TOLEDO, Ohio — The city of Toledo has been putting in a lot of work to revitalize the Vistula Historic District in north Toledo.
One of the first businesses in a portion of the neighborhood called Ostrich Towne was the Golden Hind Wine Bar. Golden Hind moved to the location back in the fall of 2023. However, it recently closed its doors for good in June.
Local employees at two different businesses on Locust Street were shocked to hear the wine bar had closed.
However, Signature Associates real estate company said interest has peaked for the area so none of those spaces should be empty for long.
Although the wine bar soft-launched in October 2023 and the city of Toledo joined the owners for their grand opening in January 2024, the small business did not last a full year.
A neighboring IT business, Nemsys, had a few employees who were regulars. Brandon Ruiz, the vice president of operations, Brandon Ruiz, said this is the sad reality of how things go sometimes in the business world.
"It's unfortunate that they closed. It is difficult to start up any business in today's age," Ruiz said. "Especially when you're in a place like this when you're trying to do a revitalization of a neighborhood."
Revitalization can either hurt or help a small business in his eyes. Since Nemsys has been in the Vistula area for over a year, Ruiz said he's happy with all the changes. From the Metroparks to the possible apartments, there's more going on in north Toledo.
"It's a great place to have our business. Actually, I go out and run downtown all the time," Ruiz said. "This is really like an untapped area that I think is going to grow rapidly."
Signature Associates spoke with WTOL 11 and said contracts are being lined up, signed and taken care of for several small businesses to start in the coming months. There will be a tea shop, a barbeque restaurant, a Hansen-Mueller office and some salons coming to the area.
"We're here to welcome anybody that wants to come into the Ostrich Towne area," Ruiz said.