Josh Heuser, 47, founder of AGAR, an experiential company behind some of Cincinnati’s biggest attractions, such as Ghost Baby and Blink.
Why he’s a person to watch: Heuser and his team at AGAR push Cincinnati forward. The firm “creates wonder,” he said, through its retail design, hospitality design, experiential marketing and public art.
This year, the Independence native and his team opened Prim, a beautiful, plush cocktail bar. Like its speakeasy predecessor, Ghost Baby, Prim encourages visitors to be present in our otherwise digital world. The menus gently suggest readers put their phones away, despite the bars’ picture-worthy interiors and drinks. But the spaces’ gorgeous decor and music make it easy to immerse yourself.
Through the firm’s work, Heuser wants to contribute to the growth and vibrancy of the city. AGAR, which was created in the late 2000s, opened its office in Over-the-Rhine. Now, AGAR chose to open Prim in Downtown to encourage a resurgence there, Heuser said. In the past few years, businesses have moved out of the city center, and the area has come under fire for crime.
“I chose to stay (in Cincinnati),” said Heuser, who graduated from Northern Kentucky University. “And if I’m going to choose to stay, then I want to create a world that I want to live in, spaces and places I want to go to. Or experiences that I think our city deserves.”
What Heuser wants for Cincinnati in 2026
Heuser wants Cincinnati’s leaders to focus on the future, which includes taking risks and balancing multiple big projects at once. “The discovery phase for all of Cincinnati might be over,” he said, “If we don’t take the risks now and try to do big things together.”
And he plans to contribute to this growth-minded culture. Heuser has been vocal about developing a “hotel mixed-use” development in the Queen City. He wants the hotel to be representative of Cincinnati and its culture, not just a hotel brand in Cincinnati, so that even locals want to visit it.
“It would be a shortcoming of myself if I didn’t pursue that to the fullest,” he said, “and get a deal done in 2026.”
*This article originally appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer