10th Island Tiki Bar & Grill, the Hawaiian-inspired spot facing Ziegler Pool in Over-the-Rhine, is permanently closing on September 13, giving customers just under two weeks to grab one more round of Mochiko-Spiced Chicken Wings or a Maoli Mahi Mahi Taco before the tropical bar goes dark for good. The closure comes after only about 15 months in business, having opened its doors on June 1, 2025.
The bar announced the news in a social media post, telling followers that some menu items and drinks might never return once the doors close, according to Cincinnati CityBeat. The operators urged customers to stop by over the coming weeks for a final visit. Located at 213 Woodward Street in Over-the-Rhine, 10th Island sits inside the $50 million Willkommen mixed-use development, a joint project between Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. and Model Group designed to energize the neighborhood's Main Street corridor, according to 3CDC.
Beyond the closure itself, the address has become something of a cautionary tale for OTR hospitality. 10th Island is the third bar concept to shut down at 213 Woodward Street in roughly three years, following the poolside taco bar Yoli's Pool House, which closed in July 2023, and the dive bar Ziggy's, which closed in May 2024, as reported by Cincinnati Magazine. That's three distinct concepts unable to find lasting footing in the same storefront since 2023.
A Hawaiian Concept Born From a Growing Cincinnati Appetite
Co-founder Vincente “Vinny” Benedett named the bar 10th Island as a nod to Hawaii's eight official islands and Las Vegas's informal status as the “ninth island,” a branding choice meant to celebrate Cincinnati's rising appetite for Hawaiian cuisine. Benedett has said he drew inspiration from living with an Oahu family in San Francisco before launching his hospitality career. The menu leaned into plantation-style Hawaiian fusion, offering dishes like Kahuku Shrimp Sandos, Teriyaki Chicken Makua Melts, and a Waimea Bay Salad, alongside house-made drinks such as Coconut Cream Soda and Green River, per Uber Eats listings for the restaurant. The bar also featured an extensive drink selection, including liquors infused with Hawaiian spice blends, and its 1,504-square-foot space was custom-designed by architecture firm The Drawing Department, the same studio behind Cincinnati venues Boca, Sotto, and Ghost Baby, according to 3CDC. That design included a 15-seat horseshoe bar and two outdoor patios equipped for both dining and shuffleboard.
10th Island is the second concept from Poco Moco Restaurant Group, the hospitality company founded by Vinny and Cici Benedett. The group first debuted in Cincinnati in 2021 with Onolicious Hawaii inside the Oakley Kitchen Food Hall before expanding to a standalone storefront on Court Street Plaza, according to Cincinnati Magazine. With 10th Island's closure, Onolicious now stands as the last remaining space in Cincinnati's urban core serving traditional Hawaiian food, illustrating how the group is consolidating back toward its original flagship concept.
Foot Traffic Peaks in Summer, But Struggles the Rest of the Year
10th Island's storefront sits directly across from the 4.5-acre Ziegler Park, which runs the “Everybody In” program backed by Procter & Gamble, offering subsidized pool access, youth swim lessons, and free community activities for Over-the-Rhine and Pendleton residents. That proximity delivers heavy seasonal foot traffic each summer, but keeping a side-street bar off Main Street busy through the colder months has proven to be an ongoing operational challenge for tenants at this particular address.
The shutdown fits into a broader pattern of dining instability across Over-the-Rhine this year. Crown Restaurant Group's Five Kitchen & Bar on Vine Street closed vowing a bold fall comeback in May, and just this past July, the closure of Cincinnati's Pub Rookwood after 25 years put a spotlight on the financial pressures facing local restaurants. A University of Cincinnati study found that roughly 60% of restaurants opened in the city between 2008 and 2023 have since closed, a statistic that underscores how steep labor, rent, and ingredient costs continue to squeeze independent operators citywide.
For now, 10th Island's final day of service is set for September 13, after which the space at 213 Woodward Street will once again sit vacant, waiting to see whether a fourth concept can succeed where three have not.
