Our origin story
Al Lupo calls 1077 Celestial Street home, a building rooted in one of Cincinnati’s most meaningful creative legacies. This space sits within the historic Rookwood Pottery complex, a cornerstone of the American Arts & Crafts movement and a place where handmade work once defined daily life.
Rookwood Pottery was founded in 1880 by Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, a visionary artist whose belief in craft, collaboration, and making things by hand helped shape a movement. She was also the first woman founder of a manufacturing company in the United States, breaking ground not only artistically, but culturally—proving that creativity, leadership, and industry could exist hand in hand.
The buildings along Celestial Street housed studios, kilns, and workrooms where artisans gathered to shape clay into pieces meant to be used, shared, and passed down. These walls were built with intention—thick, enduring, filled with natural light—and designed to support both creativity and community.
That purpose still lives here.
Carrying on Tradition
At Al Lupo, we carry that legacy forward in our own way. Where clay once met the wheel, flour now meets water. Pasta is rolled by hand. Sauces simmer slowly. Bottles are chosen with care. Hospitality is practiced the same way—thoughtfully, generously, and without rush.
We believe good food, like good art, comes from patience, attention, and respect for tradition. To gather around our table is to take part in something ongoing—a continuation of the craftsmanship that has lived in this building for generations.
The spirit of Rookwood remains not as a relic of the past, but as a reminder: the best things are still made by hand, meant to be shared, and rooted in community.
