The restaurant was operating in Covington, Ky., in the downtown’s main thoroughfare, at 633 Madison Ave., but a city fire official recently told owners they needed to put in a full hood for the stove to continue operating. So they closed, with plans to operate at Rossville Flats. In the meantime, Papi Jochos plans to offer an expanded menu as delivery only.
Yelp.com recently rated it the sixth best restaurant for hot dogs in Greater Cincinnati. Rossville Flats is scheduled to open in early 2023.
Papi Jochos had to shut down its Covington location “because their kitchen wasn’t big enough,” said Pete Montgomery of Blue Ash-based CMC Properties, which is developing Rossville Flats. “So they could either rebuild it or they could open up a new location, and they chose us.”
“We’re in talks with them, and they’re going to be going in right here on the corner, and they’re going to be the first drive-through hot dog place that will have a walk-up window, also,” Montgomery said. “It’s going to be a very cool concept.”
Papi Jochos is affiliated with Agave & Rye, the taco and cocktails restaurant with a location at Liberty Center that also plans to move to another property in Hamilton’s Main Street corridor, the former Ritzi Body Shop property at the southeast corner of Main and E streets.
Given that the restaurant was using only a 200-square-foot kitchen and the ventilation needs would have required “ventilation through the roof,” ... “We decided it was in our best interest to convert that space to our ‘Alibi Room,’ which offers special pour tequila, bourbon, and flights, as well as wines,” the company told the Journal-News.
“We will soon be offering our expanded Papi Menu as delivery only soon, while the plans for Hamilton are settled,” the company added. “We are all super excited.”
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