David and Claudia Taylor, owners of the Clifton-based apartment rental company Gaslight Property Management, today announced their acquisition of the historic, 292-seat Ludlow Garage music venue and restaurant on Ludlow Avenue. The deal became effective last weekend.
The Ludlow Garage space had for the past several years been owned by Scott and Maria Crawford and was operated under the name Live at the Ludlow Garage. Under their tenure, it attracted an eclectic lineup of established acts whose appeal skewed moderately toward adult contemporary and jazz listeners.
As a result of the acquisition, the venue's name will change to Ludlow Garage Cincinnati. Gaslight plans to make several modifications to the listening space to make it more fan-friendly. The restaurant will operate under the same name, but will feature a new menu.
Otherwise, the transition should feel relatively seamless for longtime patrons, the Taylors emphasized. Several familiar faces, they noted, will be visible in key roles.
Kevin Worthington — formerly of Ruth's Parkside Café — will become the venue's chef and general manager. Cincinnati service industry veteran Brian Knueven has been hired to manage front-of-house.
“We're extremely pleased to have two highly respected professionals in Kevin and Brian at the helm of this iconic music venue and restaurant," said David Taylor.
All shows previously booked at the venue will go on as planned; additional shows will be announced soon. Kevin Blum will continue to serve as the venue's talent buyer.
Tickets for upcoming Ludlow Garage Cincinnati shows are already available on its new website, and through Ticketmaster.
“David and Claudia are avid music lovers,” Gaslight COO Robert Taylor observed. “They want to keep this music venue great and continue to build excitement about Clifton’s Gaslight District.”
