Photograph courtesy of Nostalgia Wine & Jazz Lounge
Tammie Scott is reviving a piece of Cincinnati history, with the opening of her Nostalgia Wine & Jazz Lounge, an intimate live jazz space and wine bar in Over-the-Rhine set to open August 21. She’s inspired by stories her grandmother used to tell about Cincinnati’s West End Cotton Club, the city’s only integrated night club, which hosted major jazz acts from the 1930s to 1950s. Scott is also inspired by her own experiences of enjoying live jazz music at bars during her time living in Washington D.C. When she moved back to Cincinnati, she noticed there weren’t many similar places, so she decided to open her own. “The name [Nostalgia] comes from me tying together those old stories and those good times I’ve had,” she says.
Photograph courtesy of Nostalgia Wine & Jazz Lounge
The space’s look and feel reflect the same sentiment as the name. Scott and her team from Luminaut Architecture designed the ground-floor space at 1432 Vine St. to feature a vintage East Coast vibe that also feels “moody, dark, and intimate.” Dark green walls, metal accents reminiscent of musical instruments, and black and white marble tile floors all contribute to Scott’s vision. “It doesn’t look like anything anyone has seen here,” she says. “It really will give people an old-time feel with a bit of a modern twist.” 3CDC renovated the building as part of its Behlen project at 15th and Vine streets.
The wine menu will feature a rotating selection of 30 varieties, carefully curated to feature women and other underrepresented minority winemakers, which is a big focus for Scott. Charcuterie boards from Findlay Market’s The Rhined will be available as well to pair with pours.
Photograph courtesy of Nostalgia Wine & Jazz Lounge
Visit on Thursdays and Sundays for traditional live jazz performances, or stop in on Fridays and Saturdays for live music that’s “a synergy of jazz and soul.” Plus, Wednesdays will feature jazz-inspired DJs. All of Nostalgia’s performances are arranged by Marcus Cash, the bar’s programming manager and Scott’s younger brother, who holds a master’s in Jazz Studies from UC’s College-Conservatory of Music and has tight ties within the local jazz community.
For Scott, the opening of Nostalgia Wine & Jazz Lounge has been a long time coming—after three years of developing and working on the project, the lounge’s original planned opening was delayed by the pandemic. Now, as Nostalgia prepares to finally open, Scott looks forward to joining OTR’s bar scene and bringing something a little different that will complement the area’s current offerings and its history. “It felt important to me to maintain musical historic and jazz culture in this part of the city specifically,” Scott says. “I can’t see myself doing this anywhere else.”
Nostalgia Wine & Jazz Lounge, 1432 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
Wednesday–Friday 4 p.m.–midnight, Saturday–Sunday noon–midnight
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