Gorilla Cinema Presents is known in Cincinnati for its out-of-the-ordinary restaurant and bar concepts, including the downtown karaoke bar Tokyo Kitty, the Shining-themed bar The Overlook Lodge and The Lonely Pine Steakhouse.
Oakley Greens in Oakley across from the Oakley Cinemark is the newest concept from Gorilla Cinema and its 10th project overall. It is similar to Covington Yard, one of its already successful open-air bars. Like Covington Yard, Oakley Greens has specialty cocktails, a large green space with ample seating, massive flat screens and options for dining in.
Unlike Covington Yard, Oakley Greens, which opened in June 2024, has 36 holes of elevated mini golf, making it a great place to drink, eat and play.
Jacob Trevino, CEO and creator of Gorilla Cinema Presents, has been working with investors for three years to get Oakley Greens up and running.
“It’s one of the longest projects that Gorilla Cinema has ever worked on,” he says. “We are very excited to be a part of it.”
Oakley Greens is also the largest venue that Gorilla Cinema has ever done; the indoor and outdoor spaces can hold up to 2,000 people. “That opens the door for so much more creativity from our company,” Trevino says.
While Gorilla Cinema is not the main owner of Covington Yard and Oakley Greens, it is the managing partner. “[Investors] came to us to help them kind of bring their dream to life,” Trevino says. “That’s an exciting part of our company now. It’s not just our ideas, but helping other people with their ideas.”
Oakley Greens offers specialty cocktails, like the Caddy Shack Margarita with an accompanying shot of Grand Marnier, the Gilmore G&T, with lemon tonic and Tanqueray, and a classic Aperol Spritz. Mocktails are also available (the Peach Palmer has peach sweet tea and lemonade, while the Par 3 has ginger beer, grape juice and lime).
Food from Hangry Omar’s Food Hall is available, including sliders, loaded fries, tater tots and cheese bites. Carnitas tacos, chips and queso, nachos, pizza and salads are also available for ordering at the two kiosks inside the main Oakley Greens building.
Mr. Oakley’s Ice Cream Shop, also inside the main building, offers a sweet treat for adults and kids alike. The food is universally likable and easy to share, making Oakley Greens a great spot for families, friends and coworkers.
“It really makes it this kind of almost country club that everyone can join,” Trevino says.
This promotes a spirit of inclusivity, one that Trevino says Cincinnati is known for in the hospitality industry, which he says is unusually supportive.
“If you go to other cities, there is not a ‘root for your neighbor’ mentality,” he says. “It’s very cutthroat. But Cincinnati has developed this excitement about supporting other people. You cheer for your friends and also hopefully they make you better.”
This could also be due to the fact that Cincinnati is a town where restaurant owners, bartenders and chefs all seemingly know each other and are known to Cincinnatians like local celebrities. Trevino has made a name for himself alongside the likes of Jose Salazar, Molly Wellmann, Kayla Robison, who appeared on and won Food Network’s Chopped, and Christian Gill, who has appeared on a variety of Netflix and Food Network food shows.
This unique environment in Cincinnati unfortunately does not alleviate the stresses of owning and operating a restaurant and/or bar.
Recently, Cosmic Gorilla, a comic book shop and its accompanying speakeasy, Galactic Cantina, owned by Gorilla Cinema, announced its closure. It won’t be empty for long: Gorilla Cinema’s new cocktail bar and tapas place, The Highball, will be taking its place in fall 2024.
While this kind of unpredictability might stress out a different business owner, Trevino shares that it’s part of the process for Gorilla Cinema.
“It’s always been about creating really cool processes and really cool experiences,” he says. “Some of them are going to be great and some of them are just going to be okay. And some of them are going to get flipped every five years. I feel like that’s kind of built into our DNA.”
According to an Ohio State University study, around 60% of restaurants fail within their first year of operation, and 80% fail within five years.
Gorilla Cinema just celebrated 10 years since the beginning of its pop-ups, and on Halloween this year, its first brick-and-mortar bar, The Overlook Lodge, will celebrate nine years of business. While some of its concepts have closed and/or been switched out for a new idea, Gorilla Cinema seems to thrive on its flexibility.
“I’m rarely chasing trends,” Trevino says. “It’s more about the neighborhoods we go into and think, ‘What’s that neighborhood missing?’ And then it’s always been about trying new things. I think we’re not afraid to try something, and this sounds terrible as a business owner, but like try something and kind of fail at it and relearn how to do it.”
Though Trevino has created and expanded Gorilla Cinema to 10 concepts, you’ll still find him behind the bar sometimes “I still consider myself very much a bartender at heart,” he says.
Additionally, Trevino, who has worked in hospitality his whole life, knows what makes a bar good or bad. “I’ve been very fortunate that I create bars that I want to go to,” Trevino says.
Now, with Oakley Greens, the door has been opened for bigger and loftier Gorilla Cinema concepts in the future.
“Oakley Greens is great because it’s allowing us to do some of the bigger ideas that have been on the shelf,” he says. “I’m very excited about the next 10 years and Oakley Greens kicking off this next stage of Gorilla Cinema in terms of scale, scope and the things that we want to do.”
Oakley Greens, 3065 Vandercar Way, Oakley. More info: oakleygreens.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat's Aug. 7 print edition.
