The Monarch House, a new coffeehouse and wine bar from local entrepreneur Heather Barrow, has signed a lease to take over the first-floor space in Mount Auburn’s Flatiron Building at 1833 Sycamore Street. The concept pairs traditional and specialty coffee with a rotating seasonal drink menu, craft cocktails, beer and wine, along with breakfast sandwiches, pizza bagels and light bites. Owners are targeting an early August grand opening and say they will start with daytime service before adding evenings later in the year. Seating will include indoor tables, a lower-level dining area and an outdoor patio that looks out over the neighborhood.
As reported by Cincinnati Business First and relayed by WhatNow, Barrow signed a three-year lease in April and has expressed interest in buying the property from owner Brad Lauck of Lauck Properties. The Monarch House will move into the café and wine bar space that previously operated as Flatiron Cafe, which closed in January 2025, and will include a grab-and-go beverage refrigerator for quick stops. Barrow told the outlet that “sometimes you just need time away to walk and get out of the four walls of the hospital room and clear your head,” adding that the proximity to nearby hospitals helped make the location especially appealing.
Building, permits and recent sale
The wedge-shaped Flatiron building was substantially rehabbed in 2022 and later listed for sale, with the commercial listing showing the property sold in December 2025. According to Howard Hanna, the renovation topped $1 million and the sale included multiple Ohio liquor permits and a significant historic-tax-credit allocation that lowers the cost of reopening the space. The listing also notes that two upper-floor units are operated as short-term rentals, providing built-in foot traffic for a street-level tenant.
What The Monarch House Will Serve
The Monarch House plans to operate as an all-day spot, serving morning coffee, daytime grab-and-go items and eventually a seasonal cocktail and wine program once evening service launches. WhatNow reports that initial hours are expected to be about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with plans to expand into evening hours and possibly seven days a week. The floor plan, patio and lower-level seating are aimed at serving hospital visitors, nearby residents and workers in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Mount Auburn context
The Flatiron has been part of a multi-year stabilization and redevelopment push in Mount Auburn, including a stabilization agreement with the Hamilton County Landbank and support from historic-tax credits. A City of Cincinnati presentation documents that the property was declared a nuisance and later stabilized with roughly $250,000 in historic-tax-credit funding to aid redevelopment, and local listings show the building changed hands late last year. Those investments and permits make it easier for a concept like The Monarch House to open in a neighborhood that has struggled to hold onto independent businesses.
The Monarch House is the latest small-business bet on Mount Auburn’s recovery, with organizers positioning the space as a daytime refuge for hospital families and a neighborhood hangout for locals. We will update with a confirmed opening date once the owner announces specifics.
