Milton's Robber Dead

The man 'allegedly' responsible for robbing Milton's Tavern last summer died after a police chase in Anderson Township.

Yeah, the 'allegedly' is in my opinion not allegedly in the slightest, but the guy never stood trial for the crime, and who knows what his family might do, I don't need the grief. Anyway, he did get punished. Now I hope the staff and patrons of Milton's can have more peace and enjoy the holidays with a beer. If you are good, maybe an elf will make gumbo.

An Amazing Gift for Cincinnati Arts

Louise Nippert has made history with her incredible gift to the CSO, Opera, and Ballet. Classical music is the base of fine arts and this gift will go far to ensure that the CSO can continue as a world class orchestra and in turn provide first class live music to the Opera and Ballet for many years to come. This donation will also help all of the local arts organizations in the city, if by no other way then opening up opportunities for other donors to focus on an expanded list of Arts groups (like local live Theatre!). Mrs. Nippert played the role of Mrs. Claus in a big way yesterday, so turn on WGUC right now and think of the culture this city will be able to continue to remain famous for throughout the world.

Who's Next?

If the media reports are correct, Brian Kelly will tell his soon-to-be-former players tonight that he is leaving for South Bend. At least we'll get a million dollars of Notre Dame's money (at least, I assume his contract with that school will force it to pay his buyout from his UC contract).

Thanks to Brian Kelly for three great years. As someone who went to Nippert to watch games during the early part of this decade, it was terrific to see the excitement (and success) he brought to the program. I've previously written that coaches should not be permitted to leave before their season is done. But until the NCAA creates some more rational rules, the system is what it is. I don't blame Notre Dame, Brian Kelly, or UC for Kelly's early departure.

Now, UC has a decision to make: will it continue to grow UC's football program, or will it view the team's recent success as a byproduct of Brian Kelly that is unreproducable by another coach and therefore back off? I hope it chooses the former path. UC made a mistake by permitting the basketball program to be too strongly identified with a single head coach. It should continue with its plans to provide Division I-quality practice facilities and expand Nippert.

Who should UC look to hire as its next head coach? There's a lot of talent (not the least of which is Zach Callaros) ready to play next year. After 12 wins and 2 consecutive BCS appearances, UC will have more options than it did after Mark Dantonio left. A short list of candidates (in no particular order):

• Kerry Coombs, UC (a terrible choice, but this is who UC chooses if it decides it's not interested in continuing to grow the program)
• Jeff Quinn, UC
• Turner Gill, Buffalo (if Kansas doesn't sign him first)
• Skip Holtz, ECU
• Butch Jones, Central Michigan University (two CMU coaches in a row?)

Any other names we should discuss?

Wussy Packs Them In, From Canada

If you've been living under a rock, then you may not know that Wussy is one of the best bands in Cincinnati. They have attracted a nationally following amongst indie music experts which has attracted Stuart Laidlaw from the Toronto Star to fly to Ohio to see wussy. He loves Wussy, and one might say put the fanatic in fan. He likely was a little giddy when he got to met the band after a recent Show at the Northside Tavern, but we can forgive that. It is great attention for a band that continues to grow and continues to be a standard barer for the Cincinnati Music Scene. Help out the band and give a gift of Wussy this holiday season.

Attention I71 Drivers!

This is a public service announcement to all I71 drivers. If you were white-knuckle driving your way home tonight, then be open to some advice. If there ever is a weather forecast that includes a chance for snow, any chance of snow...fluries...a light dusting...or even just few flakes, then stay home. If you can not handle driving in the rain, then you should never drive in the snow, ever. Also, you must vote for all forms of public transit if you ever plan on going anywhere: trains, buses, or pack mule.

This ends this friendly public service announcement.

Yes, It Snowed This Morning

In case anyone missed it, there was a slight snow fall this morning.

I hope you have plenty of canned food to survive the day.

Jean-Ro v. Wade

Sorry. I just couldn't resist getting to use the title.

As first reported by Polly Campbell, Jean Robert de Cavel has filed suit against his former business partner, Martin Wade. (The defendants are actually several limited liability corporations, each of which operated a separate de Cavel/Wade restaurant.)

De Cavel is represented by Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease. I believe that Wade is represented by Taft, Stettinius & Hollister. The case, filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas court, has been transferred to the recently-created commercial docket.

Jean-Robert seeks an injunction prohibiting Wade from taking any action (including public statements) seeking to use a non-compete agreement to keep Jean-Robert from opening his new restaurant. It appears from the filings that Jean-Robert agrees that there was a non-compete agreement, but that it has expired. According to his attorneys, the non-compete was in force while Jean-Robert was providing services as a manager to Wade's restaurant group and for one year following the termination of those services. They claim that Wade restructured the group in September 2008 and removed de Cavel as a manager at that time. Wade, of course, has publicly claimed that the non-compete is in force for one year after de Cavel leaves the partnership, which he hasn't done yet.

The language from the non-compete agreement quoted in de Cavel's brief seems to support the chef's legal interpretation. It's not entirely clear the facts are with him though; at least as I read the court documents, there may be an argument that he remained the manager of Pigall's until it closed at the end of February 2008. His attorneys must be planning to argue that "services as a manager" refers to managing the entire group, not just one restaurant in the group. I don't know whether that argument is sustainable. I also don't know whether, apart from the non-compete, de Cavel would have a fiduciary obligation not to compete with an entity in which he is a partner. (For the sake of my own culinary delight, though, I hope that de Cavel's attorneys have the upper hand in both arguments.)

A couple of interesting tidbits from the motion for injunctive relief:

• Jean-Robert says that Wade only began rattling the non-compete sabre when Jean-Robert refused to transfer his 20% interest in the restaurants (and--perhaps most importantly--a liquor license) to the Relish Group.
• In his letter to de Cavel informing him of the then-impending closure of Pigall's, Wade claims to have lost money every year Pigall's was open. Wade wrote, "Fine dining as you know and love, no longer is a profitable business."
• Jean-Robert testifies (via affidavit) that the reason he delayed the opening of his new restaurant at Seventh and Vine is the uncertainty created by Wade's litigation threats. This seems to contradict what Jean-Robert reportedly told Polly Campbell about the delayed opening.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.