Venice on Vine

If you are in the OTR area and you go anywhere else for pizza or hoagies, you are insane. The food is incredible and the service is even better. Definitely in my top 5 food spots in Cincinnati and number 1 in customer service. All of that aside, they are non profit job training establishment that helps the community immensely. So cheers to them.

This review is for Venice on Vine’s catering business. You may not know Power Inspires Progress aka Venice on Vine majority of their business is catering for corporate, school and home events.
We worked with Sister Judy and Chef Bernice on catering for our annual meeting and surrounding events. They were very accommodating to our team, providing veggie & cheese trays — you must try the garlic cream cheese balls — they were amazing. All of the veggies were freshly cut & better than any other veggie tray in town.
We also had a hot lunch with their famous chicken casserole — they told me this is their most popular catering item & we had members of our group go back for 2^nd & 3rds — trust me you must try this dish, fresh greens salad with assorted fruit and an African Vegan dish well as homemade cookies & brownies just out of the oven. We also ordered an assortment of box lunches which are on Shadeau breads — they source everything local.
The biggest news is Power Inspires Progress is a non-​profit they have a one year training program, which empowers their employees providing skills to work in restaurant and/​or caterer — thank you for serving our community and providing amazing food & service for our events this year.

We arrived on a Saturday and wondered why it was empty. Now we know. The place looks nice, food mediocre, service bad.

I had the good fortune of eating with a group at Venice on Vine last week. The food was very good and the service was GREAT! The employees take great pride in their work and it shows. If you get a chance, meet Mark Shannon. He gave us a speech about the area and Venice on Vine specifically. God Bless and Keep up the great work.

I’ve heard great things about their pizza and service, but I had a weird experience I assume is out of character. I was in the area working on a movie, and had a short lunch break. Most other places on the street are pretty expensive so I went here to try something new. At lunch time on a weekday they had no pizza! It was going to be a 40 minute wait. I got a hoagie that was pretty good, but nothing special. The atmosphere was odd because I had a plastic basket as a plate, but the tables were fancy with candles. The service was great.
Based on other reviews this may have just been an off day. I’ll have to give it another shot sometime.

This is our 2^nd day visiting Venice on Vine Pizza! Judy & Eugene were awesome and we were treated like old friends! We were a large group and they took care if us like family! They assisted us by giving us a ride to the Macy’s Music Festival! All of the staff welcomed us back. The pizza was amazing & so good! Supporting this place for the food, but the plus is because of their community efforts! They train, teach and mentor employees by giving them a 2^nd chance. Employees get an opportunity to better themselves! We love this place & will be back.

Yum. Great food catered. You would be lucky to book them.

Service is VERY slow but the people working there are very nice and the idea of a job training program is neat.

I was there on Opening Day. The place was full but not packed. They put a sign on the door that stated it was a private party and they were closed. I was already inside so decided to stay. I ordered spaghetti and meatballs. When they brought it to the table the meatballs were frozen. The waitress took it to the kitchen and microwaved the plate and brought it back to the table. The food was bad anyway. I won’t be going back.

We liked the service people when we walked in but we have been waiting twenty minutes for a hoagie. Kind of slow service considering we arrived at 6:30p and there was no line.
It looks pretty busy now but this lack of speed needs help

This was awful! The soda was flat, the meat on our hot sandwiches were frozen patties/​meatballs. The pizza crust was thin and cooked just enough to not be doughy. The cooked meatballs were stale/​burned/​and freezer burned all at once. It took over 35 minutes to get our food. We left without eating. A job training program is great if someone is there to do the training as well as provide quality food.

One of the worst meals ever. Love the story, but what are they training people for exactly — defrosting meatballs and pulling pizza dough out of a cooler? It took 30 minutes to get a frozen pizza and three sandwiches most of which we left as the meat balls were hard as a rock. We will never go back.

This was really fun to learn about what the restaurant does to help rehabilitate people who are from troubled backgrounds. The food was good but wasn’t anything exceptional. Our server was VERY kind and generous and he kept coming by our table to make sure everything was okay and was very caring. It was a really good experience.

My first visit and it’s great!
Loved the food and the environment. It’s a nonprofit that acts as a training ground for those seeking employment. Our staff was friendly and the waiter was super attentive.

Great crust and pretty quick service for individual slices of pizza. Pizza was great as well!

Good pizza restaurant that also is a job training program. If your going for pizza might as well enjoy a pie hear while helping someone learn develop new skills. Also located near cute shops in otr.

Two stars rating. 1 star for the purpose behind the business. Much respect! 1 more star for the history behind this building. When you eat here, you are sitting in the historic People’s Theatre. Buffalo Bill Cody, Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley all performed here. The back half of the theatre was demolished and is now an open lot. The pizza… well…it’s painfully average. I mean this in the nicest way possible. I still go here sometimes… eat my bad pizza, and imagine myself exchanging witty banter with Sitting Bull.

Pretty much what everyone else has said about the non-​profit, get back on your feet aspect. That part is legit. But let’s get real about the pizza. It’s not good. It could be considered borderline gr*ss. Pizza is supposed to always be good. Please use better bacon on the meat lovers pizza. It makes it so greasy and nasty that it’s frankly inedible. I used to like coming to this place, but I think that the quality has seriously slipped.
The concept and philosophy are phenomenal; the product needs work.

I didn’t realize that this place is a non-​profit! How awesome! Maybe that explains the, er, rough service. And unimpressive pizza. 3 stars for their attempt to employ people with a hard time finding jobs because of their background!
I really wanted to love this place, but I wish their pizza was better quality. We got the vegetarian pizza, but it was terribly lackluster. Prices seem fair for what you get, but the service is interesting… slow, friendly at times, but also a bit of sass sometimes.
Stop in if you feel like sticking it to the «Gateway Quarter» and (for the most part) its overpriced food, snobby customers, and long waits. That’s why I came here one night, and I don’t regret it, but I wish they’d improve their pizza.

The concept is cool. I love that they are purely non-​profit… but the pizza really isn’t very good at all. I had a slice of pepperoni and it tasted just like every overly greasy, buttery crusted Pizza Hut slice I’ve ever had… and always regretted eating.
I think people are right to commend Venice on Vine for its charity work, but if the review is strictly with regards to the pizza then they can’t possibly get more than three stars. The slices are small and greasy and the pieces of pepperoni looked like that cheap sh*t that would come in a pizza lunchable for a five year old.
You’re right down the street from OTR’s wanna be dining mecca and within a hundred feet of A Tavola. Are you sure mediocre pizza is the answer to your question? If not, try something else.