CINCINNATI — Small businesses continue to look for ways to bring shoppers back, and they are getting some help. The first-ever Cincinnati Small Business week kicked off Monday, hoping to get more people ton local businesses like Revel OTR.

What You Need To Know

  • The first Cincinnati Small Business Week was started by the African American Chamber and the Over-the-Rhine Chamber

  • The week includes networking, workshops and events for the community to join in on

  • The hope is for the community to discover new small businesses and use them more in their everyday life

  • Revel OTR Winery is one of those businesses and hopes to have new customers discover them this week

​​The urban winery makes its own wine in the basement of its space, which all started with co-founders Anthony Maieron and John Coleman 17 years ago.

“I turned to JC (John Coleman) and I was like hey JC, wanna make wine with me this weekend?" Maieron said. "My dad’s gonna re-teach me how to make wine.”

Now, the two just celebrated their four-year anniversary open in OTR. Something that wasn’t all that realistic just a year ago.

“You can bring something to Cincinnati," Maieron said. "You’re not going to stop. You are passionate. You want to deliver this. You get a pandemic. You get anything. We’ve had so many hurdles thrown in front of us, we just jump right over them.”

Which is why the inaugural Cincinnati Small Business Week is huge for them and other local business owners in the area.

“To get people out and to say OTR is open, Cincinnati is open, that gives a lot of confidence to our guests that want to be a part of it again," Coleman said.

The week includes networking opportunities, workshops, and events to get the community out to discover new businesses like Revel.

“We appreciate that a lot just because we all do work really hard at whatever our craft is, whatever our waiters we have, whatever we’re trying to promote and sell," Coleman said. "And to have kind of a week where we get the spotlight as opposed to the Fortune 500 companies is kind of cool.”

To learn more about the events during Cincinnati Small Business Week visit CincySmallBiz.com