Businesses in Northern Kentucky took a big blow while the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge was shut down for major repairs, making getting into Kentucky from Ohio a major hassle. While the bridge reopened ahead of schedule, a plan aimed at driving up sales during the closure is moving forward.
"[The early reopening] was a blessing because you could see right away the restaurants picked up a little bit. Just the minute it opened, a few people came back," says Bellevue Mayor Charlie Cleves. "It's nothing like what it was, but at least it gave us hope."
The southbound side of the Big Mac Bridge was closed from Nov. 1, 2024 to Feb. 9 because of a fire beneath the span that severely damaged the bridge's steel beams. The closure caused tens of thousands of people each day to find alternate routes into Northern Kentucky, adding congestion and stressing other city streets 鈥� in Ohio and Kentucky 鈥� and bridges.
Cleves says businesses told his team they saw as much as a 30% decline in business in December 2024 compared to December 2023.
"We started seeing all the stores slowing down in November even. We saw the restaurants had half the amount of people in 鈥� and the Party Source [liquor warehouse] had less than half 鈥� and we started getting concerned because it was very obvious right away," says Cleves. "By December, we started working on a plan to try and fix it for Bellevue."
On top of the bridge closure, the cold weather and a big snow storm cut into profits, too.
The plan to bring back business
An initiative called "Bridging Back Business" is going ahead even though the bridge has reopened. Cleves says it started as an idea to attract people to Bellevue, but the idea quickly caught on amongst Northern Kentucky's other river cities. Dozens of businesses in Bellevue, Covington, Dayton, Fort Thomas, and Newport are participating.
The program will run Feb. 24 to March 15, with businesses offering specials, discounts, happy hours, and events at staggered times. Bellevue and Dayton will go first, followed by Newport, Covington and Fort Thomas the week of March 3. Locations in all five cities will have specials and events the final week of March 10. New Riff Distilling also will sponsor a "Bridging NKY Cocktail Contest" across the five cities, ending with a "grand cocktail showdown" on March 16 at the Aquifer Bar. There's even a Lego bridge making contest for kids.
In a release, the mayors of Dayton, Covington and Fort Thomas all applauded the Ohio Department of Transportation for repairing the Big Mac Bridge in less time than projected.
"Our restaurants and other small businesses are the proverbial lifeblood of our local economy, and in an era where everything from transportation issues to supply chain pressures increase the challenges those businesses face, we鈥檙e eager to do whatever we can to help them, our downtowns, and their employees and thus our families not only survive but thrive," said Ron Washington, Covington mayor.
"It's amazing how we take so many local routes for granted until you no longer can use them," added Eric Haas, Fort Thomas mayor. "It took this event to truly appreciate this bridge and fully understand the negative impact it had on so many businesses being closed. We are pleased to welcome back more customers for our amazing local businesses now that the bridge is fully open. Let's focus even more on our small businesses and show them our support this month."
Weekly specials will be posted on social media:
City of Bellevue
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City of Dayton
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City of Newport
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City of Covington
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City of Fort Thomas
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