As you look around the Tri-State there are lots of signs the seasons are changing. And one sure can be found in the windows of a landmark business at Sixth and Vine in downtown Cincinnati. Local 12's Rich Jaffe shows you a place that's "So Cincinnati."
It's a sure sign the seasons are changing when the hats in the windows of Batsakes shift from summer straw to fall felt. The unique hat shop has been a fixture in Downtown Cincinnati for almost 105 years. Owner Gus Miller started in his uncle's shop right after getting off the boat from Greece in 1951. He was 17."My uncle taught me everything, but he says learn how to work, never afraid to work and he says the people who walk through that door you treat them the way you want to be treated and you won't have any problems."
Six days a week you can find Gus in the shop's window perfecting his craft. He's one of the last custom hat makers in the entire country. Tools here are over 100 years old. Gus's hands are almost 79, but his skill is timeless. He has made hats for presidents, opera greats, musicians, comedians, and newsmen.
When you buy a hat from Batsakes it's sort of a lifetime commitment. As long as you own the hat you can bring it back to Gus and he will steam it, block it,dust it off and make sure that it fits just right. The shine stand here is also over a century old and the scene of daily polished perfection.
Searching for the quintessential head cover draws Gus's customers from all over the country, and around the world. What makes it So Cincinnati is it's just a style. "They always have the hats you can't find any place else...any place else...service is real nice, block the hats nice, package them nice and they seem to have all the variations of every style you'd want to wear."
While working keeps Gus young, he says in another 18 years or so, he might teach his grandsons how to make hats. We can only hope...because a hat from Batsakes is "So Cincinnati."
