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Covington busy with ribbon-cuttings, more: Pickle Factory Hotel, Frosthaus, Covington Plaza


The City of Covington celebrated a couple of ribbon-cuttings last week and also celebrated the opening of the grand Covington Plaza.

The Pickle Factory Hotel

At various times during its 148 years of “life,” the somewhat hidden three-story brick building at 422 Madison Ave. has housed a soft drink factory, a steam dye company, a pickle factory, and the African-American Odd Fellows fraternal organization.

Going forward, The Pickle Factory Hotel will be a boutique hotel with eight suites on the second and third floors that will be rented out on a short-term basis – each uniquely decorated in a quaint or whimsical manner to reflect those historical uses.

The ground floor will feature a “bourbon blending experience” called Wenzel Whiskey, where customers can come in and create their own bourbon blends to match the “interests” of their own palette – and then order bottles of that new blend.

The rehabbed building was shown off during a ribbon cutting and tour. (While the building has a Madison Avenue address, it sits at the intersection of Tobacco and Electric alleys behind the building that houses the Chops, Cheese & Chives butcher shop and market.)

Covington Mayor Joe Meyer spoke at the event and said the project was symbolic of the spirit and tradition of adaptive re-use for old structures throughout the city.

“We’re building for the future by saving history,” he said.

Developer Tony Milburn began the project in early 2020 with a top-to-bottom rehab of the vacant, dilapidated building with help from WorK Architecture + Design and Manning Contracting, and Manman did the interior design.

The transformation was significant and stunning.

“One year ago, this building was 10,000 square feet of open, rundown, and falling-apart warehouse space … with significant water damage,” said Jeremiah Hines, co-founder of Neat Suites, a property management team founded in 2019 that will start renting The Pickle Factory’s rooms on Monday. “Tony had a vision.”

The opening date for Wenzel Whiskey is not clear. It is named for Henry Wenzel, the Covington manufacturer who operated a soft drink factory in the building shortly after it was built in 1873.

Using a fund that uses future tax earnings of new development for infrastructure improvements, the City issued a $14,500 grant to help pay for running water supply lines to the building.

Frosthaus Covington

Technically speaking, Frosthaus Covington has been open for a few weeks now, serving up “killer frozen drinks” (some with alcohol, some without), food with a German flair, an array of beer, and other attractions.

The City of Covington helped the family-owned business make it official, with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting.

The frozen-drink bar and eatery is located at 115 Park Place in the Roebling Point Business District, and its sidewalk tables in particular just seem so inviting.

The business is run by the Von Den Benken family.

Right next door is their other business, Eishaus, a walk-up coffee and dessert place known for spaghetti eis, a German-style ice cream sundae dessert in which ice cream is pushed through a ricer-type implement to look like spaghetti noodles. It opened in September 2020.

The Covington Plaza

The City held the official dedication of the Covington Plaza riverfront space that features two hiking and biking trails that link to the six-city Riverfronr Commons trail system, two overlooks, canoe and kayak access ad a 1,350- seat amphitheater and event area that creates a great new riverfront outdoor entertainment venue.

The dramatic public space has been a long time in coming.

Expect performances from The Carnegie and more. ColdIron Enterprises recently announced the three-day FedEx Rockin Taco Festival to be held June 25-27, featuring an array of vendors with creative renditions of tacos and Latin music and dance.

Or walk your dog, ride bikes with your kids or just sit on the steps to watch the Ohio River while eating take-out from one of the many restaurants nearby.

Phase II of the Riverfront Commons project began in September 2019, cost $6.5 million, and stretches from the foot of Greenup Street to the foot of Madison Avenue.


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