Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Bender. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Brad Hughes and Karen Monzel Hughes retired from the corporate and university worlds in 2015. Not being ready to sit idly on a beach, they decided they needed a new adventure. Cookware stores had always had a gravitational pull whenever they traveled, and the idea of designing one of their own formed their next act in life. Karen was a communication design professor at the University of Cincinnati, and began by developing the brand for the store. Brad brought his engineering and business acumen to the new venture. Together they created Artichoke, a Curated Cookware Collection.
As highly committed residents of the historic district of Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati and fervent Streetcar supporters, they were adamant about placing the store at Findlay Market and directly on the Streetcar line. The Market, begun in 1852, is the longest continuously operated market in Ohio, and one of the major attractions in Cincinnati with the new Cincinnati Bell Connector running on both sides of it, connecting Over-the-Rhine to Downtown and the Ohio River. It was only natural to want to place Artichoke in proximity to Findlay Market, and capitalize on the food scene and walkability that surrounded it. The Hugheses were determined to create an urban cookware store that reflected the character of Over-the-Rhine and complemented Findlay Market.
After a solid year of searching to find a building, Karen and Brad were finally able to purchase three properties on Elm Street just north of Findlay Market from the City, and would allow them to cement their commitment to OTR with both the store and their own new home. Phase 1 was to renovate a 4-story Italianate building from around 1882 that had been vacant for at least 40 years as the location for the store. The Hughes hired architect Terry Boling to design the rehabilitation of the building, the store space, and 2 apartments above — and won several awards for it, including American Institute of Architects AIAOhio Merit Award. Phase 2 was to create a house of their own next door to the store using a second 1880’s building and a vacant lot. Boling’s design for the Hughes’ house recently received the single top honor from the AIAOhio Design Awards for 2021.
After a holiday pop-up from Thanksgiving 2015 through New Year’s, the store opened April 2, 2016. It quickly received national attention by being named one of the “10 Great Cookware Stores to Shop” by Food & Wine. Gourmet Insider, the premiere housewares trade publication, featured the Hugheses several times, including as their 2018 “All Stars.” The ultimate award for the housewares industry is the GIA or Global Innovation Award from the International Housewares Association. Artichoke was named US winner for 2018-19 in a recognition of the best store from each of 29 countries.
After nearly 6 years of successfully running the business, the Hugheses decided it was time for a true retirement. The natural path was to transition the business to Hannah Luken Bender and her husband Tom Bender.
Hannah had joined Artichoke in its first year, and quickly became indispensable to the team. She has taken the deep dive into every aspect of the business, from sales, to buying, to accounting, to teaching cooking classes. Hannah grew up working at Findlay Market at her families’ businesses, spending 7 years as a butcher for Lukens’ Seafood, Fish, and Poultry. Her knowledge of food and cooking was an exceptional addition to the Artichoke enterprise. Hannah’s husband Tom also grew up at the Market, being the 3rd generation to own Bender Meats. The two met at the Market and are truly passionate about it. They are thrilled to be able to continue with Artichoke and to work toward expanding the brand. With Hannah and Tom at the helm, Artichoke will continue to prosper and grow.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Any retail store has challenges from the big online retailers like Amazon. We chose to build a brand based on customer experience. Our customers have learned that we are highly knowledgeable about our products and can educate them on where and how they are made, what to use them for, and we even provide demonstrations to help customers understand the product before buying. This hands-on approach simply can’t be accomplished by the big box and online retailers. As a result, we have built a highly loyal customer base, who even during the pandemic shutdown would call us to see if they could get a product from us rather than Amazon.
A significant challenge is that our store is much smaller than most cookware stores, and as a result, we have created what we call a “curated collection” of cookware, We can’t carry everything, so we carefully choose the products we feel are the best and most unique, with a focus on US-, European-, and Japanese-made products.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Much of what we do is customer interaction, but we also take great care to evaluate products and manufacturers to assure we carry the absolute best. We maintain a full kitchen in the store so we can show products in use as well as allow customers to try out the knives we carry so they choose the right one for them. In addition, we teach cooking classes on a regular basis.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Artichoke has won numerous awards in retailing, as well as for the historic preservation and architecture of the building.
Contact information:
- Facebook: @artichokeotr.com
- Twitter: @artichokeotr.com
- Instagram: @artichokeotr.com
Image Credits
Ryan Kurtz
Karen Monzel Hughes
Allison Larsson
Maggie Baker
Images by Daniel Micheal
