Above the Fold

Business Courier's year in review: The biggest stories of 2023

Hosts Andy and Tom are joined by Business Courier reporters Brian Planalp, Abby Miller and Steve Watkins to dissect some of the biggest local news stories of 2023. Those include a record number of restaurants closing in Cincinnati – more than when Covid-19 broke out in 2020 – as well as an unassuming local millionaire leaving $270 million to local organizations; Cincinnati gaining a new Fortune 500 company; what's going on with downtown real estate as companies figure out what to do about remote and hybrid work and their physical office space; and the Western & Southern Open selecting Cincinnati as its permanent home following a $400 million bid by Charlotte, N.C., to lure the tournament there. Above the Fold will go on hiatus after Dec. 25, 2023. Above the Fold is a podcast by the Cincinnati Business Courier [https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/].

Kroger bringing workers back to the office, and a talk with Rich Graeter

Hosts Andy and Tom talk about Kroger's plans to bring its office workers back in four days a week, a public company re-establishing its headquarters in Cincinnati, Coney Island's sale to a music organization to make was for a $118 million concert venue, a badly needed parking garage at Findlay Market and Taste of Belgium's reboot. Interview starts at (21:20). Graeter's became an ice cream empire and a brand synonymous with Cincinnati by not embracing new technology. At a time when the new continuous process ice cream makers were putting neighborhood parlors out of business by making fast, cheap desserts, Graeter's doubled down on doing things the old fashioned way, and that's what makes it special. But that's not to say the chain isn't innovating. Graeter talks about his company's collaboration with other local brands, and how it comes up with each year's unique bonus flavors. Above the Fold is a podcast by the Cincinnati Business Courier [https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/].

What's going on with downtown Cincinnati real estate?

Hosts Andy and Tom have a look at the uncertain future of the office market downtown, starting with a story on the potential foreclosure of an office tower, followed by GE pulling all of its employees out of its onetime Global Operations Center at the Banks, and then a potential new buyer for an iconic Camp Washington building and new rules banning surface parking lots downtown. We finish, as all good things do, with a burger. Interview starts at (22:02). When you think of the yellow school bus, you probably don't think of innovation. First Student CEO John Kenning wants to change that, and he has the background for it. Tesla is the name that comes first to mind when thinking of electric vehicles, but Kenning wants his buses in that conversation. He talks about how he brings technology to the school bus industry, and why his company moved its headquarters to the GE building at the Banks and consolidated from five floors to one. Above the Fold is a podcast by the Cincinnati Business Courier [https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/].

Eastgate Mall's new owner and an interview with serial entrepreneur Rachel DesRochers

Hosts Andy and Tom talk about the sale of Eastgate Mall to a new owner, a Cincinnati marketing exec who was slated to live on a cruise for three years, a local restaurant being named one of the best new eateries in America, the uncertain future of Reds games broadcasts locally and the Queen City's newest B Corporation. Interview starts at (21:49). Rachel DesRochers started out with $1,000 and a vegan graham cracker recipe. Today, she runs a successful baking company, a restaurant incubator that has graduated some of the region's biggest names and is two years into running a conference for women's empowerment that is backed by P&G. She talks with us about how she got her start and using gratitude to grow her businesses. Above the Fold is a podcast by the Cincinnati Business Courier [https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/].

Inside FC Cincinnati's plans for the West End

Hosts Andy and Tom talk about three new retailers with cult followings opening in the Cincinnati region, a fumble in the $1.6B sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, NKU adding six new varsity sports while facing a multi-million dollar deficit, the closing of one of OTR's oldest breweries and the shuttering of a historic downtown eatery. Interview starts at (23:28). Chad Munitz wasn’t a big soccer fan before joining FC Cincinnati, but he did geek out about real estate. His career spans stints as the economic development director of the city of Cincinnati, executive vice president with 3CDC and VP with Towne Properties, and when Cincinnati’s major league soccer team needed someone to focus full-time on real estate as it embarked on a massive, $300 million mixed-use project surrounding its West End home in TQL Stadium, they turned to Chad. He talked with us about what’s planned for that project and how it will reshape that urban neighborhood. Above the Fold is a podcast by the Cincinnati Business Courier [https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/].