Allison and Ferrah Walton have leased Pendleton's largest retail space for Thirteen, a cocktail bar and event venue they will open in the former Braxton Brewing room at 331 East 13th Street in Cincinnati. The business is called Thirteen. The plan is to make one big room do two jobs.
Cincinnati CityBeat reported Friday that the couple will split roughly 6,000 square feet between a neighborhood bar and a private rental hall. The owners have not announced an opening date, so the lease is further along than the calendar.
Two Halves of the Same Room
Thirteen Social is planned as an elevated neighborhood cocktail bar with live music, open throughout the week. Thirteen Events is the private side, available for birthday parties and corporate gatherings, and open only when someone has rented it. The difference is simple enough: one side is meant for an ordinary night, and the other stays shut unless a host has the room.
Nick Pesola of Pesola Advisors Group represented both the landlord and the tenant in the sale. CityBeat reported that he called the dual concept sensible, said Pendleton is back and better than ever, and expects Thirteen to play a major role in the neighborhood's resurgence.
That forecast comes from a broker who worked both sides of the lease. A bar running all week could keep the address in use between bookings. A hall that opens only when rented would not have to invent a Tuesday crowd.
The Waltons still work in home healthcare. CityBeat reported that they are also real estate investors and entrepreneurs, and that they are passionate about bringing community to the area. They will hire an interior designer to warm the former taproom before it has to read as a cocktail room.
What Happened to the Braxton Room
Braxton was among the high-profile Pendleton businesses that closed after COVID. Razzo was another. In May 2025, the Cincinnati Business Courier reported that Model Group was finalizing a listing with 3CRE for the former Braxton Brewing Co. space.
In January, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Brett Velicovich had purchased the former Braxton Brewing taproom and had already leased space in the building to a high-end sushi restaurant.
Friday's CityBeat report describes a later lease of the former brewery space to the Waltons. The Enquirer was writing about a sushi tenant in the building. CityBeat is writing about Thirteen, a cocktail bar and event hall in what it calls Pendleton's largest retail room. Those reports sit ten months apart, and they do not describe the same plan.
Smaller Reboots, One Large Room
CityBeat ties a major upswing in Pendleton's popularity this year to notable openings such as Jimmie Lou's and to Sushi by Bou, an upcoming omakase restaurant. The comeback language follows a shorter list of empty rooms: Braxton and Razzo were the high-profile closings, and both addresses have since been attached to new hospitality plans.
Local 12 had already reported the Jimmie Lou's plan in detail. James Beard-nominated chef Jeffery Harris was to reopen the Southern restaurant at 1201 Broadway, inside the former Razzo space that shuttered in March 2025. He signed a five-year lease in May for 1,435 square feet. The station expected a fall opening and said an exact date and official hours had not been determined.
CityBeat now counts Jimmie Lou's among the openings behind the upswing, and it still calls Sushi by Bou upcoming. The square footage is the contrast that matters on the ground. Harris took 1,435 square feet on Broadway. The Waltons are taking roughly 6,000 on East 13th, about four times that floor area, in the former Braxton taproom.
Before Anyone Orders a Drink
The preparation the Waltons have described is an interior designer, brought in to warm the former taproom. Thirteen Social is supposed to run through the week, live music included. Thirteen Events is supposed to stay closed until a birthday or a corporate booking has the room.
Pesola is already giving the project a major role in a comeback he says is underway. The owners have not announced the night that role would start.
