Scott and Terry Carter are pioneers in the development of Main Street — two guys who opened a bar 15 years ago amid abandoned buildings in one of Cincinnati's most impoverished neighborhoods.

        Now, three months after April's riots and amid ensuing violence in Over-the-Rhine, the owners of the popular Neon's Cigar Bar and Tavern are leaving the entertainment district they helped create.

        The decision to sell was triggered by reasons other than the riots and recent neighborhood shootings. But Scott Carter acknowledges that some customers have been slow to return.

        “The kids in the clubs are back like there's never been a problem,” he says. But Neon's caters to an older crowd, and “our customers are a little slower coming back.”

        Main Street's web of bars, nightclubs, restaurants and art galleries is a main draw for outsiders to Over-the-Rhine, and there are signs it's snapping out of a post-riot funk.

        Yet the neighborhood remains fragile. Merchants on Main and Vine streets and in historic Findlay Market are still struggling to attract customers lost after the riots. Some visitors are wary about venturing downtown.

        And business, civic and city leaders are carefully cultivating the perception of a safe district with stepped-up police patrols and marketing blitzes targeting suburban residents.

        At the time of the riots, several merchants and residents speculated that rioters targeted Main Street because it represented prosperity amid poverty. Low-income housing advocates feared gentrification would spread throughout Over-the-Rhine, displacing the neighborhood's poorest.

        But Mark Wellage, who owns Wellage & Buxton framing shop on Main Street, says he no longer senses that tension.

        “There was a palpable anger in the streets following the riots,” Mr. Wellage says. “Now, not so much.”

        Jim Moll is more optimistic about Main Street's prospects today than he was in April. His company, Urban Sites Properties, is the neighborhood's largest landlord with 174 apartments and 33 commercial properties.

        During the unrest following the police shooting of unarmed 19-year-old Timothy Thomas, Mr. Moll was terrified. More than 140 businesses in 13 city neighborhoods were damaged during three nights of rioting, and no area was hit harder than Over-the-Rhine.

        Total damage is still being figured, but the harm to the neighborhood's image was considerable.

        Vandals streaked down Main Street and smashed several windows between Central Parkway and Liberty Street. Violent acts against motorists and pedestrians were sporadic but unforgettable as they were continually replayed on television.

        At the time, Mr. Moll had managed to rent all but nine units of the recently completed Emery Center apartment complex on Central Parkway. But 11 people canceled plans to move into the Emery just after the unrest, pushing the number of vacant units to 20.

        Leasing has rebounded in the past two weeks.

        “I only have four vacancies,” Mr. Moll says today. “It's been astounding.”

        Merchants say Main Street's post-riot fortunes have been bolstered by slick advertising arranged by Downtown Cincinnati Inc. The downtown advocacy group has featured Main Street, downtown, the Museum Center and other attractions in print, radio and television spots.

        Cincinnati City Council also authorized $100,000 to pay off-duty police to provide security for Main Street clubs and $1 million for businesses damaged by riots. That's in addition to 77 grants of $2,000 or less to businesses and one $34,000 loan to repair broken windows and other damage.

        City Councilman Jim Tarbell is seeking $250,000 in private donations to pay for self-irrigating, fiberglass flower boxes throughout the neighborhood. More than one dozen boxes have already been installed along the neighborhood's main streets north of Central Parkway; they've yet to reach Findlay Market or other areas north of Liberty Street.

        The theory: More people will visit the neighborhood if it looks more inviting.

        Yet some merchants say the city's help has been either insufficient or too slow.

        Since April, Economic Development Director Evonne Kovach resigned, citing frustration with City Hall bureaucracy. And Tom Jackson, the development officer overseeing the long-awaited multimillion-dollar Findlay Market revitalization, resigned amid a Finance Department report that he mishandled funds.

        Chester Beeks, co-owner of Next Millennium stereo shop, says the unrest, neighborhood shootings and a slowing economy have combined to wallop his Vine Street business. He's making just enough to pay the rent, he says.

        Some business owners decided to simply close.

        Deveroes shut its Findlay Market store, which is now up for sale. The athletic shoe and apparel retailer, perhaps the hardest-hit by April's riots, has stores in other Cincinnati neighborhoods.

        Westminster's Billiard Club on Main Street was sold last month in an auction, in part because of the riots.

        Smart Money Community Services, an organization that provides financial advice and services to neighborhood residents, held a fund-raiser July 12 to help pay for repairs to its fire-damaged building on Vine Street. Rioters caused $40,000 in damage, and Smart Money has operated out of a temporary location on McMicken Street since.

        Leonard Weinstein says suburban shoppers are afraid to go near his pawnshop, Barr's Loan, in the 1700 block of Vine Street. Sales have dropped 40 percent, making it difficult for Mr. Weinstein to recover an estimated $150,000 to $200,000 in building damage and stolen musical instruments, stereos and other expensive goods.

        So hard has his business been hit that Mr. Weinstein has started delivering drum sets, stereo equipment, televisions and other merchandise to suburban customers.

        “I tell people where I'm at,” he says, “and they say, "I'm not going down there.'”

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