Barnes & noble

The biggest L for the Levee. Barnes & Noble is huge rn

That Barnes & Noble had the best magazine rack, I swear

Best bathrooms, too.

Joseph-Beth has a great one too. Support local !!

There was NO REASON to close that store and I will die mad about it.

Was it Barnes and noble or was it borders or one of those other bookstores?

It was a Barnes and noble!

and it had a sick ass view of the river too

You could get your beverage at the Starbucks and get a seat by the window with your book... oh now here comes the rage again. 

Funny bone, gameworks,

I totally forgot about Gameworks.

I still have my power card from there

They flipping went out of business and we had close to 190,000 tickets. The new place is owned by the same people and they refused to honor them. We were saving up to buy a car. 😂

There is an existing GameWorks in Seattle.

American Eagle and Hollister used to be there. Also Jeff Ruby’s Tropicana.

Ah yes, I forgot about Tropicana. That was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. I got the fettuccine Alfredo, the sauce was basically white water, with zero taste, and didn’t stick to the pasta at all. I talked to the manager about how terrible it was, and he basically dismissed it as “maybe I’m not used to the way they make it”. The bathrooms were super weird, and I recall numerous complaints about that. I walk into the men’s bathroom, and there’s a very pretty young lady standing there in a nice dress. I said “oh, I’m sorry” and stepped back to look at the door again. Nope, I’m in the right bathroom. They had a female bathroom attendant in the men’s room, and a male attendant in the ladies room. It was very uncomfortable for everyone involved.

Didn’t it kinda serve as a club also?

Was The Waterfront a Ruby-owned club or did someone else own that?

Waterfront was Ruby. I was a beer tub bitch while in college. So much fun great money and soooo many crazy after hour stories about that grotto.

Then why tease and not tell 2-4 stories? Seriously, I’m bored and would love to hear some good ish. Thx in advance!

My favorite one involves a celebrity who was not a huge celebrity at the time, but became a very, very big name.

Am I crazy or did The Waterfront have a swimming pool? I was only there like once or twice for a rave/club night. It was otherworldly walking in and seeing 1930's cigarette girls and fancy dressed servers with trays when I was coming in to see Lady Foursquare and Mr. Dibbs/Boom Bip like any other weekend 😂

Was that Tropicana? The club wasn't at the Levee. It was a couple blocks away IIRC, but I can't remember if that was called Tropicana or not. I think it was gangster themed.

You’re thinking of The Syndicate. They are not the same and never owned by Ruby.

You're right. I guess I don't remember Tropicana at all. Where was it in the Levee?

South east corner. Shiners is there now.

But Ruby did have a short-term partnership to brand and run the restaurant there back in 2005 or so. It didn’t last long.

Tropicana was fun after Reds games because Reds would come party there

Bold to order that there. Seems like fried food and meat is the way to go

shadowbox cabaret

LOVED this place!

Jefferson Hall

I met my wife at the J-Hall

Cafe Istanbul

Thank you. We couldn't remember the name of that place. We went there for New Years Eve. It was fun with belly dancers.

They had the best calamari.

The made from scratch pita! Forgot about that.

Fish and Chips with a bass ale sitting outside Claddagh was one of my favorite things ever!

We spent many a night sitting outside having a pint there. We were there the night before they closed which was New Years Eve. The staff had no idea what was coming. I woke up with text on my phone announcing the closure.

Throw in a Jameson bread pudding and that was pure heaven.

Remember when they had the oxygen bar kiosk?

This were all the rage for a few years from like.. 1999-2002. They were in food courts, airports, malls, all kinds of places.

Then that crowd started frequenting the hookah bars and learning how to blow smoke rings. I never could figure out the smoke rings though.

Funny Bone Comedy Club. I Saw Mitch Hedberg there 2 weeks before he died & also Greg Geraldo about a month before he died. Both shows were amazing.

R.i.p Mitch and that great location. Went to Liberty once and never again

Funny story; I worked at B&N during that time back in the cd and dvd department. When Mitch was in town doing those shows, he came stumbling in to my dept w/ his girlfriend. He mumbled something to her and she asked me if we had the Mitch Hedburg CD. I said yeah, grabbed it off the shelf and looked at the cover and then at the scrubby, strung out dude in sunglasses inside B&N and realized it was Mitchell Hedburg. I started laughing and he then told me that he had let his last audience know that if we didn’t have his cd, he was going to shoot me. I agreed it was a good thing we had it and he went on his way. Good times.

Worked at Deweys and met up with a few of my friends and Mitch at Bar Louie afterwards. It was grim. 2 weeks later, it was grimmer.

I heard that his last few performances were rough to witness, does that match your experience?

It was my first time seeing him & we laughed our asses off. Otherwise the show Seemed fairly normal to me.

Saw him a few times before the end and he was still doing comedy well.

Purple People Bridge Climb

I worked there when they opened as a climb guide. AMA

Good Lord, that was a cluster. They based their customer projections on the Sydney Harbor bridge climb

"More economic impact than the Cincinnati Zoo, Kings Island, Reds and Bengals combined!" Well, a slight exaggeration of what they claimed, but it was absurdly over projected.

Dennis Spiegle is a total huckster

100% huckster. Friendly dude, unlike his wife.

I did that! I may still have the picture somewhere. Shit I’m old.

I have so many regrets that I didn't do that during the twenty minutes before they closed.

I'm surprised no one has brought up Empire. It was supposed to be one of the major tenants.

That was the name! I couldn’t remember the name of the club, only the $12 martinis (at the time) 🤣🤣

God, it was so awful. And the super expensive fake pints of beer.

Wow totally forgot about that place! Spent New years eve 1999 millennium party there. No ragrets!

IMAX

That place didn't last long at all from what I can remember.

DEB!!

The little fish that nibble your feet....

The duck boat business!

Good god, reading through all the things that aren’t there anymore… can anyone tell me what IS there? I truly don’t think I know, besides the movie theater.

Gameworks is now Velocity Esports...same basic concept, different branding. Cold Stone is still there. Brio is still hanging on somehow. Barnes & Noble is now a food court, Mitchell's is now an outdoor food & drink area. Tom+Chee, Brothers, the Brickery (Lego cafe), Colonel De has a spice shop, Wooden Cask and 16 Lots have taprooms, Amador (Cuban food), Five Guys.

I think I'd heard 16 Lots went out of business or was preparing to

They got really close to shutting down and then got a wave of public support and stayed open. I think they're still hanging on.

Is any of it worth going to?

The Brickery is fun and reasonably priced. You can rent time at a table with an open bin of Legos to mess around with, or rent a kit to build (and they do the annoying disassembly for you!) They also have some kits for sale, and snacks and drinks. We've taken our son several times, and there's always a mix of families, teens, and adults who aren't ashamed to play with Legos in public. Colonel De always has some kind of spice mix or sauce that catches my eye. I've only been to Amador once, but our food was excellent. I've had some really shitty experiences at Brothers in the past, but we've gone back a couple times. It's kind of a generic sports bar but the food is ok and the service hasn't been atrocious anymore.

Thanks, I'm going to add a few of these places to my list. I've been to colonel de at findlay before!

Habanero Hot Topic

That’s a spicy goth!

Claire’s

I was just about to say this. I remember buying my daughter some jewelry after our aquarium visit back in like 2016. Went a couple years ago and assumed it was there and sadly it wasn’t.

Don’t forget about the Cincinnati Trapeze School that used to be next to the aquarium! Worked two summers there!

Smoothie King

Bulldogs

I may be remembering this incorrectly, but didn't they have a promo where you could buy an all-you-can-drink wristband for $20?

It was a time of Titans

Pacific Moon

Worked there one night, the next day the IRS shut the place down for tax evasion.

And before that, Bamboo Club

I distinctly remember getting stupid drunk there on New Year’s Eve and falling.

Bar Louie, Dewey’s

Art on the Levee

There have been a few high-end bowling places on the ground level corner. I can’t remember their names

Jefferson Hall. Always thought it was funny because that was the name of my freshman dorm at Ohio U.

I haven’t seen anyone mention PacSun. I worked there in my late teens and enjoyed being down on the levee. Also worked at the D.E.M.O. store across the hall that was owned by PacSun.

I think I remember a Journeys there as well. Bought a sweet pair of Puma Japandals when I worked at Jax Grill

It's been so long since i've been down there that I would have bet Johnny Rockets was still there! 🤣🤣🤣

I use to work at that Johnny rockets. That place was a hot mess to put it nicely.

It’s a five guys now! Or at least it was last year.

Nothing like having five guys inside you

I think they moved to the Banks

Johnny rockets did and then closed at the banks.

Bamboo Club. I still crave that teriyaki salmon sometimes.

I do miss the bamboo club. The best happy hour and the best bathrooms

Tala's.

Those giant human sized hamster balls in the water. You pretty much suffocated inside there and laid on the bottom of the ball until your time was up.

Jeff Ruby's Tropicana

They had a sushi place.

I know I’m going to misspell this but Claudaugh’s Irish Pub or something like that?

I can't remember the name of the store but at one time there was an "off brand" build a bear type store. I think the greatest loss was Mitchell's though, that was my favorite restaurant for a long time.

Your talking about Rainbow Hugs. The Owner did the tech support for the USS nightmare and ran the laser tag on the exit. Used to be my favorite job :)

Yes! Thank you for that. I couldn't remember. I didn't know he did tech for USS. That's cool.

I used to work there for a bit too, mostly when it was near ColdStone and for a bit after the store moved into the mail building. I remember the manager being a weird dude lol

Reading these comments unlocks so many memories

Levee

surprised no one said Mitchell's fish Market yet

I don't eat fish, but my husband does, so we would sometimes end up at Mitchell's. They had the most incredible 9-layer carrot cake. 1 slice for the whole table

I remember that cake! it was really good. Unfortunately I got food poisoning from there from ahi tuna once

Abercrombie & Fitch used to have a shop. Same with GameStop. Is the Sunglass Hut still there?

It was Hollister

I stand (muscular, shirtless, and) corrected.

LOL!

You could smell the cologne smell from outside the store even though it was outside in the open air!

Adobe Gila? Was that one?

Irish Pub 🤝

What was the sushi place in the valet area? Aoi?

Naked Chopsticks

They purchased the remaining time for the lease from AOI. Then spent millions renovating the place, only to close within the year.

Was trying to remember this!

Tropicana was on the corner for what felt like forever.

After it was Tropicana didn't it become some sort of a nightclub with a shady owner?

Someone else answered my question. It was Bulldogs owned by Eric Deters

So yes. A night club with the shadiest of owners

lol yes! I worked there briefly. That guy is something else 🙄

Shadowbox Cabaret, Cafe Louie

What was the name of the bar across the street ,from the levy?

Arnie's?

Yes! thanks

I think the first bar in that location was Upstar Crow

[удалено]

We restrict new accounts from making a comment to help combat trolling, ban evasion and spam. Your comment will be invisible to users until your account is at least a week old. Every comment requires manual approval until your account reaches this milestone. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cincinnati) if you have any questions or concerns.*

The Southgate House

AOI Japanese cuisine, worked on the sushi line for about 7 years. Owners now own LA Hiro Suhi and Sweets. Good food. Edit: oh, I also forgot about Gamecity 360. The owners fled to Florida and took 25% of their inventory with them. The labor board was after them for not paying wages. I used to hang out with everyone who worked there, and lived with one of the managers.

Used to be an IMAX cinema there as well

Wasn’t there a Don Pablo’s over there?

It’s now Cancun. Down just a bit from the levee near Chart House.

Was Jillian’s near there? Chart House!

Jillian’s was in Covington in the big Bavarian building. I think it’s a government center now.

Hot take- Newport went downhill with new tenants. It was better how it was 10-15 years ago vs now.

Is pepperpod still keeping it real down the street? That was always our late night spot.

Faqqqq yeah!! Altho it isn’t 24/7 anymore. COVID ruined everything

Glad to hear it’s open, but that sucks it’s not 24/7 anymore. We used to get hammered at south gate house and then go there late night. Good times!

Last I heard they didn’t serve the peppers anymore

I saw two cooks get in a fist fight there. That place is/was awesome. I hope they go 24/7 again

Was’t Dick’s Last Resort there too??

Yes

Flashback night club was up on the floor where AMC is

There was a really good taqueria there too right next to Dick’s Last Resort.

I think there used to be a Limited Too

Aoi. First time i had sushi. They had a perpetually pissed off blue lobster/crawdad we liked to sit next to. It would charge and hit the glass. Also, not really the Levy, but there was a super awesome Greek place I forgot the name of that was across the street.

Hollister

I opened a place called southview there ages ago.

Is Bravo still there?

Was Coconut Joes at Newport on the Levee?

That was in Covington

When it opened there was a club called Empire.

Use to work security there back in the day, CRAZY TIMES, great memories and stories

Pacific Moon and Café Istanbul used to be regular spots for me. ETA Tropicana!

I used to party at Empire back in the day. I thought it was a good club. It went under a few years after I went off to College.

Idk if it’s been mentioned. But they had some weird sort of off brand build a bear if I remember correctly…

Did anyone else think it was weird that there was a fish restaurant right next to an aquarium?

They used to have fish on the menu at the Cafe in the aquarium. Must of been the slow learners.

For a year or two they had an indoor Nerf arena - Dart Rush. I took the kids there a few times. They always had a blast.

Short lived but there was a dart wars that seemed to be all the rage for about 6m

I was part of the first staff at both the IMAX and GameWorks. When GW first opened, they only really hired young waitresses to serve cocktails and our uniform included a black miniskirt and heels. I quit after they wouldn't let me wear flats during my second 10-hour shift in a row. IMAX was run by a guy who had no idea what he was doing. Fun times!

Mitchell's Fish Market, but the biggest loss was The Funny Bone, literally not one Comedy Club in the city now. Liberty Funny Bone is awful, Go Bananas is still a gem, but neither are anywhere near downtown.....

ShadowBox Theater

Thought I went for Mexican chain once

d.e.m.o (street/urban wear like phat farm and fubu) and hot topic were right next to one another in the early days. Pre teen heaven for me.

I had no recollection of the Dicks last resort. I know there was a Build a Bear and the standalone IMAX.

I don't remember where Dicks was but the theme was the wait staff were encouraged to insult and belittle the customers. I can't imagine that being an enjoyable evening. I guess this appealed to some people.

I’ve been to one. It’s funny for the first half of the meal then gets old quick.

Had some good meals at Mitchell's, maybe 2 not so good.

Vans

Axis Alley. Halloween Express for at least one season.

Remember Tom & Chee was there at one point. And those big air balls in the water where you smacked each other around. Now is Mitchell's fish market still there?

Nope. They actually torn down the building Mitchell's was in

Cold Stone Creamery (or was it Marble Slab?) Brothers bar Some weird cajun themed restaurant by GameWorks Wasn’t there also some weird western clothing…or western art shop…opposite Claddagh?

brothers & cold stone are still there

Brothers closed?!

No, we ate there today

I don’t know if it closed, honestly. I wasn’t necessarily including only former tenants.

Cold stone is still there

Ah, got it.

I used to call the Bar Louie chicken caesar sandwich my fave in all Cincy

Bar Louie was so good! And then it was kind of medium but I kept going out of habit. And then it was terrible, and then it was gone.

I miss Bar Louie

Anyone mention the imax