Lost & Found 22 E. 14th St., Over-the-Rhine Lost & Found is a funky, community-driven gathering space with an inventive drink menu and small bites inside of a creative, art-filled environment – once a multi-car garage – where work from local artists fill the walls from room to room. It’s located on a quieter street in Over-the-Rhine — if it weren’t for the green light perched outside the bar, you just might miss it. Co-owners Steven Clement and Camilo Otalora want Lost & Found to be a hub where guests can feel welcome and inspired. Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Taste of Cincinnati All Winter Long is a new program facilitated through the city and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Foundation that will provide $4 million in grants to Cincinnati bars and restaurants to help them through the winter months of the pandemic.

Specifically geared to those food and drink establishments within city limits, the initiative is giving away $5,000 or $10,000 stimulus packages to “sustain the city’s restaurant economy and retain jobs in the service industry throughout the 2020-2021 winter season,” per a release.

So far, more than 300 restaurants and bars have applied for relief from the grant, so the deadline has been extended to Nov. 25 — that means if you’re a bar or restaurant in the city of Cincinnati who needs help, you have another day to get in your application. (The original deadline was Nov. 15.)

The program has also made the requirements more lax. Previously, in order to qualify for a grant, you:

  • Must have a brick-and-mortar location physically located within the City of Cincinnati.
  • Must offer a food or beverage discount to patrons, such as gift card discounts, buy-one-get-one offers, free items with the purchase of another item, or percentage discounts.
  • Must not be a chain restaurant.

Now, grants are also open to “restaurants and bars open year-round a minimum of four days or 20 hours a week.”

“We ‘re seeing hundreds of applicants for the Taste of Cincinnati All Winter Long grant program. Because restaurants and bars offers such diverse business days and hours, we’ve learned that loosening requirements, even slightly, can help dozens more Cincinnati-based businesses – and we’re happy to make that adjustment,” said Mayor John Cranley.

Applications are now open at TasteofCincinnati.com.

  • Must offer a food or beverage discount to patrons, such as gift card discounts, buy-one-get-one offers, free items with the purchase of another item, or percentage discounts.
  • Must not be a chain restaurant.

Find complete details and additional eligibility requirements at TasteofCincinnati.com.Taste of Cincinnati All Winter Long is a marketing and promotional campaign focused on supporting service sector jobs and restaurant and bar operations by encouraging increased but safe patronage of establishments. The initiative stems from the Taste of Cincinnati® culinary arts festival. The event, created in 1979, is typically held Memorial Day weekend in Downtown Cincinnati, attracting more than 500,000 guests.

This article appears in The Gift Guide.

Leave a comment