3CDC Partnering with Acclaimed Restauranteur on new Oyster Bar Concept

Pearlstar Set to Open in OTR in Summer 2021

CINCINNATI (May 20, 2021) – Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) is partnering with Nashville-based restauranteur Terry Raley on a new oyster bar concept, Pearlstar, which will be located in the 1200 block of Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine. The new restaurant is already under construction and is expected to open this summer.

“Our group is incredibly pleased to be expanding into Cincinnati,” Terry Raley, President and Chief Operating Officer of Amaranth Hospitality Group, said. “It has been a top priority since I traveled here for the first time in 2018. Visiting with friends over the years, I have developed a great fondness for its beauty, its people, and naturally, its evolving restaurant scene. The timing seemed just right to do Pearlstar in OTR. The restaurant’s concept has a very specific combination of indoor-outdoor elements, and 3CDC was supportive of bringing a large, vibrant courtyard that vastly contributed to the sense of leisure and respite that we were hoping for.”

Pearlstar will bring a long-awaited oyster bar experience to OTR. The new restaurant will open in a 2,000-square-foot space at 1220 Vine St. that will also feature a 2,000-square-foot courtyard area with outdoor seating alongside two bocce courts, a 100-foot storefront, a wood-fired grill and wood-burning oven.

Overseeing the kitchen at Pearlstar will be Leroy Ansley, former Executive Chef at Senate. In addition to East and West Coast oysters changing daily, the raw bar will also feature crudos, ceviches, tartares, and for-the-table raw platters. The wood-burning grill will fire burgers and steak sandwiches, and the bar will pour old-school martinis, frozen drinks, and Lone Star Beer on tap.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Terry Raley on this new concept, which will provide another unique dining option in the urban core,” Lindzie Gunnels, 3CDC’s Senior Commercial Leasing Officer, said. “Pearlstar will add a dynamic element to Vine Street in OTR, with the outdoor patio contributing to the vibrancy being created from the recently completed streateries.”

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