Popular OTR Barkeep Opens New Spot at Court Street Plaza

Mike Stankovich’s Mid-City Offers Unique Menu Along with Neighborhood Feel

CINCINNATI (October 1, 2021) – Mike Stankovich, the owner of popular Over-the-Rhine bar Longfellow, has opened a new concept – dubbed Mid-City – at the recently finished Court Street Plaza. Located at 40 E. Court Street along the promenade that connects the Plaza to the new Central and Walnut Parking Lot, the new bar and restaurant features a small, ever-changing menu where everything is cooked on a plancha—a thick metal griddle with various zones of heat. The drink menu features larger format drinks to promote sharing with friends.

Mid-City features an interior that’s brighter and airier than its sister bar, Longfellow—thanks to the lighter color palette and pizzeria-like décor. Though he has plans to expand the space, Stankovich’s Court Street Plaza bar is roughly the same size as Longfellow at just under 1,000 square feet. “We like small spaces,” he said.

Stankovich chose a generic name for the space because it really puts a spotlight on the people that gather there, rather than the chef, neighborhood, or even the building itself. It doesn’t hurt that the old Mid-City post office on Dalton Avenue is directly west of the new restaurant.

When it came to deciding to position Mid-City along the newly redeveloped Court Street Plaza, Stankovich said he had always been enamored with Court Street. “The old pictures of the market that used to be there just seemed so lively,” he said.

Though he liked a few different available spaces located along the block, Stankovich ultimately settled on his space because of its location in the alley just off the Plaza. That, and the fact that it was once owned by a cigar maker.

Stankovich is renting the space from Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), which just completed a $5.5 million renovation of the Court Street Plaza that included widening the sidewalks and making the space more conducive to outdoor dining and organized events. Mid-City will join the newly opened Pilar, a Hemingway-inspired bar from 4EG located in the same Court Street Condos development project, along with longtime staple Avril Bleh, which is just across the street.

“We think Court Street Plaza has the potential to become a new Downtown destination and the addition of Mike Stankovich’s Mid-City is just one more reason for folks to explore this exciting new area that helps connect OTR to Fountain Square,” Joe Rudemiller, VP of Marketing and Communications for 3CDC, said.

Mid-City will be open Thursday to Saturday from 5-10 p.m. More information is available at https://www.instagram.com/midcitycinti/

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