CINCINNATI, March 2, 2007 – A Cincinnati native recently returned to the city after nearly 11 years in New York and Chicago and brought a dynamic business with him.

Dan Korman announced today that he intends to open Park + Vine, a green general store, at 1109 Vine Street, in the new Gateway Quarter section of historic Over-the-Rhine.

Park + Vine is among a wave of stores nationwide focusing on ecologically friendly and environmentally sustainable merchandise. It is the first retailer in Cincinnati to specialize solely on these products. Korman is offering high quality merchandise that satisfies basic needs and improves quality of life while also minimizing use of natural resources, toxic materials and animal by-products.

Products at Park + Vine range from accessories, apparel and footwear, to personal care, home furnishings and home improvement supplies. Korman plans creative programming such as art installations, lectures and film screenings on sustainable living, too. Similar stores include Organic Avenue (www.organicavenue.com) and 3R Living (www.3rliving.com).

Korman is incorporating the brainpower and volunteer help of family and friends to get the store up and running, and he’s already reaching out to future customers. He has set up an online survey about shopping preferences, and is looking to expand the store’s network of friends at www.myspace.com/parkandvine. Survey respondents will receive 10-percent off their first purchase once Park + Vine opens. To take the survey or sign up for the store’s free electronic newsletter, go to www.parkandvine.com.

Korman looked at a variety of spaces in downtown Cincinnati before choosing the intersection of Central Parkway and Vine Street. Park + Vine is the first new shop in this emerging area.

“This is a physically beautiful and culturally alive area–full of people who see potential in every corner of the neighborhood and are doing something about it,” said Korman, an Over-the-Rhine resident. “Park + Vine is near the Ensemble Theater, the Art Academy and the Know Theatre. It’s an ideal spot for budding entrepreneurs.”

Park + Vine is one of several projects at the intersection of 12th and Vine Streets timed to capitalize on the 84 renovated condominiums currently available. Other retailers are planning to join Korman in the street level spaces currently under construction, said Kathleen Norris of Builder Resources.

Park + Vine is benefiting from the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce’s Business First AdVenture initiative, which is funded through $160,000 from the City of Cincinnati using money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It gives qualified businesses up to $20,000 to get started, and they don’t have to pay it back.

Chamber President Brian Tiffany said, “This is the type of retail business that is in a position to benefit from recent improvements in the neighborhood.”

Park +Vine is scheduled to open in May with a grand opening set to coincide with the Over-the-Rhine Summer Tour of Homes June 3, said Korman.

Press contact:
Dan Korman
Park + Vine
(513) 373-5785
dan@parkandvine.com

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