Arnold's Bar and Grill

What Arnold's Bar and Grill does

Arnold's Bar and Grill is a single-location historic tavern and restaurant located at 210 East Eighth Street in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1861 by Simon Arnold and currently operated as a family business under owner Ronda Androski. The venue operates across two adjacent buildings dating to the late 1830s and offers multiple seating environments — a main bar, an upstairs "bathtub gin" room from the Prohibition era, and a covered courtyard with a stage that hosts nightly live music. Operating hours span Tuesday through Saturday, with the bar open until 12AM-1:30AM and the kitchen serving until 10-11PM depending on the day; the venue is closed Sundays and Mondays.

The company's core offerings are dine-in food and beverage (locally sourced, award-winning fare plus craft cocktails and regional beers), nightly live music programming (Americana, jazz, bluegrass, singer-songwriters), private events and catering, table reservations, and online ordering for pickup and delivery via Toast Tab. A secondary revenue stream is an e-commerce webstore selling branded merchandise — vinyl records of live performances recorded at the venue (issued in collaboration with Maker's Mark and Neltner Small Batch Records), glassware, apparel, and accessories — which ships to customers globally. The business is supported by standard hospitality technology (Toast Tab POS/ordering/gift cards, BeerMenus, Squarespace website) with no disclosed proprietary technology platform.

Arnold's monetizes through a hybrid of transaction-based food and beverage sales, professional services revenue from private events and live music bookings, and one-off e-commerce transactions for merchandise. The customer base is primarily composed of local Cincinnati residents, regional and out-of-town visitors (driven by national press recognition including Esquire's Best Bars in America and The Daily Meal), regional musicians, and event planners. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer through the physical venue, the Toast Tab online ordering channel, and the branded webstore, with no franchise or reseller model.

Name

Arnold's Bar and Grill

Legal name

Arnold's Bar and Grill

Website

https://arnoldsbarandgrill.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1861

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arnold's Bar and Grill is a historic family-owned tavern and restaurant in downtown Cincinnati, founded in 1861, serving locally sourced food, craft cocktails, and nightly live music, with ancillary catering, private events, and limited-edition vinyl merchandise revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historic Tavern & Restaurant

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (72241)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Neighborhood Bars & Taverns (CRANACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Neighborhood & Sports Bars (THAFAEAA)

Keywords

• Historic tavern dining
• Live music venue
• Private event catering
• Branded merchandise store
• Cocktails and craft beer

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: Traditional restaurant and bar revenue from serving food and drinks to dine-in customers, including signature menu items, cocktails, and locally-sourced fare. Operating hours Tuesday through Saturday with varying kitchen and bar hours.
2. Live Music and Events: Revenue from hosting live music performances nightly in the courtyard, with music booking handled separately for events and performances.
3. Merchandise Sales: Online store selling branded merchandise including vinyl records (recorded live at the venue), glassware, apparel, and accessories. Products include shot glasses, whiskey glasses, beanies, and limited edition vinyl pressings.
4. Private Events and Catering: Parties and catering services offered for private events, with dedicated contact channels for event inquiries and bookings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arnold's Bar and Grill is a historic Cincinnati tavern and restaurant (founded 1861) that serves award-winning, locally sourced food and craft cocktails across multiple seating areas (main bar, upstairs gin bathtub room, and covered courtyard), alongside nightly live Americana, jazz, bluegrass, and singer-songwriter performances. The business also generates revenue from private events and catering, online ordering through Toast Tab, and an online webstore selling branded merchandise and limited-edition vinyl records of live performances recorded at the venue.

Product overview

Arnold's Bar and Grill is a single-location historic restaurant and tavern that operates as a unified hospitality business with multiple coequal service lines: a full-service dine-in bar and restaurant (with indoor, bar, upstairs bathtub room, and courtyard seating), nightly live music programming on the courtyard stage, online ordering via Toast Tab, table reservations, and private events catering. The company also operates an e-commerce webstore (Arnold's Webstore) selling branded merchandise including vinyl records (vinyl albums recorded live at the venue, such as the Maria Carrelli Nobody's Fool vinyl, Joe's Truck Stop album, and the Race Street Revival: The Herzog Sessions vinyl), glassware (Glencairn whiskey glasses, Arnold's shot glasses), apparel (Who Dey Beanie, L'amour Supreme Hot Tub Hot Rod Tee), and other branded items.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dining & Bar Service Historic full-service restaurant and bar serving locally sourced award-winning fare and craft cocktails to dine-in guests inside the main bar area, the upstairs gin bathtub room, or the covered courtyard. Available Tuesday through Saturday during varied bar and kitchen hours.
• Live Music Programming Nightly live music performances on the courtyard stage featuring Americana, jazz, bluegrass, down home, and singer-songwriters, plus piano performances in the bar. Music booking is handled through a dedicated channel.
• Online Ordering

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Maker's MarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaker's Mark is a key collaborator on Arnold's vinyl record releases, specifically the 'Maker's Mark Presents: Thanksgiving Eve' series featuring local artists. This partnership supports the venue's music programming and creates limited edition merchandise collaborations. The bourbon brand's involvement adds credibility and resources to Arnold's music preservation efforts.
• Neltner Small Batch RecordscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional record label based in Kentucky that partners with Arnold's to produce vinyl recordings of live performances at the historic venue. Involved in pressing and distributing limited edition records including Maria Carrelli's 'Nobody's Fool' and the Race Street Revival: The Herzog Sessions collaboration.
• The TillersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCincinnati-based band featured on Side A of the Race Street Revival: The Herzog Sessions split album. Recorded in the original Herzog Studio room as part of Arnold's ongoing music preservation and celebration of Cincinnati's musical heritage.
• Buffalo Wabs and The Price Hill HustleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCincinnati-based band featured on Side B of the Race Street Revival: The Herzog Sessions split album. Collaborated with Arnold's and Neltner Small Batch Records to record in the historic Herzog Studio location.
• ToasttabcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline ordering and point-of-sale platform provider that powers Arnold's online ordering, gift card sales, and reservation system. Critical infrastructure partner for the venue's digital commerce operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• McSorley's Old Ale House: One of New York City's oldest continuously operating bars (founded 1854), McSorley's is a direct comparable to Arnold's as a historic, family- and lore-driven tavern with no-frills food, cash-only traditions, and national press recognition for its heritage. Both compete on authenticity and story rather than scale or modern amenities.
• The White Horse Tavern: Located in Newport, Rhode Island, the White Horse Tavern is widely cited as one of America's oldest taverns (1673). It is directly comparable to Arnold's in positioning as a heritage-driven dining and drinking venue that monetizes its age and colonial-era building through food, drink, and event programming.
• Southgate House Revival: A historic multi-stage live music venue and tavern in Newport, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati. It competes with Arnold's for the same Cincinnati-area audience that wants a heritage venue with nightly live music, food, and bar service in a converted historic building.
• MOTR Pub: A Cincinnati neighborhood bar and live music venue in Over-the-Rhine offering nightly live music, local food, and craft drinks. Closely comparable to Arnold's in combining bar service with a curated live music calendar targeting a similar Cincinnati audience.
• The Comet: Long-running Cincinnati neighborhood bar (Northside) known for its live music programming, dive-bar atmosphere, and grilled food. Direct local peer to Arnold's along the bar-plus-live-music dimension, though lacking the historic/heritage positioning.
• Ye Olde Tripple Inn: A historic Chicago tavern (operating since 1940 in a building dating to the 1800s) emphasizing dive-bar authenticity, craft cocktails, and live music programming. Comparable to Arnold's in combining a historic, character-filled bar setting with nightly entertainment.

Regional players

• Rhinegeist Brewery: Cincinnati-based craft brewery with a large taproom in Over-the-Rhine serving craft beer and food. Comparable to Arnold's as a Cincinnati hospitality destination that monetizes beverage-forward experience, though Rhinegeist is a producer-taproom rather than a heritage bar.
• Taft's Brewing Company: Cincinnati craft brewery housed in a historic church (Brewery District), combining craft beer, food, and event space. Comparable to Arnold's in repurposing a historic building into a Cincinnati dining and drinking destination with strong local identity.
• Fifty West Brewing Company: Cincinnati-area brewery and beer garden with a full food menu and event programming. A regional peer that competes for Cincinnati diners and drinkers seeking a distinctive, experiential venue, though its model is brewery-led rather than bar-led.
• Bone's Restaurant: Long-running, family-owned Atlanta steakhouse known for its heritage and national recognition. Comparable to Arnold's as a multi-generational, family-operated historic dining venue that builds brand equity through continuity and word-of-mouth rather than expansion.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Arnoldsbar
• Facebookfacebook.com/arnoldsbar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arnold's Bar and Grill