From the outside looking in, there’s really nothing too spectacular about it. I mean of course, it looks like a beautiful and original restaurant; the smell of their flatbreads drifting down Ludlow Ave., and on nice days the entire garage door is open exposing a relaxed and intimate atmosphere of people enjoying their drinks and food from the patio. But just from the looks of it walking down the street, you would never know all of the memories, all the great names and talent, all of the history of the Ludlow Garage.
In the past 100 years, the location 342 Ludlow Ave has been a repair shop, a car dealership, parking garage, local mall, and a pizzeria. But most famously in 1969 Jim Tarbell opened it as a club called the Ludlow Garage.
Jim Tarbell
For three years the club was a venue for a lot of great names like Santana, BB King, and The Allman Brothers who even named one of their albums after the garage. Tarbell, who at the time was 26, booked the Edwin Hawkins Singers to perform at the Cincinnati zoo to promote the club opening. Their song “‘Oh Happy Day’ had hit the charts and it was climbing. “In fact when they got to Cincinnati, about a month after I booked them, it was number one,” Tarbell said in a radio station interview. It was then and there people should have realized the great potential and the magic the Ludlow Garage had on the music industry. Now after being bought by Clifton native Scott Crawford, the Ludlow Garage reopened this past October, once again putting Cincinnati on the map as a great local music venue.
Crawford first bought the place back in 2007 where it was the restaurant Olives, which closed in July to begin the remodeling for the music venue. . The biggest renovation included opening up the bottom level to fit 262 seats. Crawford writes on his website that ever since buying the garage it was always his dream to bring music back because the location is so deeply rooted in the music history of Cincinnati.
I’ve lived on Ludlow Ave for almost a year during my second year of undergrad at the University of Cincinnati, and one of the many things that caught my eye when looking at my apartment was how comfortable and cozy Ludlow Ave is. The whole street gives off a small town feel, which is rare to find in such an urban area. I loved that I would be living so close to a fire department, a UDF, and a bunch of locally owned shops and restaurants. In my year of living here I’ve shopped– and probably spent too much money– in almost all the shops and I’ve expanded my horizons with the diverse options of food offered along the street. The one place that had never specifically caught my attention was the Ludlow Garage…and I feel like that’s almost the best part; it’s not a big, lavish venue that demands everyone’s attention. It’s a smaller, more comfortable environment with a lot of charm, charisma and personality, which also reflects in the music and concertgoers that go to the Ludlow Garage.
“We’ve seen a lot of repeat customers,” said Ben Jordan, previously a bartender for Olives and currently general manager for the Ludlow Garage. Jordan said the venue has attracted a lot of customers that come in and reminisce about when they last saw the Allman Brothers in the 70s, and that now the venue is also attracting neighborhood customers who used to regularly eat at Olives. “Jim Tarbell once came in to see a show with his wife, and it was really cool to talk to him and hear what he had to say about the renovations,” Jordan said. After reopening, Crawford believed his venue would attract an older crowd, which it has so far. This was odd to me, with the location being so close to a college campus I’d figure they might try to cater to the younger crowd. “With all the growth in restaurants in Over-the-Rhine and new music venues, it felt like the right time,” Crawford said. The Ludlow Garage will be a great venue for those who are no longer into attending bigger places like Bogart’s, Pavilion, and Riverbend. The Ludlow Garage is a much more intimate experience, you’re able to hear the music while also being able to talk with your family or friends that came with you.
Crawford hopes to bring more big names and talent–like BB King, Santana, and the Allman Brothers– back to the location. What’s on the upcoming calendar for the garage? Concertgoers can look forward to shows from the California Guitar Trio, John Waite, Tom Rush, and numerous others. Tickets range anywhere from $30-$50 depending on which seating area you prefer. However, one of the most admirable aspects is that every seat is a good seat. No matter what seat you’re in, you are up close and personal; the furthest seat from the stage is only 56 feet.
My first reaction when walking up to the Ludlow Garage was that there was no way this could be a concert venue. As a college student, and average 20 something, I attend concerts in much larger venues with little seating and much more standing, and no decent food unless you want something from a concession stand or a drink from the bar. However with that reaction put aside, the Ludlow Garage was very much something I wanted to try. Given that I had done a little bit of research before I first visited the garage, I was really impressed by everything because I knew of all the history; at the front of the garage there is a plaque naming all the artists who played there under Tarbell.
My first experience at the garage would have to be a success, even though nothing terribly interesting happened. I went around 6 p.m. and had a water, Caesar salad and Italian flatbread. I talked to a few other customers who surprisingly had also never been there before nor had they known it was a music venue. They assured me though, after learning about the historic place, that they would be coming back for a show in the future. What I found was the best part of my experience was the atmosphere; knowing I was sitting where hundreds of people of all different backgrounds sat, decades ago, who came together in a garage for music, that was pretty cool. And ultimately, I think that was Jim Tarbell’s intention.