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| Matt Albers and Dave Edmonds, new owners of The Midway Cafe |
The Midway Cafe (1017 S. Fort Thomas Avenue) is getting new owners and facelift but the iconic name, christened from the business district’s handle will remain the same. They said that they will still have a full kitchen, but they have chosen to go non-smoking.
This is a story of the new owners wanting something else from their lives, doing the requisite research to get it done and then making it happen on their own.
Dave Edmonds and Matt Albers knew they wanted to open a bar and grill in a neighborhood atmosphere. They started at Google.com
“We liked the neighborhood. It seemed like it had a local feeling,” said Albers. He also said they were intrigued by the historic aspect of the Midway District.
They describe the new feel of The Midway Cafe as having a 1920s-1930s “Prohibition-style” look. The duo has repurposed a lot of wood from historic buildings in Cincinnati, such as from the Kaiser pickle factory. Black-iron will be a theme throughout as well.
Think “speak-easy.”
They are from the Westside of Cincinnati in the Shady Lane – Miami Heights area. They both have full-time jobs they will keep (for now). One is a plant manager and one is an excavator. They met through family. Dave’s wife -Staci- is Matt’s fiancé’s cousin -Erika.
Both women will be bar managers. As Dave’s mother chimes in from behind the bar, he mentions that the business will be a family affair.
“It seemed like people still liked to ‘shop local’ or ‘stay small’ to keep everything inside your community and that’s what we liked,” added Edmonds. “We looked at other bars in other towns, but Fort Thomas was the one that kept clicking and we kept coming back to.”
Edmonds added that up to 30 people a day will come in to see what the new owners are up to. “Everyone always says they live right in our back yard,” he said.
“Our decor is going to be completely different than any bar in Northern Kentucky. Period. We’re trying to bring a different feel into Fort Thomas that other places don’t have,” said Edmonds.
Albers said that they will have plenty of TVs for sports. He also said they will offer high-quality bar food and they will constantly be adding to the menu. They will also feature weekly or daily specials. “We’re trying to buy a lot of items local and fresh as much as we possibly can,” he said.
“We want all the bars to do well up here. If they are doing well, we are doing well. We want more events for people to come up this way and want to have more of a nightlife in the district,” said Edmonds.
Albers and Edmonds said they are shooting for being open in a “few weeks.”
The “new” Midway Cafe’s hours will be 11 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. Their kitchen will be open from 11 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
They are hiring servers as well. Must be over 20. Contact Staci Edmonds or Erika Kraus via Facebook.
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| Outside the Midway Cafe. FTM file. |
