Good Eats (and Drinks)

For many years, the primary conversation around Greater Cincinnati’s food scene was “Skyline or Gold Star?” “UDF or Graeter’s?” was popular as well. And people had a lot of opinions about Frisch’s Big Boy.

But recently the conversation has taken a different turn, as locals now proudly claim independent eateries, brewpubs and culinary shops as their own personal favorites. And the love isn’t just coming from inside the region, either, with esteemed publications such as The Chicago Tribune, The New Yorker and even Food & Wine magazine lavishing attention on our area’s rising gastronomic status.

Beyond the glowing writeups, immutable word of mouth and long wait lists, though, are people— people with dogged determination, burning passions and culinary visions. These proprietors put their hopes, time and finances into a notoriously difficult retail arena, pushing themselves to the limit so people can share their dream with them. And with each new café or bottle shop, our region becomes a better place to live, work and play.

These people embody the concept of entrepreneurialism, and it’s no surprise that, behind many of Greater Cincinnati’s most exciting taste experiences, you’ll find graduates of Northern Kentucky University. From journalists to microbiologists, accounting majors to MPAs, each exhibits the entrepreneurial streak common to so many of the school’s students and alumni.

In the following pages, we’ll take a look at just a few of the restaurants, watering holes and food experiences that NKU alumni have opened around the region in recent years. And to make it fun, we’ve organized things around common meals of the day, from breakfast to dinner to late-night snacks and drinks.

BON APPÉTIT!

TASTE THE MEMORY

ONE LOCAL DOUGHNUT SHOP RECREATES A HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD EXPERIENCE.

In the heart of Latonia’s business district, customers line up on Winston Avenue outside a compact, one-story storefront just as the sun begins to set. Inside the building, walls are hung with vintage photos of the Covington neighborhood. Steam billows from the kitchen as hundreds of hot doughnuts— glazed, blueberry, cinnamon—leave the fryer. When doors finally open, the line of people is long, sometimes reaching the corner.

This is typical for MOONRISE DOUGHNUTS, which serves more than 130 dozen fresh doughnuts on any given night. Why serve doughnuts in the evening? Well, it’s a neighborhood tradition.

Keith Bales (’93, ’97), a lifelong resident of Latonia and the man behind Moonrise, wanted to recreate a treasured piece of history—the old Latonia Bakery, which sold hot doughnuts at night from the building until the late 80s. Bales remembers running with his friends to the bakery after sunset to get hot, fresh doughnuts, and now, decades later, he’s brought the experience back to the neighborhood.

At Moonrise, families buy doughnuts for breakfast the next morning. Some stop by for dessert after dinner. Customers pick up catering orders for weddings or parties. Others grab their to-go bags on the way to bonfires or sporting events.

Bales’ background isn’t in baking doughnuts, but he’s no stranger to entrepreneurship. He began buying rental properties when he was 20 years old and has owned a janitorial service, nuisance abatement business and, briefly, sandwich shop over the years.

“As a business owner, I was always interested in social causes and the government’s role in solving those issues,” he says. “I wanted to get more involved, but I realized in order to do that I needed to gain a bit of credibility… so I went back to school. I began with sociology because it was a macro approach to social systems, and I added psychology as a double major because it helped me understand the human behavior component of public policy.”

When Bales became an undergraduate student at Northern Kentucky University, he was nearly 30 years old. He gained experience at several different agencies while pursuing his undergraduate degrees, then enrolled in NKU’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. He went on to become a juvenile probation officer and spent most of his career in the local juvenile detention center.

Bales also worked his way up the ladder in city government, but, all the while, the idea of Latonia Bakery stayed fresh in his mind.

“It was one of those things where for years I said that somebody ought to,” Bales says. “After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to go ahead and do it. I don’t really think I went back to my job after that. I went into early retirement almost immediately.

“We outgrew this building the day we opened. We consider ourselves a doughnut boutique rather than a fullscale bakery. We want to stay small enough that we can continue to have excellent customer service. That’s why we’re here.”

That excellent customer service is a key part of what Bales is after with Moonrise Doughnuts—providing the experience he’s grateful to have had as a Latonia native.

“There are so many great shops in Greater Cincinnati. We’ll never say we are the best doughnuts in town,” he says. “We fill a particular need—an experience that consists of evening hours, a familyfriendly atmosphere and extremely fresh doughnuts that were just made. I love that we get to know people by their first names and see kids experience what I experienced growing up in this neighborhood.”

—Jayna Morris

GO BIG OR GO HOME

COVINGTON RESTAURANT THE GRUFF WAS FOUNDED ON FAMILY, INTUITION AND A LEAP OF FAITH.

Kristin Steuber (’03) found serving people rewarding when she worked her way through NKU waiting tables, but the journalism and marketing major didn’t expect her career to ultimately land her in the restaurant business. But now more than 15 years later, she and her husband, Avram—a professionally trained chef— own THE GRUFF, a vibrantly colored, family-friendly restaurant on the Kentucky side of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge on Covington’s riverfront.

How she got here was somewhat happenstance, but she credits much of the couple’s success thus far to trusting their mutual gut. In early 2010, she was working at Marriott when the Steubers’ circumstances changed, pushing them to get creative: The economy was weak, reeling from the Great Recession, and her husband was between jobs, so they decided to utilize their combined skill sets to dive into the catering business, opening Twin Bistro on Covington’s Brent Spence Square.

“People said, ‘Oh you won’t make any money doing that,’” Steuber recalls. “And I was like, ‘I say we do this. You have a talent, and we can make this work.’ More people were starting to own restaurants, so we were in good company.”

The catering business was tough, though, and she says they struggled to drum up business outside a steady stream of corporate clients. If they wanted to reach the level of success they had envisioned, they had to go big.

“You learn from failure,” she says. “I’m not saying the first place was a failure, but it flatlined. It’s what pushed us to take this larger risk.”

At that point, with two small children and another on the way, they put it all on the line, closing Twin Bistro and opening The Gruff in January 2015. With a vision in mind of an artisanal pizza–serving deli—an equally great place to take the kids and grab a decent bite and a drink—the Steubers found a location that, to them, felt like stars aligning: just a bridge footpath away from Smale Riverfront Park, the stadiums and downtown Cincinnati, not to mention in close proximity to Covington’s business district.

The name references “Three Billy Goats Gruff” (also a nod to her three kids), and the troll from the children’s tale is even painted onto a patio wall shared with the bridge. “We just wanted a place where people felt welcome, and they didn’t have to feel overdressed or underdressed and could bring their kids or their dogs,” says Steuber.

The menu is just as approachable, specializing in homey shared plates (think deviled eggs and beef stroganoff-topped french fries), simple sandwiches, soups, salads and creatively topped pizzas (Steuber’s favorite is the apple and bacon pie with blue cheese and arugula). Their ingredient sourcing matches Steuber’s values, using locally grown ingredients in their dishes and, to support other small businesses, community-made products in the retail area.

Thinking of how the restaurant’s interior would be laid out, she thought back to an experience her brother, who briefly lived in Ukraine, shared with her: “Almost every restaurant there has a kids area and—we couldn’t do it here because it’s a liability—but they have nannies watch your kids while you hang out with your friends,” she says. She adapted the idea, nixing the dividing wall and babysitters, and instead opted for open sightlines so parents could converse with one another while watching their children play games in the restaurant’s play area. That strategy has paid off, she says: “The community latched onto that right away—like, I can take my kids somewhere, finally!”

Their goal of serving other families has paid off for Steuber’s family, too. The most rewarding aspect of running her own business, she says, is having more flexibility to be around for her children so she doesn’t miss a precious moment. —Kaileigh Peyton

LITTLE BAKERY, BIG HEART

ONE MAYSVILLE BAKERY PAIRS DELECTABLE CONFECTIONS WITH A MISSION TO SERVE.

For most Maysville, Kentucky, residents, the historic building at downtown’s 8 W. Second St. is the old Limestone Square Mall (the city’s original name was Limestone Landing), once home to Merz Brothers and Kline’s Department Store and, until recently, an empty space. But today, the interior is once again bustling with activity as a bakery team works hard decorating picture-perfect cupcakes, setting up a display of transparent tarts (a Maysville favorite), washing dishes and opening the cash register for the day’s customers.

At first glance, SPRINKLES OF HOPE isn’t a whole lot different from other bakeries—there are glass cases displaying bright frosting, and the sweet smell of confection hangs in the air. But one thing sets this place apart—the nonprofit bakery is on a mission to make the world a little bit sweeter by providing meaningful employment to adults with physical, developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Sprinkles of Hope was born out of the friendship between Mary Jo Shepherd (’07, ’11), a two-time alumna of Northern Kentucky University and special education teacher at Straub Elementary School, and Meagan Brannon, a nurse at Bracken County Nursing and Rehab Center.

Both women grew up in Maysville, but their paths never crossed until years later at an event for children with special needs (Brannon’s oldest son has autism). They learned they shared a common interest and an even bigger question: How do individuals with disabilities—who make up less than 20 percent of the U.S. labor force and often lose the support they need to thrive when leaving the school system—find their footing in the modern world?

The two became fast friends as, in the following months, they continued to discuss their common concern. Finally, they arrived at an answer that came with a call to action: There needed to be a business that employs adults with disabilities. And they needed to open it.

Shepherd and Brannon didn’t have any particular business idea on their radar, so they met with the Maysville Chamber of Commerce and took a course through the Maysville Regional Entrepreneur Center to learn the basics of starting, running and growing a business.

“When we looked at what Maysville actually needed, we knew it needed a bakery,” Shepherd says.

Neither Shepherd nor Brannon had baking or business experience, but they were eager to begin making a difference in the world. They started from scratch and raised money through crowdfunding to get the bakery off the ground. Some might say Shepherd gets her entrepreneurial spirit from her uncle—Frank Steely, NKU’s first president and faculty member in the History department until 2001.

Two-and-a-half years later, in May 2018, Sprinkles of Hope opened to the public in a cramped former grocery store further down Second Street. Less than a year later, the

bakery relocated to its current location in the spacious and pedestrian-friendly Limestone Square Mall. Both women believe their experience with special needs children brought them together, and they're happy to make a difference.

Shepherd and Brannon want their employees to take pride in their work, and the bakery is built on independence and professional development. Employees shine daily as they bake, serve customers, take orders, decorate desserts and more. Beyond the day-to-day duties of the job, Shepherd and Brannon also give their employees guidance, education and training to succeed in life long after they’ve left Sprinkles of Hope.

“We don’t want this to be the only job they’ve ever had,” Brannon says. “Mary Jo and I talk to them about what their dream job is. We want this to be a job to put on a resume and give them the experience they need to showcase their skills to other employers.”

Shepherd learned a vital lesson when she was on campus—something her NKU professors instilled in her—that she carries with her in the classroom and at the bakery.

“Seeing independence is really big for me,” Shepherd says. “Seeing our young adults be independent and gain skills and self-confidence has been exciting. That’s something I work on in the classroom. It’s not just about teaching them. I want them to be self-sufficient. It’s about helping them in the real world and making sure they have meaningful lives.”

—Jayna Morris

SECOND ACT

LUCIUS Q BRINGS 'MIDWEST BARBEQUE' TO DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI'S PENDLETON NEIGHBORHOOD.

Barbecue and radio don’t have much in common beyond a shared association with really great backyard parties. But Aaron Sharpe (’00), former WNKU station manager and current co-owner of LUCIUS Q in Pendleton, credits his nearly two decades at the station for where it’s taken him—behind the doors of one of Cincinnati’s most buzzed-about barbeque joints.

As far back as he can remember, Sharpe was a fan of WNKU, NKU’s legendary independent radio station. He volunteered in the studio while studying at the University of Cincinnati, and, during the 1998-99 academic year, transferred to NKU specifically to gain a more hands-on role. While pursuing his degree in television and radio, he was hired to fill in temporarily for another staff member, and the position eventually turned permanent. Over the years, he became a fixture of the area’s indie music scene and beyond, making connections with up-and-coming bands and local business owners alike. Two years before the station’s 2017 sale, Sharpe began exploring the possibility of opening a side business. “I knew I eventually wanted to do something different and work for myself,” Sharpe says. He and friend Jeff Keate, who had decades of experience in the restaurant industry, started looking into opening a music venue in Over-the-Rhine.

They had their sights set on what is now the Woodward Theater on Main Street, but another interested party—the owners of MOTR Pub—acted first. They considered the music venue now known as OTR Live, but it wasn’t the right fit. “We felt like it was a bigger bite than we could chew,” he says. The landlord there, however, owned another property two blocks east in Pendleton that he thought they should consider.

“I had been in Pendleton before, but I never really thought much about the neighborhood and its potential,” Sharpe says. “When we really looked at it with different eyes, in terms of having a business, that’s really what got us all excited about opening something up. We liked the idea of being off the beaten path.”

The pair could envision their music venue in the space, but they also saw potential for much more. “We thought, it’s not a traditional music venue, but it could be a cool bar with live music and maybe even food,” he says. “In many ways, we kind of worked backwards.” Keate’s close friend from high school, Tom Martin, had grown a reputation as the pitmaster at Smoq in Springdale, and Keate proposed the idea of opening a barbecue joint with Martin as their pitmaster. The two canvassed the neighborhood, asking residents how they felt about the concept, and reactions affirmed their notions. They brought on a third partner, Shane Spears, to oversee the business and financial side, and got started refining the idea.

The three partners, along with Martin, traveled the country trying different styles of barbecue. They spent countless hours testing and tasting different rubs, woods and meats until they settled on their menu. “We call it Midwest barbecue,” says Sharpe, “but it’s just our favorite stuff from all over the country.”

Staying true to their Over-the-Rhineadjacent location, they designed a somewhat upscale experience, with an industrial-yet-cozy interior and thoughtfully crafted dishes. Lucius Q sources its pulled pork, brisket, ribs, smoked pork bellies and chicken wings from longtime downtown butcher Avril-Bleh, and scratch-made sides like Parmesan-blue cheese grits, creamy smoked gouda mac and cheese, and a broccoli salad with pecans and dried cranberries tossed in vinaigrette round things out.

Since opening last March, the restaurant pulls a steady crowd for smoky bites, libations and free live music every weekend. Sharpe is the first to admit he’s a fish out of water in the restaurant industry, but he credits the lasting connections from his time at WNKU with making it all possible.

In fact, he says the two aren’t that different at the end of the day: “When you come in on a Friday night and the garage doors are open, the band is rockin’, there’s a line out the door and people are having a good time, there’s nothing quite like that. We’re building community around food and music. In many ways it’s very similar.”

—Kaileigh Peyton

REGIONAL CHEESE

A CINCINNATI CHEESE SHOP PUTS THE FOCUS ON LOCAL, DOMESTIC MAKERS.

Stephanie Webster (‘13) just wanted a cute little shop where she could sip wine, savor good cheese and enjoy a conversation with friends. But she couldn’t find an exact match, so she started her own artisanal cheese shop, THE RHINED, in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.“I conceived it from the floor to the ceiling,” she says, “every detail, every little thing.”

The Rhined is only a couple of years old, opening in summer of 2017, but the shop’s origin story starts years earlier, in a college class that spurred Webster’s fascination with fermentation and the food products it creates.

After transplanting from Lexington with her to-be husband (and future business partner), Dave, Webster decided to finish her undergraduate biology degree at NKU, where a science lab teacher taught the microbiology of fermentation by making delicious foodstuffs.

“We made an Indian fresh-style cheese and wine out of Welch’s grape juice,” she says. “The professor was telling us how she made yogurt at home on her windowsill, and I was like, wow, this is amazing!” Webster started making yogurt at home, too, then pursued further kitchen adventures, from sauerkraut to raw-milk butter to, you guessed it, cheeses such as fromage blanc and mozzarella. Meanwhile she finished her bachelor’s, attended grad school and, ultimately, took a job teaching high school science—which she quickly realized was wrong for her. “I just couldn’t wait to get back to food.” So after two years of teaching, she quit to become a cheesemonger, and she hasn’t looked back.

Situated on Elm Street, directly across from downtown Cincinnati’s 167-year-old Findlay Market, The Rhined’s cozy storefront features a case jam-packed with cheeses and charcuterie, a few tables and a massive oak bartop with pull-up stools. Artisanal preserves, pickles and other offerings sit on strategically placed shelves; wines are displayed throughout the store; and a glass-door cooler holds craft beer, chilled wines and assorted beverages.

It’s hard to imagine a better setting than The Rhined’s airy and inviting space for a glass of red, cheese flight and engaging conversation (unless you’re sitting on the patio out back on a sunny day). And for people familiar with the neighborhood’s rebirth—in 2009 Over-the-Rhine was notoriously named the most dangerous neighborhood in the U.S. by an insurance analytics company—it’s just further proof that people like Webster and her husband are bringing impactful change to the area.

“We live in the neighborhood—we bought a house almost eight years ago,” she says. “So when we decided to open a business, we knew we wanted it to be in OTR. We know the people here; we know what they want and who our customers would be.” And in addition to being part of the area’s overall revitalization, they’re bringing welcome change to their immediate neighborhood of north Over-the-Rhine, paving the way for new retail ventures to open and contribute to the burgeoning nightlife. “It’s safer for the neighborhood, to have businesses open at night,” she says. “We’re hoping that by next summer it’s going to be a whole different feel at night.”

At The Rhined, Webster focuses on regional cheeses, infusing decadence with social responsibility by featuring small local and domestic cheesemakers committed to sourcing milk from farmers who raise animals on pasture. “We give these amazing makers, who make beautiful cheese, a voice and a place in a case rather than just devoting it to the same European cheeses everyone else has.” Though The Rhined does sell select European offerings, she believes it’s important to support small, domestic producers first, as they don’t enjoy the subsidies that cheesemakers oversea receive (stateside, most farm subsidies go to corn and soy growers).

With sold-out tasting classes, a steady stream of business and the recent acquisition of Oakley Wines in a nearby neighborhood, it’s safe to say that Webster’s vision for The Rhined is an unqualified success. Not that she was ever worried.

“I never doubted it,” she says. “We had so much support from the very beginning that it just felt good. It felt like we could do it.”

—Rodney Wilson (’00)

TAPPED OUT

HIGHER GRAVITY IS A NORTHSIDE CRAFT-BEER HAVEN.

With accounting backgrounds in risk assessment, HIGHER GRAVITY Crafthaus’ Jason Parnes (‘08) and Nick Belleman (‘10) may be the last people you’d expect to venture into retail self-employment. But they did, walking away from successful careers at Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young to open the Northside bar and bottle shop in 2017. Parnes, an accounting graduate, and Belleman, who earned his Master of Accountancy from NKU, developed an appreciation for craft beer while traveling extensively for work, and trying a variety of regional delicacies was a definite perk.

“I was traveling all over the country,” says Parnes, “and it seemed like every city I went to there were 10 more cool breweries that I wanted to check out.”

“It was just such a cool, unique experience to do at a pretty young age,” says Belleman, whose travel was largely international. “I got to experience different food cultures and try new things, which I really enjoyed.”

But while they both feel fortunate to have experienced so much of the world, constant work travel took a toll on them and their loved ones. A homebrew beer kit gifted to Parnes got him thinking about staying home, and he began brainstorming ways to use his craft-beer love for a career change.

“For a while I was just sending him ideas,” Parnes says, pointing to Belleman. “I knew he was burnt out, and I was ready to do something for ourselves. Finally, we were just like, ‘Let’s go. Let’s try this out.’”

Stocked with 500 craft beers, 14 on tap, and more than 100 wines, Higher Gravity is a welcome addition to the tight-knit Northside community. The pair designed their store with accessibility in mind, with iPads featuring a sortable inventory that links to Untappd beer reviews and a mobile-friendly site that makes browsing a breeze. And Higher Gravity’s staff has been trained to be uncommonly approachable—important for an industry with a daunting reputation.

“I look back at our product wall here and, if you’re not super into beer, it can be extremely overwhelming,” says Parnes. “So our bartenders are trained to not be judgmental, to not push anyone toward a product but to have people experience something that’s similar but different.”

“It’s funny, now everyone has a certain style,” adds Belleman, “and you can just talk to them for two minutes and be like, alright, this is what you normally drink. I have six or seven beers that I already know I can give to you and you’re going to probably like. That’s actually one of my favorite games.”

The duo’s outreach extends beyond well-informed bartending, too, with a YouTube channel that explores beers for viewers all over the world and partnerships with breweries on collaborations and “gypsy brews” (beers produced in third-party facilities). And the space is meant to be a “third space” for remote workers and freelancers to connect, with comfortable seating, free Wi-Fi and plenty of plugs, while weekly events give their Northside neighbors a place to hang out together and drink beer.

“We try to make sure every customer gets a full experience,” says Parnes, “whatever that experience needs to be.” —Rodney Wilson (’00)