swell

swell will be more than a cafe, selling a short, revolving menu of simple, well-crafted and affordable food, iced and hot coffee drinks, beer (draft options and cans/bottles) and simple cocktails, to-go food options (salads and sandwiches) and a curated selection of used books.

The space will host regular programming and performances, including live music, art salons, conversational lectures, spoken word, poetry circles, burlesque and other artistic events and happenings.

We’ll also have sessions to train people in organizing, and making artifacts of expression - posters, T-shirts, stickers, public art, wheat pasting and good trouble.

In an age of isolation and despair, we aim to revive the lost Eden of conviviality and conversation.

This endeavor will be at a beautiful storefront in Camp Washington, Cincinnati's neighborhood for weirdos, free-thinkers, artists, makers and ambitious DIY-ers. To that end, the offerings will be accessible and comfortable, inviting to both the most radical creatives of our city and the blue collar factory workers that are the soul of the neighborhood.

In our current social and political climate, there is a deep need for people to connect in real time and space, with live music, tactile reading materials, and co-conspirators in a space that is lounge-like, but bursting with activity, and open to all.

swell will be that space, the space that holds and nurtures our better selves in search of a better world.