Former French brasserie Royce, located at The Foundry. Photo: Catie Viox

Thunderdome Restaurant Group is moving into Royce’s former spot in downtown Cincinnati’s The Foundry, near Fountain Square.

Royce, which was owned by Nashville restaurateur Terry Raley, closed suddenly in February, along with its sister restaurant, PearlStar.

“It’s unfortunate things didn’t work out with Royce and PearlStar but we are confident there will be significant interest in both spaces and we plan to get to work immediately on re-tenanting these locations,” Joe Rudemiller, the vice president of marketing and communications at 3CDC, told CityBeat at the time.

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The re-tenanting time has come, with Thunderdome signing the lease for the 501 Vine St. location. The restaurant group owns some of Cincinnati’s most popular eateries, including Bakersfield, The Eagle, Krueger’s Tavern, Maplewood, City Bird and Pepp & Dolores. It plans to turn the former French brasserie – a type of restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere, simple dishes and a large selection of drinks – into an “American brasserie,” according to a press release.

“With years in the local restaurant scene, it’s a pretty exciting feeling to be opening a concept with a dining room that overlooks Cincinnati landmarks as iconic as Fountain Square and the Tyler Davidson Fountain,” Joe Lanni, co-founder and owner of Thunderdome Restaurant Group, said in the release. “While we don’t yet have a name for the new concept, we have been referring to it as an ‘American Brasserie’ internally. The service and atmosphere will be polished, as they should be for such an iconic corner. The food will draw influence from the rustic dishes of Italy, France and the U.S. with a seasonally changing menu.”

The restaurant will join Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, Five Iron Golf and, later this year, Vintage at The Foundry – a building 3CDC says it considers as almost an extension of the heart of downtown, Fountain Square.

“The Foundry has really started to come to life over the last several months, with the addition of workers to the office spaces and several exciting entertainment concepts,” Lindzie Gunnels, commercial leasing manager at 3CDC, said in the release. “We have a longstanding relationship with Thunderdome and feel confident they’ll keep that positive momentum going and do a fantastic job activating such a prominent space at the core of our city.”

Thunderdome’s new restaurant will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week and may expand to a brunch menu. Buildout of the space is underway with the goal of opening later this year.

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This article appears in Jul 12-25, 2023.

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...