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All the United States Ohio Plain Folk Live Music Cafe
AO Edited

Plain Folk Live Music Cafe

A local cafe and concert venue occupy a 1913 school house.

Pleasant Plain, Ohio

Added By
Roux Bedrosian
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The Plain Folk Cafe takes up both of the schoolhouse’s original two rooms.  
The Plain Folk Cafe takes up both of the schoolhouse’s original two rooms.  
Open mic night at the Plain Folk.  
The original schoolhouse entrance, now the entrance to the cafe.  
Folks gathering for dinner before the open mic begins.  
The Plain Folk’s canvas sign welcomes you from the road.  
One of the school’s original divider doors.  
More of the many musical pieces of decor.  
A look behind the cafe counter.  
Table number cards are printed out on album covers.  
The front lobby of the schoolhouse, featuring its original doors.  
A guitarist gets ready to take the stage beside the original schoolhouse chalkboard.  
The view from a cafe window.  
Enjoying dinner and a show.  
Part of the playground that neighbors the building.  
Albums and signs line the entrance to the performance space.  
The cafe’s stage features a full in-house PA system.  
A view from the patio at sunset.  
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About

About a 30-minute drive north of Cincinnati proper is the rural village of Pleasant Plain, Ohio. It’s a classic small town with a tiny population and farms sprawling in most directions. Despite its distance from the city, however, many make the trip to visit the old village schoolhouse, now home to the Plain Folk Live Music Cafe.

Plain Folk is part cafe, part performance venue built inside a historic 1913 school building. Several of the schoolhouse’s original features remain, like its accordion divider doors, cubby coat hooks, and wall-length chalkboard. Evidence of the local music scene is also abundant with posters, art, tapestries, stickers, instruments, and album covers adorning the walls. The owners have a particular fondness for The Grateful Dead, so plenty of lightning bolt skulls and rainbow bear decals are on display throughout.

With its full stage and backline, the cafe hosts regular concerts and community events all centered around an enduring passion for music. Plain Folk’s weekly open mic is also among one of the most popular in the area, attracting original blues, country, rock, and folk performers each Thursday evening. Those who come for the show also stay for the menu of home cooked bites and craft beers. Or, for the selection of freshly brewed and locally sourced coffee.

In the warmer months, Plain Folk offers diners a spectacular view of the surrounding farmland from its back patio. Families also have access to a full playground—another leftover piece of the school’s history.

Related Tags

Schools Music Cafe

Know Before You Go

The Plain Folk Live Music Cafe is only open Thursday-Sunday. Thursday and Friday hours are dinner only from 5-11 p.m. Saturday hours are 8 a.m.-11 p.m. and Sunday hours are 8 a.m.-2 p.m. The cafe is wheelchair accessible through use of a ramp in the back of the building. Parking is available on a gravel lot beside the school building.

Community Contributors

Added By

RouxBedrosian

Published

April 11, 2025

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Plain Folk Live Music Cafe
10177 State Route 132
Pleasant Plain, Ohio, 45162
United States
39.277331, -84.114101
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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ohio

Ohio

United States

Places 240
Stories 22

Nearby Places

Harry Andrews' Chateau Laroche

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miles away

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ohio

Ohio

United States

Places 240
Stories 22

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