“I’ve been coming here for 30 years,” Burton said. “I’ve been in the neighborhood for 53.”
Burton said losing a community gathering place when Drew’s shuttered was disappointing.
“It was kind of dead around the neighborhood,” he said, “wasn’t much going on, and when we heard and when we heard it was all picking back up we was all happy, you know.”
#NEW: A restaurant staple of Cincinnati's West Side, Drew's on the River, shut its doors six years ago after multiple floods.
— Sean DeLancey (@SeanDeLanceyTV) April 2, 2023
One man has brought Drew's back to life with a plan to beat Mother Nature and keep the doors open.@WCPO pic.twitter.com/u1Y9gSWPHp
Rob Schmidt took over the property with the goal of preserving the building’s history despite it falling into deep disrepair.
“It was condemned,” Schmidt said, “and the first letter I got from the city after we purchased it was ‘congratulations on your purchase. You have three weeks to tear it down, or we will tear it down for you.’”
Manager Rebecca Brickweg said the building is now designed to handle floods.
The windows pop off within minutes, everything of value sits on wheels, and the roller doors to the patio can be removed.
Schmidt said, when floods threaten the property, they can deconstruct the outside, roll everything to higher ground, and then roll everything back into place when flood waters recede.
“If there’s such a thing as a masters in flooding, I may have accomplished it,” he said.
Many patron said that, while they’re glad Drew’s has a flood plan in place, they hope no floods threaten the property any time soon.
This article is from WCPO, a content partner of the Journal-News and Cox First Media.
HOW TO GO
What: Drews on the River Sports Bar and Grill
Where: 4333 River Road, Cincinnati
Hours: 3 p.m.-midnight Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday
Online: facebook.com/drewsotr
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