CINCINNATI — A lot happened throughout 2023 in the Tri-State.
As we get ready to head into the New Year, it only feels right to reflect back on some new things that happened in the area in 2023.
From new restaurants to new zoo babies and everything in between, 2023 welcomed lots. Here are the Top 9 new things from 2023:
New places to eat
There were TONS of new restaurants that opened in the Tri-State area this year, and our taste buds can't wait to see what 2024 brings.
In just the second half of the year, Taste of Belgium returned to the Clifton area with a new location, authentic Texas barbecue (and karaoke) came to Liberty Township, Roman-inspired pizza is being served in Pendleton, a new Covington restaurant features a unique wood-fired grill and the trendy Asian concept of conveyor belt sushi came to Symmes Township, among many other new restaurants.
Some standout additions from the first half of the year include a second location for Bee's Barbecue in Over-the-Rhine, the first-ever Cuban restaurant in the Tri-State opened in Newport and Hyde Park's Dear Restaurant rebranded into Al-Posto, which serves Italian-inspired cuisine.
New things to see
There was plenty of new things to see in 2023, including Cincinnati's Black Music Walk of Fame.
The walk of fame opened in July down on Elm Street and Mehring Way at The Banks. The display, which was created by Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece, is dedicated to telling the legacy and often untold stories of Southwest Ohio's most prominent black musicians. The 2023 class of inductees included The Deele, James Brown, Phillippe Wynne and Louis Shropshire.
Another Cincinnati-centric thing to see in 2023 was "Fiona: The Musical." Chronicling the story of the Cincinnati Zoo's beloved hippo, Fiona, the musical officially opened in November.
Fiona's story captured the world and has since inspired books, merchandise, pottery, and she serves as a constant draw to the Cincinnati Zoo. Zina Camblin, a playwright and TV writer who grew up within walking distance of the zoo and attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts, wrote the musical alongside songwriter David Kisor. The musical opening in November and ran at Over-the-Rhine's Ensemble Theater through Dec. 29.
New rides to enjoy
Kings Island shook things up in 2023 with a new themed area in the park. "Adventure Port" was first announced in late 2022 and opened in June. The new area features mutliple new rides and food options for Kings Island guests. The area, which is near the Banshee coaster, is based off an ancient city that was carved out of stone.
The area features two new rides, Sol Spin and Cargo Loco, and the Adventure Express coaster, which has been at the park since 1991, has a new theme where riders go on a treasure-hunting mine train expedition.
On Sol Spin, riders are suspended in open air as the ride, which is shaped like a gigantic golden Ferris wheel, inverts and spins 60 feet through the air at 25 mph. Cargo Loco sends riders spinning, similar to the tea cups at Disney World, as they board shipping barrels where they can manually control the speed of their spin with a wheel inside the barrel.
Other than rides, Adventure Port has two new food options for park-goers: Enrique's restaurant and the Mercado Patio Bar.
New places to shop
The Tri-State also welcomed multiple new stores and businesses to shop at.
In January, a gourmet food market opened in downtown Cincinnati on the ground floor of the Atrium One and Two buildings. The market has fourt stations that rotate biweekly with more than 10 different dining concepts, to-go options and locally made products.
In August, Over-the-Rhine's Main Street Pop-Up Program also welcomed its first tenants. The program is hosting four different businesses in once-vacant storefronts along Main Street.
Hello Beautiful, Selfie Cincy, i75 Sumitt Club and Thee Make-Up Room were able to open storefronts this year.
In September, the co-owner of popular College Hill restaurant Kiki and Findlay Market butcher shop Sen announced he's opening a new Japanese convenience store in Court Street Plaza.
New events to attend
There's never a dull moment in the Tri-State and 2023 had plenty of new events to attend as well.
For the first time, West Chester held its Voices of America Country Music Festival in August. Around 80,000 country music fans packed Voice of America MetroPark as Dan + Shay, Old Dominion, Chris Young, Alabama and more performed.
Red Bull also hosted its annual Red Bull Flugtag event on the Ohio River where roughly 40 teams took a leap of faith to try and fly over the river in homemade flying devices.
Though it technically isn't a new event, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati extended to four days and also moved back to its prior location of 5th Street after it was held at Second and Third streets.
The National's Homecoming Festival also returned to Cincinnati after a five-year hiatus.
New places to drink
Alongside a slew of new restaurants, the Tri-State welcomed multiple new bars and cafes in 2023.
In February, Second Story opened in Covington. The otherworldly lounge boasts a massive, golden tree display behind the bar and brings a new level of sophistication to the Tri-State.
Camp Washington was graced with a new — and the practically only — neighborhood bar. Binski's opened at the Corner of Colerain Avenue and Township Street in June, and it's a cozy getaway that's perfect to enjoy a cold beer or even try your luck in a Friday night meat raffle.
Coffia opened in Over-the-Rhine in July. The new cafe, which specializes in Colombian coffee, is also serving beer and specialty cocktails, some of which incorporate coffee. Though it was only opened seasonally in 2023, a Star Wars-themed pop-up bar also opened in OTR near Findlay Market.
Just recently in December, a new nightclub also opened on downtown Cincinnati in the refurbished 4th and Race development. The nightclub is owned by Rico Grant, who also owns OTR's Gallery at the Gumbo and Cinema OTR.
New places to fly to
While there may not be enough time left to travel in 2023, there are some new flights that began in the year that'll be perfect for 2024 vacations.
Breeze Airways came to CVG for the first time in 2023 with nonstop services to San Francisco and Charleston, South Carolina. Both flights began in February with ticket costs to Charleston as low as $39 per person, one way. One-way flights to San Francisco began as low as $99 per person.
CVG also partnered with British Airways to welcome a direct flight to London that kicked off in June. CVG said its the only nonstop flight between the United Kingdom and all of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Lastly, for those wanting to jet to the beach instead of flying across the pond, American Airlines announced a direct flight to Cancun in December.
New zoo babies to see
Boy oh boy were there tons of zoo babies born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2023. While hippo's Fiona and Fritz are still beloved by many, other species got to share the spotlight this year as they welcomed new babies to their habitats.
Though he wasn't born at the Cincinnati Zoo, Kip the baby gibbon monkey was adopted from the Dallas Zoo in March. Kip's parents in Texas didn't show any interest in him, so he's now being raised by his aunties Skittles and M&M in Jungle Trails.
In June, the zoo welcomed the oh-so-adorable Juno the sloth. The birth of the sloth pup came after 10-year-old mother Lightning gave birth to a stillborn pup in 2021. Juno is also the first baby sloth the zoo's team has ever cared for. Later in June, Beaudan the eastern bongo calf was also born. The zoo named the bongo, which are incredibly endangered, after the calf's father, Beau, who died earlier in 2023.
In November, the zoo also welcomed Violet, baby porcupine. Lastly, just last week, a baby okapi, which is a rare and endangered species related to the giraffe, was born at the zoo. The gender of the calf won't be known until an exam is completed, but the calf was the 18th okapi born at the zoo since 1989, and the fourth calf from mom Kuvua.
New place to park
Ok... we know parking doesn't seem like anything exciting, but, trust us, this parking garage is.
A new parking garage opened in Over-the-Rhine in December. The parking garage is set between Findlay Market in an effort to alleviate parking woes during events around the market area — anyone who's gone to Findlay Market on a Sunday morning knows the headache of circling the block a few times.
The six-level garage holds 515 vehicles and also had 15,000 square feet of retail space available on its ground level. The garage will also help traffic during FC Cincinnati games at TQL Stadium, and it also provides residents another options with monthly parking passes.
