The Bay Horse Cafe reopened last night. I have a good feeling this is going to be the neighborhood bar all the other bars try to be. Just a little off the beaten path but still close to all the action. The bar is stuffed full of history, old news paper clippings, old pictures and some old fixtures.
The Bay Horse Cafe has had a storied past for sure, the structure was built in the mid 1800's. The Bay Horse bar itself survived Prohibition, and a couple of moves as buildings were demo'd out from under it. The bar was originally located where Government Square is now and where the horse wandered in off the street thus coining the name.
I remember walking past it when I moved to Cincinnati in 2004 and looking in I thought, "no way I'm going in there" It looked sketchy as hell. I think it shut down a year or so after due way too many police calls and a fatal shooting in broad daylight. Then came 2012 and the Aronoff filed paperwork to demo the Bay Horse building. I don't remember all the details except that people were upset, and unlike the Dennison, the Bay Horse survived to live another day. Back then the Historic Conservation Board wasn't stocked with the mayor's pro-demo buddies thank goodness. A facebook friend said, "The Bayhorse was one of the dirtiest, smokiest, and drug filled bars 15 years ago. So happy to see it come back looking spanking new. Tribute to how much things have changed downtown."
We should all be glad it did, the bar and the space is amazing. Bring your thirst, those schooners are huge.
Once upon a time The Bay Horse sold more Little Kings than any other bar on the planet. Jenny swung through Cincinnati for a minute yesterday to try and help them get that honor back.
Beers bigger than your head!!
The Bay Horse is just steps from a streetcar stop!
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1 schooner down
