HAMILTON, Ohio — About 30 miles north of downtown Cincinnati is the city of Hamilton.
- The city has welcomed 30 new restaurants since 2015
- The Spooky Nook development is expected to contribute to even more growth
- Some existing businesses are doing work on possible expansion
The “City of Sculpture” is home to 62,000 people and named after Alexander Hamilton.
City officials began making a concentrated effort a number of years ago to revitalize its downtown area. And while those efforts, by all accounts, have been succeeding – the city is also seeing a lot of new restaurants.
Since 2015, Hamilton has welcomed 30 new food and drink establishments, according to Lauren Gersbach, business development strategist for the City of Hamilton.
“It's not just the food and beverage, but we have a lot of local people that are investing in some of our store fronts that are looking to open small businesses,” said Gersbach.
About 90 percent of those new restaurants remain in business.
Outside of the food industry, Hamilton has also welcomed about $100 million in investments over the last five years.
Gersbach said Hamilton has added 2,500 jobs and saw 95 small businesses open since 2015.
Last week, during the annual State of the City Address, two more restaurants were announced, with one planning to open this year and another in the spring of 2020.
All of this is happening two years in advance of a major transformational project that will potentially bring 1 million visitors to Hamilton and the surrounding area.
Last year, Spooky Nook announced it would open an indoor sports facility on the banks of the Great Miami River. The $150 million investment will make it one of the largest of its kind in the U.S. In addition to sports facilities it will also include a restaurant, fitness center, hotel, and other entertainment options.
Since the Spooky Nook announcement, and now that dirt is turning at the old Champion Paper Mill site, economic activity is increasing even more.
Chef Tano Williams opened his second restaurant in Hamilton three months ago.
“When you look at supply and demand, it's a very underserved market,” Williams said during an interview with Spectrum News 1 at Tano Bistro.
Williams runs a catering business and restaurant 25 miles away in Loveland. Hamilton was attractive to Williams because of its growth and potential.
“The city is doing a phenomenal job reinvesting in itself. Attracting different businesses, restaurants, myself. When I first came here looking to see if this is the right place for me, the amphitheater was here [across the street]. Of course, the hotel is here. The amenities that are here today versus two years ago - not even close. You kind of have to have that visual of forecasting what this thing is going to look like. Boy, I tell you what, it looks better than I first though, that's for sure,” Williams said.
Across the river, longtime Hamilton business Richard's Pizza welcomes increased competition but also relishes in the possibility that it may need to expand its operations.
“We've stayed tried-and-true to our recipes,” said Steve Schott, Director of Operations for Richard's Pizza. “You know, most of our competitors look for ways to do things a little more economical. We still do things the way we did them in 1955.”
Richard's has been a staple in Hamilton for decades and operates five locations throughout Butler County. Its Main Street location is not far from where Spooky Nook will be built.
“We're actually extremely excited,” said Schott. “We feel we're going to continue to grow at this location. We're actually, right now, having focus groups and concentrating on what we're going to do if we need more real estate. And we're set up for that, we're ready to expand this building if need be.”
Schott said since Hamilton has put a focus back on downtown, they've started seeing more out-of-town customers.
Schott believes it's because visitors want to patronize local businesses – especially those who have a good reputation.
Right now, Hamilton itself seems to have a good reputation.
