CINCINNATI -- When new bar Queen City Exchange hosts its grand opening Saturday, patrons will be asked one question: How much are you willing to pay for a pint of your favorite craft beer?
"Prices will change depending on what people are buying," said Nick Broerman, one of four co-owners of the bar located at 32 W. Court St. "We have displays on televisions where prices will change every four minutes."
The bar's dynamic-pricing system is tied, much like the stock market, to demand, Broerman said. The more popular that any one of the 41 craft beers on tap is, the more its price will rise. Fewer buyers mean lower prices, much like stocks traded on Wall Street.
The bar uses special software to track those fluctuations, which then are reflected in price changes on the bar's 19 televisions.
"It could be a quarter, 50 cents or a dollar depending on how many people are here," Broerman said of the bar, which seats 198 people. "It keeps everybody engaged. It's a fun experience and something new to Cincinnati, too."
Beers on tap include those from local breweries such as Braxton, Rhinegeist, MadTree, Bad Tom, Listermann and Ei8ht Ball.
Broerman and his business partners, Adam Stowe and brothers Nick and Patrick Daffin, came up with the idea for Queen City Exchange last fall when discussing their various travels to large metropolitan areas.
"A couple of us actually studied abroad and heard of a bar in Barcelona called Dow Jones," said Stowe. "Another partner lived around New York City in college and went to some bars with dynamic pricing. We thought it was something that Cincinnati, being a larger city, should have."
The only modification the four business partners made to their bar involved the hours that Ohio law will allow for the exchange to operate.
"The dynamic pricing will shut down at 9 o'clock because that is when happy hour ends in the state of Ohio," Broerman said.
At that time, draft beer reverts to static pricing; Broerman promises those prices will remain competitive with other bars in the area.
"We knew coming in that this was something we'd have to work through," he said.
The bar also will offer cocktails and canned beers at set prices as well. Stowe said he thinks the exchange will add to the growing buzz Downtown and in neighboring Over-the-Rhine.
"We are all homegrown boys, local guys, and honestly, we love Cincinnati and love to see its development and growth," he said. "We wanted to bring something new Downtown; a good place in between Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine."
Queen City Exchange's grand opening
32 W. Court St., Downtown
Noon-2:30 a.m. Saturday. (Food trucks available at 6 p.m.)
For more information visit the bar's Facebook page.
