PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LUCY BLUE PIZZA
After sojourning in the suburbs, Lucy Blue is returning to its old neighborhood this week, and the team behind the new Vine Street location is excited to share its new digs and expanded menu.
“We’ve always loved being part of OTR and seeing that a place was open on Vine, we knew we had to at least take a significant look,” says Jim Thompson, co-founder and owner of Lucy Blue. “We love that it’s within walking distance and on the way to a lot of great Cincinnati attractions.”
While Lucy Blue began in Over-the-Rhine, it’s wandered through a number of locations, the latest of which is in Anderson on Clough Pike. The team weathered the pandemic there, adapting to meet a different pace and customer base.
“After being downtown for almost 20 years, we weren’t totally sure what to expect in moving to the suburbs,” Jim Thompson says. “We’ve really felt welcomed by the community and have enjoyed getting to know many local families through our wonderful employees.”
Bearing that in mind, there were some big changes. The Anderson staff is mostly local high school students instead of adults, and the suburban locale dictated an early closing time (no 3 a.m. slices needed).
“There’s now a larger focus on the dinner crowd, take-out, dine-in, delivery, as opposed to the lunch buffet and late-night slices we became known for downtown,” he explains.
There’s nothing like a homecoming to put things in perspective, and being known for pizza at all wasn’t always in the cards for Thompson. The eatery’s original concept revolved around the need for late night bites in the area, particularly on weekends when folks leaving local bars needed something before heading home.
“Pizza seemed like the perfect option,” he adds. “From there, our recipes formed, and our business grew.”
The new location—in the old Venice on Vine space—will integrate classic elements like by-the-slice orders and late hours with new recipes like homemade meatballs and chicken sandwiches perfected in Anderson. The family hopes pizza lovers will turn out to try their new, monthly specials as they re-establish the brand in the neighborhood where they first got started.
“We’ve had a lot of time to test some new menu items, to keep things interesting for the customers,” says Taylor Casto, Thompson’s daughter. “We’ve featured some pizzas that have become really popular at our Anderson location, like the BamaQue Pickle Pizza, the Little Italy, and the Buffalo Chicken pizza; which is actually on our full-time menu now.”
It’s a true family business, and Casto has grown into the roles of both co-owner and general manager. Other family members working behind the scenes include Taylor Casto’s husband, Jim Casto, and Jim Thompson’s wife, Lynn, who’s a co-owner and in-house designer.
“Lynn and I have taken on a significant portion of the renovation tasks,” Thompson explains. “A lot of what you see when you walk in was us on ladders for the past few months.”
The venue and toppings may change, but the classic crust and sauce aren’t the only foundations for Lucy Blue. “Community is everything,” Thompson says, “and that’s been a big part of why we’ve been around for 20-plus years.”
Lucy Blue’s new OTR location opens tomorrow, 4 p.m., at 1301 Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine.
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