Photographs courtesy Richard Hunt and Jaiden
When the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge closed its southbound lanes following a 2024 fire, Roebling Books & Coffee’s Dayton, Kentucky, location experienced a significant drop in traffic and had to shut its doors. That is, until it reopened in November last year as Outsiders Artisan Maker Market. The reimagined space still offers Roebling’s beloved coffee bar and reading room, but now includes jewelry, clothing, home decor, arts and crafts, candles, and more from local, predominantly LGBTQ+ vendors. The makers receive 100 percent of the sales they earn, while Outsiders profits off of its coffee, tea, and books.
Cincinnati Magazine talked to owner Richard Hunt and on-site manager Jaiden about how the bridge closure impacted business and how the two transformed the Dayton coffee shop into a beloved community market.
What’s one of the most important things to know about Outsiders?
J: A big part of this location is that with all of our merchants, we make sure that the price tags start around $2 to $5, so anybody can purchase something.
This space originally opened as Roebling’s third location in 2023. Then what happened?
J: We opened at the top of 2023 and then changed our hours a few times, just trying to learn the community’s needs and figuring out when we should be open to best serve them. Then we had the [Daniel Carter Beard] bridge closure. It was really hard for us. We had closed the space, we were already having a difficult time at our busy location. This location was more of a startup for us, so we decided to use it as an event space in the meantime. We were hosting graduation parties, baby showers, and it was really fun and a good use of the space. I had my wedding reception here.
How did the bridge closure change the sense of community here between Northern Kentucky business owners?
RH: It galvanized it. We realized we are just the same as everybody all the way down the levee, just trying to figure it out.
When did the idea come about to turn this space into a market?
RH: Maybe four months ago. It was wall-to-wall bookshelves, and it probably took a good two months to retrofit it, but now you wouldn’t know how it looked before. We didn’t want to give up on this [Dayton] community, and when we came in we didn’t want to step on other coffee shops. Everybody is an independent here, everybody is trying really hard. This is what we see as an on-the-rise, strong community support area. We just couldn’t get the foot traffic for the bookstore. There could be a lot of reasons, but we thought instead of miring ourselves in doubt, we should try something. Jaiden had spent the most time here and came up with this idea. From the way we want to be community-centered, it wasn’t a big change. It was just a slight broadening of what we do.
Why was it important to give Jaiden creative direction of this space?
RH: Because he loves it. We want this to not only be a welcoming space, but a safe space. I’m old and it makes me tear up a little bit when I think about all the good that we need to generate to balance out what’s going on in the world. We want that here.
J: I grew up in this area. I went to Granville Elementary. I’m black and I’m queer, I didn’t have a safe space to go to when I was a kid, and I really, really needed that. A big part of working at this location was meeting queer youth and queer people in general in this area who were so happy to walk into a space where they were accepted. It made me feel really fulfilled. When we were worried about if we were able to keep this location, I really advocated for it, because it means a lot to me for us to be here—not that our other locations aren’t as important, but it really makes a difference.
How did you find all of the makers featured here?
RH: We thought about who we knew and said, “Let’s ask them.” Or they had come to us to say, “Hey, I’ve got a couple pieces that I think would work at the bookstore.” The more we learned about them and how much stuff they had, it was just a natural evolution. It really gives them a place to say, “I got my space.” It’s sort of from going pop-up to a little more of a permanent place. I think a lot of these artists work so hard in trying and hauling this stuff around to the City Flea or whatnot. In Northern Kentucky, there wasn’t a place like this, so it felt like we were doing the right thing. The banks always want to push us to say, “Hey, what are your projections?” We’re just like, our heart tells us we’re projecting the right way now.
The majority of the makers here are queer. What’s the significance of having a space for queer artists in Northern Kentucky?
RH: Just like authors, they often get overlooked. The last year has been a very scary time. I don’t want to call this shelter—it’s more than that. It’s a place where they’re not only welcome, but they’re celebrated.
How does Outsiders’s book selection differ from Roebling’s?
J: We have a mixture of new, used, and rare books, primarily focused on queer and marginalized [literature]. We have a lot of different categories than you would see at other Roeblings. They are up for purchase, and I do have signed copies, I have first editions. I hide them and make you look for them because I think it’s more fun that way. We do have kids and [young adult] books here as well. This location before was our used and rare bookstore, and this was a very family-centered space, so kids still come and hang out and play.
You also have a makerspace up front near the café.
J: It was easy to sort of honeycomb this, but up there, we had the most latitude with taking advantage. When it was just a bookstore, we had a booth and smaller tables, and for events we would move stuff around. We thought, why don’t we just make it and let it stay there, and then it advertises itself.
Outsiders had its grand opening in November. What’s been the reaction from the community so far?
RH: The challenge for us always is to have people come by, because once they come by, they come back. It’s just figuring out the right way to have a couple special events. Everyone who has come in has been enthusiastically supportive. It sort of reaffirms us.
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