A Group Of Friends Is Building The Lesbian Hangout Cincinnati Deserves
The founders of Blended Café & Club want to give Cincinnati’s sapphic community a space that finally feels like home.
When Claudia Rieth and her fiancée first started talking about the lack of space for lesbians in Cincinnati, it was the kind of casual, wistful conversation that happens a lot in queer circles. The kind where someone says, “Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a place just for us?” But unlike most people, Rieth didn’t stop at the idea. She called her friends, and together, they began laying the foundation for Blended Café & Club, a new community hub designed specifically for sapphics.
As the group started sharing their vision online, the response was immediate and emotional. “I knew that the sapphic community was pretty large in Cincinnati,” Julia Smith, a longtime friend and collaborator, recalls to the Buckeye Flame. “But actually seeing the amount of people commenting, liking and sharing… it’s like wow, this is something that should have been done years ago!”
It’s still a tall order. While lesbian bars are seeing something of a renaissance, the overall numbers are still very low. Ohio currently only has one, a pizza joint in Columbus called Slammers that’s absolutely worth a visit. But the hour and forty-minute drive from Cincinnati to Columbus makes casual trips a bit inconvenient. Queer women and gender-expansive folks often find themselves unwelcome in mainstream spaces, or sidelined in gay male-dominated ones. The team behind Blended wants to shift that reality, and they’re doing it with purpose, passion, and caffeine.
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Blended is being envisioned as a hybrid café and cocktail lounge. By day, it will offer pastries, espresso, and soft seating. At night, it transforms into a full-on queer nightlife experience. And at all times, it’s built to reflect the needs and wants of the community it serves.
“We want it to be somewhere someone could go all the time,” Rieth, who’s leading the branding and creative side of the business, tells Cincinnati Magazine. “It can cater to two different sides of the sapphic community. You have the night owls, but not everyone likes loud music and stuff like that. Sometimes people just want to chill and hang out.”
That duality is part of what makes Blended potentially so special.
“We’ve gotten messages where people have expressed that they don’t necessarily go out anymore because they don’t feel safe,” Rieth says. “That’s a big driving factor and a huge concern for us.”
Smith, who will serve as Bar and Beverage Director, is already dreaming up drinks that reflect the café’s identity.
“I really love the idea of doing a blended espresso martini flight,” she tells Cincinnati Magazine. “I want to make ours different flavors that are more tailored to us like chamomile, honey, and lavender. I want to make sure that even in our cocktail hours we’re still giving people that coffee essence.”
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It’s a blend that they believe the city is ready for. The group launched a Kickstarter on June 3, aiming to raise $40,000 by July 3. In just one week, they brought in over $7,000 from more than 100 backers. As of now, they’ve passed $9,600.
“Nobody will be charged if we don’t make the goal. Nothing is going to be taken out of your account yet,” Rieth emphasizes. “That’s something we definitely want to reassure to people that are struggling right now.”
And even if they don’t hit the number in time, Blended will still move forward. The team is already exploring grants and investor options. But hitting the target would fast-track everything: securing a location, sourcing equipment, and opening their doors as soon as this November for a soft launch aimed at Kickstarter backers.
In the meantime, they’re doing everything they can to grow the movement. They’re active on social media, engaging with supporters on Instagram and TikTok, and planning out community events: speed dating nights, book clubs, live music, sapphic dance parties. There’s even talk of a Blended-run running club.
“This is everyone’s place,” Rieth says. “The whole goal here is that you are never alone. That no one is ever alone.”
