

Joyner has also been busy promoting his newest album, Songs from a Stolen Guitar, released on his own label, Grapefruit Records. According to an interview with Casbah Records, Songs from a Stolen Guitar was recorded during the height of the pandemic with each musician playing their parts in isolation from their home studios, resulting in tighter and more focused arrangements. If you care about lyrically dense songwriting with music reminiscent of Joyner’s personal heroes, like Townes Van Zandt and Tim Buckley, be sure to stop by Torn Light Records to hear one of music’s best kept secrets.

Simon Joyner plays Torn Light Records on April 5. The time has yet to be determined. Info: instagram.com/simonjoynermusic. (Derek Kalback)

Simon Joyner.

PHOTO: SCHORLE, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Sonny Landreth.

PHOTO: CEEDUB13, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

CROSSWORD

Across

1.  Taking for-ev-er

5.  Feeling uninspired

AW YEAH

BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY WWW.BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM

9.  “Ice Ice Baby” vis-à-vis “Play That Funky Music,” originally

14. ___ Winston (“Sons of Anarchy” character)

15. Palm Beach County city, for short

16.  Part man or part woman?

17. Very faint raven’s cries?

19.  Pasta strainer, e.g.

20.  Garnish on a toothpick

21.  “Hard agree”

23. Egg, in some prefixes

25. It’s bad in Bordeaux

26. Error in a salon?

35. It has a famous solo in “Swan Lake”

36. Place for a misstep

37. Petco Park player

38. Three-day weekend day: Abbr.

39. “Positive ___ only”

41. Rock to be processed

42. Smokes some weed, e.g.

45. Word alongside a harp on some Euros

46. Babymetal’s genre

47. Things you hear and see when Garfield plays a song everybody knows on a piano?

50. Thing torn in some season-ending injuries: Abbr.

51. Play in the sand

52. Justice Dubya nominated

57. Adult

61. Mathematician who popularized pi to denote the ratio of a circle

62. Things a blackbird might win?

64. Nasty nag

65. One eliciting a message to the shareholders, say

66. Unattractive pile

67. Game that tactical geniuses play 4D versions of

68. Confession recitation

69. Jyn ___ (“Rogue One” heroine)

Down

1. Somewhat, in music

2. Translucent stone

3. Chinese gooseberry, by another name

4. Forward motion in the Senate

5. Cyber crime-fighting force

6. Lethargic

7. What an ice pack soothes

8. Splitting words

9. What Paul McCartney plugs into

10. Guitarist Patti in the E Street Band

11. Here’s the thing

12. Peacenik’s symbol

13. Preposition used by bards

18. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” star

22. It’ll provide you with a provider: Abbr.

24. Broadcasting

26. Barber’s props

27. WWII menace

28. Big name in small trucks

29. Rosey of the Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome”

30. Very keen

31. Safari rival

32. Parkinson’s treatment

33. Weather vane part

34. Cries

40. Gmail button

43. Canine coverings

44. Memory expanders in some smartphones

46. Common computer graphic attachment

48. “___ things being equal ...”

49. “New Look” innovator

52. Related stuff

53. Toilet paper additive

54. Middle of the month

55. Vehicle with a meter

56. He plays Carl in the upcoming “Paint”

58. Bleu hue

59. Coups de grace

60. Phil whose #7 was retired by the Bruins, for short

61. ~ neighbor

63. Trojans attack them

LAST PUZZLE’S ANSWERS:

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