Hidden Gems: Meet Lydia Randall of Lydia’s on Garfield at Piatt Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lydia Randall.

Hi Lydia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
While I was in college getting my undergraduate degrees in Sociology and Women’s Studies I worked in hospitality. I worked at a coffeehouse that was a third space and that is what inspired me to create my own. Lydia’s on Garfield, formerly Lydia’s on Ludlow.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I never owned a restaurant before and realized the most expensive part of owning a business are the employees. Small business owners need a one stop shop where we can find out all of the required taxes we need to pay and responsibilities we have toward our employees. Also, recent tariffs raised the cost of goods especially on coffee, tea and espresso. Tax laws also change. I started off as a metaphysical retail store and added a cafe to my business. The cafe took over my whole business and I had to let it because that’s what the customers wanted. However, tax responsibility is different for retail versus food! I’ve realized the best business school anyone can attend is to own your own business. You just have to do it because you’ll never have enough money or experience so don’t wait!

We’ve been impressed with Lydia’s on Garfield at Piatt Park, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a third space cafe. I work with small local farmers to supply my cafe menu. I also purchase direct trade wherever possible. I have Spot for Your Thoughts journals on all my tables and support local artists, musicians and poets. All carryout is packaged in compostable containers. I live my values in business. Lydia’s on Ludlow was a great success. However, I sold it in 2020 due to COVID-19. Five years later I have opened Lydia’s on Garfield. I am trying to evolve my current cafe to bring Cincinnati a space even better than what I had previously created before COVID. However, I have to earn every improvement I make! Folks are very excited for my return. From 2020-2025 I worked in a VVIP role for our local Soccer Team FC Cincinnati and then FIFA World Cup. I have also worked independently with Film Cincinnati. I am currently in the process of growing this tiny cafe into the local third space I know it can be. Wish me luck!

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Perseverance and Resilience and a lot of luck. Relationship are EVERYTHING!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: lydiasongarfield
• Facebook: Lydia’s on Garfield at Piatt Park