Bay Horse Cafe rides again

Shauna Steigerwald | Cincinnati Enquirer

Fred Berger has traced the history of the Bay Horse Café back through two centuries of different locations and owners.

Now, he and partner Lori Meeker will add another chapter to that history when they open their iteration of the bar at 625 Main St., Downtown, on Wednesday.

"We don't have 100 taps; we have our history," said Berger, a longtime entrepreneur and real estate investor. "That doesn't change from fad to fad."

Customers get a hint of that history when they see the old neon sign, which Berger believes dates to the 1930s or 1940s, outside the bar. They can guess at it a little more as they take in the tin ceilings and tile floors that Berger and Meeker uncovered during renovations. Or they can follow it more directly through newspaper articles and old photographs with which Berger has lined the exposed brick walls.

As Berger can piece it together – the bar was one of many in the area, so history didn't always take note of it, he said – the Bay Horse traces its origins to 1817 and a location on the riverfront at Water Street. Frequent flooding made that spot impractical, prompting a move to Longworth Street and later to Fifth Street.

Though he isn't sure what it was called before that move, he did hear a story about the origins of the Bay Horse name, circa 1879.

"Fifth Street was where you would buy or trade a horse," he said.

As the story goes, one day, a bay horse – one with a reddish-brown body and a black mane, tail and legs – wandered in ("for a stiff drink," Berger likes to joke). Surprised customers started calling the bar by that name.

It stuck, even through another move to 625 Main St., where it will reopen at 11 a.m. Wednesday. That move was in 1962, according to Berger's research. (In the interim, it closed for Prohibition. The story Berger found is that the bar reopened the day after Prohibition ended with the same glasses, towels, employees, and shot and beer menu as before it was forced to close.)

Berger said the Bay Horse operated on Main until the city objected to the renewal of its liquor license following a shooting outside the bar. (That was in 2005, according to Enquirer archives.)

He and Meeker's version of the Bay Horse will draw from the less notorious elements of the bar's history. For example, they hope to get back the bar's title as the biggest seller of Hudepohl beer in Greater Cincinnati. ("It was a small bar, but they sold a lot of beer," Berger said.) They'll sell 25-ounce Hudy Schooners ($4), a thick fishbowl glass that keeps beer colder longer, Meeker said.

The horse theme will carry over to the lunch menu of panini sandwiches, served with a pickle and chips. The Triple Crown, for example, has ham, turkey, roast beef, red onion, three kinds of cheese and spinach brushed with Italian dressing on grilled ciabatta.

In the evening, the menu will be rotating small plates that can be made without a full kitchen: Think hummus and pitas, deviled eggs with caviar, pepperoni and cheese plates.

Beyond the Hudy Schooners, the drink menu includes classic cocktails, such as the gin rickey and Manhattan, priced at $6. There are a half-dozen beer taps, plus craft beer in bottles, and there will be Cincinnati boilermakers – a shot of bourbon and a 7-ounce Little Kings Cream Ale.

For Meeker, operating a bar is a return to her previous career: She spent 28 years bartending at the Vernon Manor before it closed in 2009. She and Berger met four years ago and eventually became a couple. When he found the building on Main and they realized its history, they decided to become business partners as well.

"Fred's a real history buff to begin with," Meeker said. "He just wanted to bring this place back to life."

After that happens on Wednesday, hours going forward will be will be 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Friday and 4-11 p.m. Saturday (closed Sunday).

Information: www.facebook.com/bayhorsecafe