It started 20 years ago, when Walt Bohn received a meat smoker for Father’s Day. Family barbecues in his Hamilton backyard made him hungry for a sauce that was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy seasonings. When store bought sauce didn’t please his palate, Bohn decided to make his own, and it wasn’t long before he opened the first Walt’s in Cincinnati.
“I saw a small restaurant on Colerain Avenue that was struggling, so I bought it and opened the first place without any restaurant experience,” he said.
After the first Walt’s became a success, Bohn opened a second in Harrison and his third and newest location is in the Town & Country shopping center on Hamilton’s west side.
“I always wanted to come back home, and Hamilton is a great place to open a restaurant,” he said.
Family friendly describes the atmosphere at Walt’s with the red and white checkered tablecloths, casual decor and a collection of pig figurines on display. The full service bar is tucked away in back, and parents and children can talk without the noise of a television blaring overhead.
“We don’t have customers we have guests, and I’ve always looked at children as future guests so we gave them their own menu and we welcome them here,” Bohn said.
In addition to ribs, pulled meat, burgers and sausage, Walt’s features beef brisket, a large selection of fish and country style dinners. The portions are large, the prices are moderate and everything is topped off with one of Walt’s award winning sauces.
“I’ve won prizes for my sweet barbeque, spicy barbeque and my Carolina Gold sweet mustard,” he said.
Walt dinner specials are available Monday through Thursday, with Monday being “give back to the community night.” Churches, baseball teams and other local organizations can call ahead and make plans to dine in on Monday, and Bohn will give 10% of his profits back to the organization that hosts the event. Tuesday features “All you can eat ribs”, Wednesday is chicken and dumplings and Thursday is Walt’s home made meat loaf night. All dinners and lunch sandwiches can be enjoyed throughout the day and all meals come with two of Walt’s 13 home made side dishes which include everything from red beans and rice to loaded baked potato salad. The desserts at Walt’s are also huge and the customer favorite is the home made peanut butter pie.
Walt’s menu is available for carry out and he will cater both large and small events. Special holiday catering allows customers to enjoy his smoked turkey and ham at home and in addition to the full service bar, Pepsi products are available.
Contact this writer at tlhrsly@cinci.rr.com.
