// Imagine Downtown Mason //

Al's Heating and Cooling
657 Reading Road
398-7921

The office burned down one year after moving into it on Reading Road.

On a late evening service call in Mason, I met Burt Reynolds, Woody Harrelson, and Charles Dunning. It was right after Burt had his face lift and split with Loni Anderson. I had come from the basement, walked up to this man, said hello, and asked him if anyone had ever told him he looked like Burt Reynolds? He said, “I AM Burt Reynolds.” After talking for a few minutes, two other men walked downstairs, introducing themselves as Charles Dunning and Woody Harrelson. They were in town with my client, who was a sitcom writer for Linda Bloodsworth Thompson.

Angilo's Pizza
216 W. Main St.
398-5891

The “Ziggy” sandwich is named after Frank Ziegenhardt. He made it up in the 1960’s and it is our most famous sandwich!

Our business hasn’t been owned by two or more generations, but there are three generations that work here.

Our famous customers include: Nick Clooney, Anthony Munoz, Dan Patrick (from ESPN) aka Dan Pugh, who is a former resident of Mason, and David Fulcher (Cincinnati Bengals).

Interesting Story: A lady came in and ordered food and told us not to breathe on it or they wouldn’t eat it. She insisted that she would know if we breathed on it.

Baysore's Flower Shop, LLC
301 Reading Rd.
398-7010

I grew up around the corner from my Store.

All of my family still lives in Mason.

We have serviced a lot of celebrity clients and politicians over the years.

My mom & dad, brother & sister-in-law, me and my husband, were all married at St. Susanna's parish in Mason.

BonTon
207 Reading Road
398-4936

On one of my first days at the salon, I was working as a receptionist and someone walked up to the front desk and handed me a note on a piece of paper without saying a word. I was nervous, so I started walking toward the cash register, thinking we were being robbed, until the owner realized what was going on. She began laughing! The client was deaf and wrote a note asking for an appointment!

We had an elderly lady as a client. She was in getting a massage and her son was getting a haircut. All of the sudden he told me, “Do not turn around, whatever you do!” His mom had hopped off the massage table to go to the restroom in her birthday suit! The massage therapist was chasing after her with a robe but she told her son not to be upset, that when nature calls, nature calls!

Children's Theatre of Mason
308 W. Main Street
398-0116

What started as a mother's endeavor to find a local children's theatre for her own children has become a non-profit children's theatre that has grown dramatically over the last four years, with over 1,000 students and more than 13,000 tickets sold for their family-oriented shows.

Fisher-Hobe-Dowrey Stover Insurance Agency, LLC
127 W. Main St.
398-6971

I started with one desk, one file cabinet, and one telephone. I now have 4 employees, 18 file cabinets, and 4 telephones.

My building has housed a Kroger store, a 5 and 10-cent store, as well as a Dinner Bell restaurant.

I spoke to Howard Ain regarding insurance questions.

I notarized papers for Channel 12 (Brad Johannson).

The building used to have a bowling alley in the basement.

The building was the first Kroger in Mason.

When I was a child, and up through junior high school, I ate my lunches at the Dinner Bell restaurant. Now I own the place!

Gary‘s Barber Shop
312 W. Main St.
398-8801

We cut George Clooney‘s hair(the actor) when he lived in Mason.

We have cut Neil Armstrong‘s hair (the astronaut).

My first customer in the shop was George Rogers - April 28, 1959. He was one of my school teachers at Mason High School.

Hardin Dental
202 E. Main Street
Suite C
398-4448

This father/daughter team has seen some big name clients coming their way including many Bengals players and a number of professional golfers. Listed as the 1st Extreme Makeover Dental Team in the Cincinnati area, Hardin Dental has been featured in Cincinnati Magazine, Channel 9, WCPO, Cincinnati Enquirer, and national dental publications.

Main Street Studios of Dance & Performing Arts
308 W. Main St.
398-0116

“I’d like to see my studio be an accessible, visible and busy place for children who want to learn to sing, dance and act; in an environment that encourages self-esteem, confidence and the love of theater!”

I opened with 34 students in 2005 and closed my 1st year with 134!

I have students of all ages, backgrounds, races, and religions.

I get handmade cards from my students who thank me for being such a funny teacher!

I get e-mails from parents praising what we do. The comments I get most are “we’re so glad you are here and it’s great that Mason has a performing arts school and children’s theater under one roof!”

Mason Fine Arts Center
309 Reading Road
754-0261

The Building was orginally the office of Dr. fox and Olhauser who Provided family care for many, many Mason residents.
We started the business after we retired from public education and saw the need to open a center that encouraged arts for children.

Interesting Story: A few years ago, I had a call from the daughter of a resident at Cedar Village requesting piano lessons for her mother, who was 99 years old. I hesitated, but finally agreed to visit her mother in her apartment to see what we could work out. This turned out to be a wonderful educational experience for me. This woman had fled from Russia with her family during the Russian Revolution in the early 1900’s. Her family then resided in Germany until World War II broke out. She immigrated to the United States as a young adult and was the librarian at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. She had studied both piano and voice, and spoke six languages fluently. In her small apartment at Cedar Village, she had a piano that she preferred me to play while she sang folk songs that she learned in the various languages of her heritage.

New 2 You Thrift Store
408 Fourth Ave.
770-0350

This business was started with volunteers and basically no startup dollars. We have been so successful in our first year that we will be able to open a second and a third location within the next year!

Ohio Beads and Gems
105 E. Main Street, Site 102
770-5564

We want Ohio Beads and Gems to grow as a destination business for shoppers from all over the tri-state area, and we look forward to doing this with the whole Downtown.

We started Ohio Beads and Gems to create a family work environment that would support and justify travel. Now we have a thriving and fun business that gives us and our customers a great deal of satisfaction.

One Restaurant & Lounge
202 W. Main Street
336-0042

"We would like to see downtown as the center of the city - the place you go with friends and family to enjoy all times of the day."

Former NY Yankee Paul O'Neil, Bengal Tony Stewart, Brad Johanson, Dave Lapham, Bengal Linebacker coach Ricky Hunley have all dined with us.

We are in the old Mason Municipal building and get quite a few customers that come in and share their stories. Some were married here, some have paid parking tickets, and one person even spent time in the jail.

Sheldon Dry Cleaners
125 E. Main Street
398-5659

“Every community needs a core or central district to truly have a community personality. The Downtown revitalization project is a tremendous start in offering Mason residents a great place to shop and play one day….soon.”

Sheldon Dry Cleaners use to be a machine shop and it was a restaurant at one point in time.

We have one employee who has been with the company for 25 years and has never worked for anyone else.

Tea Roses
101 E. Main St.
398-2260

The building was formerly known as The Old Hotel, built in 1873. Tea Roses was a private residence until 1911. It was converted to a boarding house in 1920 and became a residence again in 1966. The building then became the law firm of Sams and Fischer. Then it became the Chocolate Morel restaurant in 2001.

Since 2006, it is Tea Roses.

TEC Engineering, Inc.
214 W. Main Street
229-8829

TEC was selected by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to study and implement a number of transportation initiaives in the fast-growing, congested region as a result of their experience here in the US.

The Red Door
600 Reading Road #A
770-3470

The building is a former furniture store that was operated by the owner’s father. Famous guests have included Nancy Lopez and Nick Clooney. The business is now owned by a 4th generation granddaughter, Elizabeth.

Yost's Pharmacy
421 Reading Road
398-5010

>Yost's Pharmacy is a third generation family business that started when there were fewer than 1,000 people residing in Mason.

The prior owner before the Yost family took over was a pharmacist, veterinarian, and staunch Republican who often refused service to Democrats.

Yost's Pharmacy recently donated the safe they had used since 1895 to the Mason Historical Society.