The owner of the Blue Wisp Jazz Club has applied for a liquor license in Northern Kentucky, one of several locations where she is considering moving the club, which has lost its lease in downtown Cincinnati.

        Marjean Wisby said Sunday she applied for the license “just in case,” but has made no "concrete” plans to relocate the club.

        Ms. Wisby said several Northern Kentucky business owners have offered her space, including MainStrasse Village in Covington and the former September's nightclub on Monmouth Street in Newport.

        Meanwhile, the only offer from the Ohio side of the river has come from Downtown Cincinnati Inc., which offered Ms. Wisby a location in Over-the-Rhine, she said.

        “With the riots and everything, a lot of my customers are already afraid to come downtown,” she said. “Why would I want to move to Over-the-Rhine?”

        Ms. Wisby lamented the apathy Cincinnatians have shown toward the club's potential demise.

        “It seems like people in Covington appreciate me and my business more than Cincinnati does,” she said.

        The same sentiment was echoed by patrons who came to the club Sunday night to hear the Scott Belk Big Band play.

        “I hate to see everything going over to Kentucky,” said Northside resident Fred Cook, 51. “It seems like everything's starting to come to life over there, while everything is shrinking up over here. You would think somebody from Cincinnati would step in to help.”

        Barami Waspe, 25, who plays sax in the band, described the Blue Wisp as a national treasure that deserves more respect.

        “It just typifies to me that Cincinnati doesn't really care about its heritage, its culture or small business,” he said.

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