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COVINGTON, K.y. — Local restaurants are looking to March Madness as a potential rebound from a challenging winter.
“January is always a slow month for people in restaurants, but this one really kind of took the cake for slow in terms of years past,” said Jade Colwell, general manager of Smoke Justis in Covington.
March is the restaurant’s best month with St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness and Opening Day driving business to the Covington spot, which has 16 televisions on the walls.
On the first day of the March Madness tournament, Colwell said patrons lingered for hours.
That’s welcome news after a sluggish winter for the entire Tri-State restaurant industry.
Many businesses struggled and at least two dozen closed after a combination of lower consumer spending, diminished foot traffic after the Big Mac Bridge fire, a particularly snowy January and an end to pandemic era relief funds, according to an analysis by WCPO.
Meanwhile, some are just beginning their journey.
“We’re super excited to be in this area, this space,” said Alan Murphy, general manager of Works Pizza Company in Covington.
The restaurant and bar opened last Friday at the start of St. Patrick’s weekend. It aims to build on last weekend’s success with the March Madness crowds.
“March Madness always brings a crowd in — fans from every part of the country watching their team play,” Murphy said.
In Bellevue, the tournament and eventual warmer weather will be a bridge after an unusually tough winter.
Angela Jimenez, general manager of Buckhead Mountain Grill on Fairfield Avenue, said the closure of the I-471 Big Mac Bridge led to a 30% drop in sales.
March, she said, “means madness. So we start to really pick up.”
The restaurant has televisions lining the outer ring of its bar, meaning no matter where you look, you can see the latest in March Madness.
Jimenez added that the restaurant is looking forward to opening its patio when it starts to feel like spring.
Back at Smoke Justis, the staff is preparing to be at capacity. They canceled their Friday live music to allow for the University of Kentucky game to play with the sound on.
“We love to celebrate UK. It’s always sound on for UK,” said Colwell. “We’re just excited for, you know, the sun coming out for the tournament. Just get people back out and about with us again.”
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
