Newport on the Levee's new outdoor drinking and dining hub Bridgeview Box Park is beginning the opening process.
The project has taken over the space formerly occupied by Mitchell’s Fish Market, which was demolished in order to provide more substantial river views and to better connect with the Levee.
The Bridgeview Box Park features a turf plaza with plenty of outdoor seating, entertainment space, shipping container-like boxes with vendors, an octagon-shaped box and a food truck with festival lighting strung above the space.
While some vendors held their soft openings last weekend, the park is ready to officially open its first businesses: a tiki-inspired bar called Kon-Tiki and Ché on Wheels. Kon-Tiki opens Thursday, June 4 — depending on weather — and Che will open in the coming days.
According to a press release from Ignite Entertainment, the company which oversees both operations, Kon-Tiki on the Levee is "inspired by the Sheraton-Gibson Hotel’s Cincinnati venture of the 1960’s, the Kon-Tiki, by Steve Crane." The drinkery transports visitors to an island getaway, offering classic tropical mixes and tiki-style cocktails at their vibrant bar. Think Mai Tais or Kentucky Hurricanes.
Even better news: Bridgeview Box Park has acquired an Entertainment Destination License, which means you and your group can grab your favorite tropical drink from Kon-Tiki and explore the rest of the Levee.
In addition to Kon-Tiki, Ché is taking their Argentinian cuisine mobile by establishing Ché on Wheels at the new riverside park. Guests will have plenty of seating to choose from to sit down and dine on "picnic-style grilled and smoked meats, sandwiches, and sides, as well as handmade empanadas and other snacks" while soaking up the views of the Queen City.
Kon-Tiki on the Levee will be open at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and noon on Saturdays and Sundays. Ché on Wheels will be open noon-8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and noon-6 p.m. on Sundays "for the first three weeks of June as the box park ramps up." The hours will expand to seven days a week later in the month. And all outlets will be following state COVID-19 guidelines.
The Bridgeview Box Park will also feature “boxes” from sweet spot The Little Spoon Bakery and Cafe; Asian street food restaurant Bon Mi Street; beers brewery Wooden Cask; cocktails from local distillery Second Sight; and Leaf & Limb, a quaint plant boutique where you can grab cute houseplants and other decorative vegetation.
Bridgeview Box Park is located at Newport on the Levee at 1 Levee Way, Newport.
