Second Story

Second Story opened on April 28, 2023, as the latest project from Lost Co., the hospitality group behind Over-the-Rhine's Somerset and Alice, in partnership with a group of Louisville investors who also own the Flying Axes axe-throwing hall on the ground floor. The bar occupies the upper level of a century-old building at 100 West Sixth Street that once served as a Covington firehouse — and, over the decades, a music venue and logistics office. Lost Co. rehabbed the space into what CityBeat called "an artistic, Southern Gothic oasis for every sort of reveler," filling it with sparkling chandeliers, hand-painted murals, colorful floor tiles and a giant artist-built tree that appears to grow floor-to-ceiling behind the bar, its branches cradling bottles of spirits. There are deliberately no TVs; the room, its intimate nooks and Covington's largest bar patio are built for conversation. The bar was voted Best New Bar by CityBeat readers.

The drink list leans hard into imaginative seasonal cocktails, but it carries a real, if compact, non-alcoholic section for guests who want to skip the booze. House mocktails on the current menu include Clear Intent (lemon, lime, blueberry, pomegranate and mint) and Slow Burn (lime, pineapple, Fresno chili and soda water), each $10; earlier menus have featured an Orange Creamsicle (orange, cranberry, apricot, sage, bitters and orange blossom) and a Clear Conscience built on a non-alcoholic gin substitute, lemon, simple syrup and soda water. For beer drinkers, Second Story stocks non-alcoholic Athletic Brewing options in both a Mexican-style lager and an IPA. One caveat worth knowing: the bar also serves a THC-infused floral seltzer, so "alcohol-free" here does not necessarily mean substance-free, and the short mocktail list rotates with the seasons.

Second Story is open Wednesday and Thursday 4 p.m.–midnight, Friday 4 p.m.–1 a.m., Saturday 2 p.m.–1 a.m. and Sunday 2 p.m.–10 p.m., and is closed Monday and Tuesday; it takes reservations for small and large parties via its website and hosts a monthly market for local vendors. The rooftop patio and low-lit, plant-filled main room make it an easy recommendation for a date, a group outing or a designated driver who still wants something interesting in hand — reachable up the stairs at 100 West Sixth Street in downtown Covington, a five-minute drive across the river from downtown Cincinnati.