CINCINNATI — The doors of a new upscale restaurant are set to open in downtown Cincinnati this summer as developers continue to champion the city’s urban core as the epicenter of the local dining scene.

Chef and owner Braheam Shteiwi has signed a lease to bring his high-end American fare concept, Court Street Kitchen, to the Central Business District. Menu items range from a classic burger to Lamb Wellington.

The restaurant and lounge is being built in the Moore Flats project at 9 E. Court St. Plans for the 3,380-square-foot space include a main dining room with a lounge attached, and an oversized patio along Court Street.

This is Braheam Shteiwi's second restaurant in greater Cincinnati. (Photo courtesy of 3CDC)

There’s going to be custom furniture designed to fit perfectly against the property’s large accordion windows, Shteiwi said. 

The Cincinnati native has the restaurant business in his blood. His father, Rakan Shteiwi, owned and operated several restaurants in the area over the years. Some include DiPaolo’s/3trees, Spinning Fork, Capronis and MIA.

His father opened Caruso’s on Sixth Street in downtown in 1979. The Italian-style eatery closed years ago, but Shteiwi brought it back to life in 2019 by opening a version in Fairfield, Ohio. 

Shteiwi took over the cooking duties from his father, serving a menu of traditional Italian favorites as Caruso’s executive chef. But even before opening the eatery, he’d spent several years looking for a site to open his own concept, he said. 

“The timing or locations never seemed right,” Shteiwi added.

Ultimately, Shteiwi said he chose the Court Street Plaza site because of its location between two major downtown dining areas, the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine.

Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., also known as 3CDC, constructed the Moore Flats. The project is a part of the $7.9 million, two-building Court Street South Condos project, which 3CDC completed in late 2021. 

The mixed-used development has more than 5,700 square feet of retail space. 

Other food and beverages businesses along Court Street Plaza include the historic Avril Bleh Meat Market, James Beard-nominated restaurant Mid-City and Pillar, a Key West-inspired lounge on the corner of Walnut Street. Another new eatery, Onolicious, a Hawaiian-style barbecue joint, will open in the area soon.

Shteiwi expects construction to wrap up this summer. 

“It’s been a journey getting to this point, but as soon as I walked in, this space just clicked,” he added. “The layout is set up perfectly for the style of restaurant I had in mind and the location on Court Street Plaza really put it over the top.”

News of the future downtown eatery comes on the heels of the unexpected closure of two high-profile downtown restaurants owned by Nashville-based restaurateur Terry Raley.

One of them was Royce, a French brasserie that opened across from Fountain Square roughly six months ago. The other was PearlStar, a hip oyster bar on trendy Vine Street in OTR.

Both of the restaurants closed on Feb. 16. Raley’s company immediately deleted each restaurant’s website and social media accounts.

It is unclear what caused the businesses to shut down. But 3CDC, which constructed the spaces for both Royce and PearlStar, stressed that the closures don’t reflect the strength of the city’s dining scene.

“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,” said Joe Rudemiller, 3CDC’s vice president of marketing and communications.

Rudemiller described Cincinnati as being fortunate to have an abundance of world-class restaurateurs. He said the city’s urban core has a food and beverage scene that “stacks up against the best food cities in the country.”

Since its redevelopment, Court Street has become home to several events, including this night market during BLINK. (Photo courtesy of Casey Weldon)

The Central Business District is home to places such as Italian-style eatery Sotto, pan-European Boca and Spanish-inspired Mita’s, which is in the running for James Beard’s restaurant of the year. Chef Jeff Harris’ fresh take on a Southern-style menu earned his OTR restaurant Nolia a nomination for Best New Restaurant.

Lindzie Gunnels, commercial leasing manager with 3CDC, believes Court Street Plaza has the potential to be Cincinnati’s “next great dining destination.”

“The addition of Court Street Kitchen is one more step in that direction,” she added.

Mike Stankovich, owner of Mid-City, said he’s loved Court Street since moving to Cincinnati. The pedestrian-only aspects used during special events, such as Asian Food Fest and BLINK, are especially nice and he voiced appreciation for the outdoor roller-skating rink as a way to draw people to the area.

“It’s exciting to see how the improvements pan out,” said Stankovich, who also owns Longfellow, a bar in OTR.

Court Street bridges the gap between the Fountain Square District and OTR’s major hot spots on Vine and Main streets, said Mike Sullivan, board chair for the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce.

Sullivan described Court Street as having the potential to “generate an energy and a buzz” throughout downtown by pulling people to a part of downtown that’s been underdeveloped for years. 

“The more bodies we can get downtown and that Court Street connector area is going to be, in theory, good for all businesses,” he added.