Investment Opportunity -- Cincinnati, OH

[Scramble]

Hey all-

First time poster, long-time lurker. I've alway used these boards as a resource, figured I would share this and see if there was interest...

I have the inside track on a newly available top-notch space in downtown Cincinnati, and I'm looking for investors.

The space was previously rented by a small chain who did a midnight run and left all the kitchen and bar equipment behind-- hood, fryers, ovens, 4 walk-in coolers... a LOT. So this is mostly a turnkey operation! The space itself is a real beauty, 2000 sf with exposed brick walls, hardwood floors, and a brand new bar. It's in a highly visibile and heavily foot trafficked spot, 2 blocks from Procter & Gamble Corporate HQ. Very affluent customer base.

The space had a 15-year tenant, followed by one year of this chain which wasn't run very well (the ownership tried to manage it from out of town, they were expanding into too many markets too fast). The 15-year tenant did 1mil a year in sales, the chain 400k.

The property owner is looking for 3k a month rent, 5 year lease.

I have a concept for an ultralounge/cafe'/small nightclub that brings in customers for lunch, happy hour, dinner, and late night/weekends. I'm projecting 600k in first year sales, based on previous performance numbers and the numbers of nearby businesses, plus foot traffic and market research.

This is NOT a "please send me a bunch of money and I'll make you rich" proposition. I know a lot of the pitches on here often sound pretty shady.

For the most part, I'm looking for someone to purchase actual ASSETS directly, which they would maintain ownership of, in addition to 50 percent of bar profits in exchange their investment. I'll assume the risk inherent in the lease and business agreement, you'll own the assets (liquor license, seating, dishware, etc.). This means if the project goes belly up, you just have to sell the assets and make that money back. Liquor licenses in Ohio can be pretty pricey (35k is the current going rate) but they keep going up in value since the state isn't issuing new ones-- they were 25k five years ago! So even just investing in the liquor license is a pretty solid way to go.

Bottom line, this is a very low-risk investment opportunity in a space that has demonstrated good profits for 16 years. I don't know how it is in other markets, but here in Cincy, it's an awfully low startup cost. The total investment needed is less than 100k total, and again, the majority of that is in assets with good resale value-- which you would have 100 percent ownership of. I have four years of management and ownership experience in the business, and have done a pretty good job of it in the past. We'll set up oversight systems that enable you to see how money is coming in and going out of the venture, obviously-- hard numbers like credit card receipts and inventory invoices.

If you're at all interested, or want to hear more, just send me a message on this site, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

I know many of the people reading this have years of experience in the business, and know the realities of it. I don't want to oversell or sound bombastic, but I really do believe this is a great opportunity in a great space. I'm looking here because I'd like someone with some previous experience in the business, for obvious reasons. Hope you're interested.

[realityrox.com]

I am almost positive I know exactly where you are talking about. The chain, as well. This is a nice building, but correct me if I am wrong, hasn't that area gone seriously down hill? I've heard some pretty serious stories of violence..We work that market (city) often and that seems to be the general consensus of the mainstay failure in that area.

Obviously, we may be discussing 2 different places and areas, but this information is DEAD ON to what I received...

Hmmmm!

[Scramble]

You're thinking a little north... there used to be an area called the Main Street Entertainment District, up in the 1100 & 1200 blocks of Over-the Rhine, the neighborhood bordering Downtown directly North. It was a high crime area, especially in the last few years.

This space is south of that, in a nice, safe spot that gets a lot of foot traffic. I'd be happy to try to get records of police calls and incidents for the block to anyone interested in the investment-- really doubt there's much of note.

Downtown Cincy (OTR directly north though, not so much) is a pretty safe place, no different than most midwestern downtowns-- which is to say it'll never be like downtowns on the coasts, but you can still do good business. Cincy's downtown has had a LOT of successful opening this year, places like Cadillac Ranch, McFadden's, Sully's, Lodge Bar, Boi Na Braza, McCormick & Schmick's-- all semi-national concepts, have moved in and had big openings, generating a lot of nighttime traffic. Morton's just did a massive expansion, TGI Friday's is coming in, along with quite a few others-- definitely moving in the right direction, I think.

[Scramble]

For anyone who might prefer email to pming, please send to scramblenetwork at gmail.

[Scramble]

This is still out there for anyone interested.

Also, if anyone has any ideas for how I can make this happen, I'm certainly open to hearing them. Thanks!

[ministry]

so if i put up the money who gets the other 50% of the business ? and why do they get it for doing nothing ? now i don't know how ohio does their liq lic but shouldn't there already be a license there ?

[Scramble]

You're not putting up 100 percent of the needed investment. I'm covering deposits, inventory, advertising, and pre-open staff costs. Obviously on top of running and managing the venue every day and making it a success, which is hardly doing nothing.

And no, licenses in Ohio don't work that way. When the previous tenant left, they sold off their license, so now a new one is needed. They're not attached to properties in that sense.

It's interesting how you phrase this though. I would say, having been on both sides of deals in the past, that you may be undervaluing the non-capital investment. There are a lot of people out there who lose money on bars and restaurants because they think money is all it takes. You need someone who knows the market, has the skill to run it, a good creative and business vision for the spot, and someone willing to donate endless hours of work on the space in exchange for future profits. I wouldn't short change the other half of the usual investor-creative team, in my opinion.

And again, I'm putting up a chunk of money too. Not only that, but I'm assuming all the risk. If the venture doesn't work, all you have to do is sell the assets you purchased, one of which goes up in value pretty quickly.