"I have been told time and time again it would've been less expensive, less of a headache and quicker to tear the building down to start from scratch, but that wasn't what either of us wanted," Nikki Logsdon told WCPO in September.
She and her husband Josh kept the building. It's a 150-year-old storefront at 128 E. Main St., and by November it's planned to open as The Rare. The project shows how downtown Mason is changing this fall. Private owners are reworking old buildings, and volunteers are filling the sidewalks with events. The bigger public projects for the street itself are still being studied. If you walk Main Street between now and mid-December, most of what's new will be inside the storefronts.
What's going into 128 E. Main St.
According to Local 12, The Rare will be a 7,000-square-foot American bistro. Chef Max Wagner, formerly executive chef at Pepp & Dolores, will lead the kitchen. The station reported a November opening, but no exact date or hours had been set. We haven't found any update since mid-September, so treat November as a target for now.
The work has been going on most of the year. WCPO reported that demolition started in January, and Nikki Logsdon described the job as "a monumental project." The name comes from the building's character. "It looks wildly different but it still kind of feels the same," she told the station.
Wagner described the food to WCPO as "humble" and "familiar." The dish he's most excited about is what he calls "a rare way," a take on Cincinnati chili made with braised short rib and aged cheddar.
The layout matters for the whole block. An upstairs event space will be reachable by elevator, and a food window will serve The Common Beer Company next door. Nikki Logsdon told WCPO the couple wanted "that OTR-esque vibe here in Mason so people don't have to drive 30-40 minutes and go downtown."
Plans for the street are still on paper
The Mason Mile is the one-mile stretch of downtown from Reading Road along Main Street. MADE CDC, the nonprofit leading its revitalization, describes the goals as new businesses, better safety and walkability, and a more connected downtown. Mason City Council adopted the master plan in November 2025, WCPO reported.
The next public step came in August 2026. The City approved funding for a traffic study, streetscape design and a parking management strategy. According to MADE CDC, those three efforts will review current conditions and set a five-year plan for improvements and how to pay for them. The same update lists the projects that will need more investment later, including facade programs, catalyst redevelopment, downtown housing, public art and green space.
The one physical project with a schedule sits behind Mason Grill. The City's East Downtown Parking Lot page describes a larger lot with sidewalks, landscaping, a bike-rack area and grass-paver parking. It says the contract has been awarded and gives summer 2027 for substantial completion. That puts the lot's finish date well past this holiday season.
The volunteer calendar through mid-December
Until the public projects begin, MADE CDC's events are what bring people downtown. Its 2026 update lists Fourth Sunday on Main, Market on the Mile, Mason Mile Rocks!, Goat Yoga, East Main Music Fest and Christmas in Mason as the programs that draw foot traffic and support local businesses. Here is what's on the schedule from now through the holidays:
| Date | Event | Where | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Oct. 25, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 4th Sunday on the Main | 124 E. Main St. | Confirmed by MADE CDC |
| Sun., Nov. 22 | 4th Sunday on the Main | Check MADE CDC's event list | Follows the monthly pattern, not yet posted |
| November, date TBA | The Rare's opening | 128 E. Main St. | Target month only |
| Fri., Nov. 27 to Fri., Dec. 11 | Deck the Mile storefront displays | Along the Mason Mile | Confirmed by MADE CDC |
| Fri., Dec. 11, 11:59 p.m. | Deck the Mile voting closes | Online through MADE CDC | Confirmed by MADE CDC |
The October market at 124 E. Main St. is a community market with handmade goods, local products, specialty foods and other vendors.
Deck the Mile is the one event built around the storefronts themselves. Businesses decorate their doors and windows, and visitors walk the Mile between Black Friday and Dec. 11 to vote. There's a People's Choice award and a Judges' Choice award, and each winner directs a $250 donation to a local nonprofit. The Mason Community Calendar lists the contest at Mason Downtown Plaza, 101 Reading Rd.
The City hasn't posted 2026 dates for Christmas in Mason yet. For reference, the 2025 schedule had a free tree lighting at Mason Downtown Plaza on Dec. 5, a Santa Caravan from Wildflower Café along East and West Main Street to the plaza, and a Santa Stroll on Shop Small Saturday. Those were last year's dates, so check imaginemason.org for this year's before you plan around them.
Mason Mile Rocks! doesn't depend on a calendar date. You paint a rock and drop it in the bin on the MADE Chamber front porch at 316 W. Main St. Volunteers then place the rocks permanently along the Mile, and the rules ask people to leave them where they are. If you're decorating rocks with kids over the holidays, this is a way to put that work on Main Street.
A Main Street loop, block by block
The storefronts already open are what make an afternoon on the Mile work. Starting at the east end, here is a walk you can take this fall with addresses and hours from each business:
- Wildflower Café, 207 E. Main St. Open Monday through Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m., with the current menu posted online. WCPO has identified Todd Hudson as the owner.
- The Rare, 128 E. Main St. Under construction now, with a November target.
- The Common Beer Company, next door to The Rare. The Mason Community Calendar lists a recurring open mic there.
- Mason Whippy Dip, 127 E. Main St. A seasonal shop that is still running fall hours: 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 3 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, noon to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
- Adesso Coffee, 125 E. Main St. Open every day, according to its ordering site. The community calendar lists recurring live music there.
- Mason Grill, 124 E. Main St. Open Monday through Saturday and closed Sunday. The new public lot is going in behind it.
- Main Street Yarns and Beads, 126 W. Main St. A shop that also lists classes on its site.
- Two Cities Pizza, 202 W. Main St. Weekly hours and online ordering are on its Mason page.
Mad Monks Pizza is a short detour at 753 Reading Rd. The community calendar lists a SINGO music bingo night there.
The 100 block of East Main has the most going on. Adesso, Whippy Dip, Mason Grill, The Common Beer Company and The Rare sit within a few doors of each other, and that's the block where the parking lot is being expanded. When The Rare opens, its upstairs event space and the food window serving the brewery next door will add to that block.
I've spent my whole life in Lebanon, and I love seeing a neighboring downtown choose to restore an old building instead of tearing it down. If you own an older home or a distinctive property and want help showing buyers what makes it special, I'm happy to talk it through with you. Jenny England would love to hear its story. Let's Connect.
