By Joy Kraft
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jim Elkus is jumping in the uncertain waters of the downtown business pool with the Friday opening of Bolero, his new men's sportswear shop in the Bartlett Building on Fourth Street.

But he's no dog-paddler in the deep end of retail waters. His father, Bob Elkus, started Dino's For Men, which was sold in the mid-'90s; his uncle, Gene Elkus, ran Gentry's, a men's clothing store. Jim was a partner in Main Street Brewery and Jump Cafe in Over-the-Rhine.

Elkus is not naìve about downtown.

"There are challenges, no doubt about it," he says. "But one of the things I did was plan a very manageable space - 650 square feet, very concise. I think it's really important not to get into too large a space and get too much overhead."

He feels his niche is quality men's sportswear from mostly European designers, including Hugo Boss, Ted Baker of London and Haupt from Germany.

The 43-year-old describes it as "new designers and old favorites in sportswear, something I don't believe is really being shown in Cincinnati right now."

The store (previously Sutton Optical) at 38 E. Fourth St., has been renovated into a "very hip kind of New York City store design, something you might see on Fifth Avenue," Elkus says, "but with merchandise that will be understood by the Cincinnati market. Picking things I thought were unique but saleable in this market was important."

For fall, that includes a lot of denim and leather, especially leather jackets, shearling and suede.

Information: 421-5600.