OTR needs a grocery for residential growth

Many turned out for the Second Sunday on Main in Over-the-Rhine.

It’s 9 p.m. and you’re out of milk, beer or toilet paper. Where do you go? If you live in Over-the-Rhine, that likely means you’re driving on the interstate to Newport Pavilion. For this convenience, I believe OTR needs a CVS, Walgreen, City Target or other modern general store to support the increasing livability of OTR.

A safe gas station is less important since OTR is so walkable, but that’s another downside compared  with Covington, where there always seems to be a gas station nearby. When considering neighborhood livability, utilitarian needs such as a CVS or gas station are more important to sustained livability than a chic new restaurant. How many times every week is it necessary to eat out at Taste of Belgium versus needing a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk?

There is a Kroger on Vine Street, but it does not stay open late enough, just like the Downtown CVS. Its other problems are well-documented. I can only hope that Kroger is  not standing in the way of 3CDC or another good developer bringing OTR the modern general store its residents sorely need.

Eric Douglas,Clifton