My family has been going to Over the Rhine pretty frequently and we had been curious about Venice on Vine for a while. A few weeks ago, I attended a blogger event to find out more about the heart behind Venice on Vine that included sampling a variety of food from their restaurant and catering menu.
Venice on Vine owned by Power for Progress which is a non profit with a mission. They provide job skills to those in need.
Power Inspires Progress operates small businesses in the inner city to provide positive, meaningful work opportunities for adults with employment barriers. We teach basic education, life skills, work ethics and personal responsibility. Trainees gain the knowledge and experience to be successful in the workforce.
What I LOVE about this vision is that they are believing and investing in people who could use a break. All of us have made poor choices before and some consequences of those poor choices have affected a lot of adults in their process for moving forward.
During our visit, we got to sample their pizza along with several other menu items that are available through their catering service.
The salad was fresh with a great raspberry dressing with feta crumbles.
I filled my plate with the Shrimp Alfredo Pizza, Chicken Marsala.
I”m not a huge veggie fan but I still tried the African Vegan Stew. It was really good and my husband, who likes vegetables, said it was his favorite dish of the night.
I’m a dessert girl, so I was really excited about sampling all of the options.
Sweet Potato Pie, Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting and Dutch Apple Bundt Cake with Caramel Pour.
My favorites of the evening were the Shrimp Alfredo Pizza and the Sweet Potato Pie, Homemade Carrot Cake and Dutch Apple Bundt Cake with Caramel Pour…..(basically all of their desserts because I have a really big sweet tooth).
Their regular menu is really affordable and also offers pizza by the slice.
The building also has a lot of history to it. It was the site for the former late 1800’s Burlesque House known as the People’s Theatre where Annie Oakley got her start when she accepted the challenge of a sharpshooter.
There building also has creativity repurposes several items. For example, the Venice sign is made from unpunched soda cans.
The chairs around the table are from the Cincinnati Zoo.
The beautiful tiles on the floor were repurposed from old buildings from around Over the Rhine.
We enjoyed our first visit to Venice on Vine so much that we decided to bring our kids back later that week. The waitress was really sweet and even brought them crayons and coloring sheets while we waited for our pizza.
My kids loved the pizza and it’s great to have an affordable, family friendly option next time we are playing at Washington Park and get hungry. I also LOVE that every time we eat pizza there, we are helping someone else get back on their feet.
I think it’s important to note that many of the staff are still learning and you might want to give them a bit more grace in the process. During the blogger event, we learned that many of the servers and cooks move on to other restaurants which is awesome because they are provided more opportunities and then more new staff can be trained.
You can learn more about Venice on Vine and their catering services from their website.
Venice on Vine is located at 1301 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Restaurant Hours
Monday-Saturday 10:30 a.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Phone: 513-221-7020
Disclosure: I received complimentary meals for my husband and I during the blogger event for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
