BELLEVUE, Ky. — A new initiative hopes to draw patrons back to northern Kentucky. Business slowed down in the region for months after the closure of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge’s southbound lanes.

Officials in Bellevue proposed the “Bridging Back Business” plan, which is now being implemented in five cities.

General Manager Angela Jimenez has worked at Buckhead Mountain Grill in Bellevue for 28 years. Jimenez said she’s never seen business as slow as it was during the three-month closure of the southbound lanes on the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, also known as the Big Mac Bridge.

“I believe we were down probably 30% in sales from what we’re used to doing,” said Jimenez.

Bellevue Mayor Charlie Cleves said it was a problem for all restaurants and businesses, which is something he realized in Nov. 2024.

“It was way worse than I ever thought,” Cleves said. “It used to be a five-minute trip to Bellevue and back from downtown. Five minutes. You can eat lunch over here. Or you can come to our happy hours over here and get right back. Then it got to be when the bridge was gone. It was 25 minutes to get over here.”

He said it was just as bad by mid-December.

“They were dead at lunch. They don’t have that business coming over. I thought by mid-December they’ll be coming back over. They ain’t gonna stay away forever. They’re gonna want to come over here. Wrong,” said Cleves.

The mayor said he knew things would get better when the bridge opened back up fully, but there would still be a residual effect.

“I never realized it could hurt that much. I mean, it meant millions of dollars’ worth of lost business just to Bellevue,” said Cleves.

Bellevue Marketing Director Melissa Morandi proposed a plan.

“We gotta get these people back. We can’t let them be happy where they went to eat while they weren’t coming over here,” Cleves said.

Bellevue shared its plans with the mayors of other river cities: Covington, Newport, Dayton and Fort Thomas. The city also shared the idea with meetNKY and the chamber of commerce.

Here is what the week of events looks like in Bellevue:

• Tuesday will feature $10 lunch specials at restaurants.
• Wednesday will feature store sales.
• Thursday will feature a cocktail contest at New Riff distillery.
• Friday will feature free mocktails and appetizers. Molly Wellmann, Cincinnati’s most famous mixologist, will also be a guest bartender at Buckhead Mountain Grill.
• Saturday is family day. Events like the Lego build-a-bridge competition aim to bring people back across the river.

“It’s nice to have a mayor that cares about the business and what we’re doing here,” said Jimenez.

Other cities will have their own schedules. Cleves said he’s happy they’re working together, and hopes the region won’t have to do something like this again.