KENTON
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 13 — FEBRUARY 23, 2024
THE VOICE OF NKY
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An offer you can’t refuse: Enjoy that fish fry By Robin Gee
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ewport may have its gangster tours, but Erlanger has its own wise guy. Diners at annual Lenten fish fries all around town know him as The Codfather. Mary, Queen of Heaven Church is his hangout, and he comes to check on his “operation” throughout Lent to make sure everything is running smoothly. The Codfather is the alter ego of restaurateur John Geisen, owner of Izzy’s, a legendary Cincinnati deli-style eatery. He came to work with the original owners in 1982, became president of the company in 1989 and later bought out investors to become the company’s owner. Geisen grew up in Lakeside Park, just south of Fort Mitchell, on a street named for his grandfather, who had a farm in the area. He also grew up in the Catholic church where fish fries during Lent are a time-honored tradition. Northern Kentucky takes its fish fries seriously. With close to 50 parishes in the
Diocese of Covington, during the season there seems to be a fish fry in almost every town. In fact, Geisen shared the story of Lou Groen, a Crestview Hills native who is credited with introducing the fish filet sandwich to McDonald’s in an effort to make up for the loss of business during the Lent season. A fish fry reborn Geisen joined Erlanger’s Mary, Queen of Heaven congregation in 1984. He was active in the church, serving on committees and as parish council president. He became good friends with the pastor. The church had hosted fish fries for several years, but in the early ’90s the people who put them on decided it was too much and quit doing them, Geisen said. The fish fries had been a resource, bringing in funds to help support the church school. The pastor asked Geisen if he would help restart the tradition. At first, he said, he deferred, saying he knew nothing about fish fries. But the pastor convinced him that with his food experience and business knowledge, he would be a great help.
“So long story short, a few of the parishioners joined me, and we decided to put something together,” he said. “I saw some of the products they were using for the past fish fries, and I thought, ‘Boy, you know what? We could do something better than this.’ I saw they were using some type of Viking fish and cheap bread — cheap this and cheap that, and I thought, ‘Let’s just take it up a notch. … We’ll put something together.’” He tapped into his industry knowledge and connections. He found sources for good-quality cod. He turned to Klosterman’s bakery, which provided baked goods for Izzy’s, to create tasty breading and to Frisch’s for its popular tartar sauce. “Well, lo and behold, we did it. Fish fries were pretty big back in the Cincinnati market at that time. And we got a lot of recognition for ours. And sure enough, we hit competition from different fish fries in the area, but for several years, we would win best fish fry,” he said. Continues on page 3
The Codfather says: “Eat your fish!” Photo provided | John Geisen
After scathing audit, Beshear says juvenile detention centers need ‘a lot of improvement’ By Rebecca Hanchett
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hree weeks after Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was re-elected in 2023, big changes were rolled out at the Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Newport. Starting Nov. 29, state officials announced, only males would be housed at the Newport facility, at least until further notice.
House Speaker David Osborne says it’s time for state officials to stop making excuses and make needed changes at juvenile detention centers. Photo provided | Legislative Research Commission
It was the third major change announced for the Campbell County center in 11 months. In June, state officials announced that girls housed at the former female-only facility would be moved to the state’s regional juvenile detention center in Ashland. The Newport facility had only been an
all-female center for six months when the change was announced. Low staffing levels “due to the competitive local labor market” were cited as the reason for the move to Ashland in a June 16 memo from the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice. But the series of rapid overhauls over the past year at the Campbell County facility are glaring in the light of a 2023 independent audit indicating ongoing problems — including understaffing, use of force and questionable use of isolation — at the state’s eight juvenile detention centers, including the one in Newport. At the time the 231-page audit was conducted by consulting firm CGL ManageContinues on page 6
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