Streetscapes: Fort Mitchell and Crescent Springs

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARIA HEHMAN | LINK nky CONTRIBUTOR

This week, Streetscapes visits Fort Mitchell and Crescent Springs to visit three restaurants that offer live music, spacious patios, great food and atmosphere.

Grandview Tavern and porch for a peek at Pee Wee’s volleyball league.

Creole-inspired pastas are among their most-requested dishes, and they serve more than nine different options.

The capellini Behle Street is among them. It’s an angel hair pasta tossed with olive oil, basil plum tomatoes, garlic and oregano for a light, flavorful dish. Those searching for more than pasta can find meatloaf and shepherd’s pie on Behle’s menu as well. The interior of Behle Street is cozy, with additional seating created on the patio. During cold months, diners are warmed by heaters above and festive blankets on each seat. The restaurant is located nearby train tracks, so servers will offer beer to guests for $1.99 if ordered while a train passes the dining room.

When the weather is too cold to sit outside, they offer plenty of indoor seating. During March Madness, Pee Wee’s fills with excited Kentucky fans, standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Even during those peak hours, there always seems to be at least one table available for the newcomer.

While Pee Wee’s is best known for its bar offerings, it’s not common knowledge that they are also open for breakfast. During the morning hours, they serve staples like eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns and cups of coffee – transforming from a neighborhood bar into a hometown staple for any season, any time of day.

Upon entry, a bench with a statue of Jim Beam welcomes guests.

Grandview offers dishes ranging from pizza to filet mignon. Their black and bleu salad has earned its fame in Northern Kentucky, with blackened flat-iron steak, mixed greens, tomato, green apple, bleu cheese crumbles, onion straws all tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette.

For those hungry for more than a salad, Grandview’s bowls are a hearty and healthy option come lunchtime.

For visitors looking for a happy hour, they offer a generous cocktail and wine menu, as well as numerous draft beer options. And if you prefer to drink your dessert, Grandview serves a snickerdoodle cocktail, made with vanilla and cinnamon vodkas, Frangelico, Kahlua and cream. It’s a sweet and strong drink to end the evening.

In addition to its food and relaxed atmosphere, Grandview Tavern offers live music alongside regular specials as the menu changes throughout the week.

Behle Street by Sheli

Behle Street combines Cajun tradition with home-cooked comfort food. Their

With live music every night and some of the best food in NKY, this quaint restaurant may have guests contemplating a trip to New Orleans.

Pee Wee’s Place

What to know before you go:

Grandview Tavern

Location: 2220 Grandview Drive, Fort Mitchell

Hours: Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Website: grandviewtavern.com

Phone: (859) 341-8439

Behle Street by Sheli

Location: 2220 Grandview Drive, Fort Mitchell

Hours: Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Website: behlestreetbysheli.com

Nearby Behle Street is Pee Wee’s Place, the epitome of a hometown bar. Their slogan, “great fun, great food, great friends,” succinctly describes the Pee Wee’s experience.

They serve American classics like burgers, wings, and fried sides ranging from tater tots to fried pickles. Guests can pair their meals with a beer bucket as well. During warm weather, visitors can sit on the patio

Phone: (859) 341-8888

Pee Wee’s Place

Location: 2325 Anderson Road, Crescent Springs

Hours: Monday through Sunday 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Website: peeweesplace.net

Phone: (859) 341-4977

Kemper, Coyle, Neuhaus, Volpenhein and Akers join NKY Sports HOF

The Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame inducted five new members on Feb. 15 at the Gardens in Park Hills. This month’s class included Robert (Bo) Kemper, Glenn Coyle, Eric Neuhaus, Ted Volpenhein and Gary Akers.

Kemper is a 1962 Covington Catholic graduate and a standout baseball and softball player. He played area softball for 24-plus years, but says his greatest accomplishment came as a coach and organizer. He was instrumental in developing the instructional basketball program for first and second-graders at Villa Madonna.

Coyle graduated from Dixie Heights in 1969 and was an All-Region, All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-State player during his senior campaign. Coyle helped the Colonels to a district title during his junior year and was later inducted into the Dixie Heights Hall of Fame.

Neuhaus ran on three state cross country championship teams while at St. Henry High School, graduating in 1997. He attended Wilmington College where he was a three-time Academic All-American. As a runner in Cincinnati’s Flying Pig Marathon, he won his age group in 2006 – a year later competing in the Boston Marathon. Neuhaus also coached cross country at St. Henry, leading them to five consecutive state titles and named Coach of the Year twice by the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association. He later went on to coach at the University of Cincinnati. Volpenhein was a two-sport athlete at

Covington Catholic in basketball and softball and later went on to play at Thomas More as a walk-on in basketball. As a member of the Saints basketball team, he was named team MVP twice where he was the leading scorer and rebounder and hit the game-winning buzzer-beater against Xavier in 1972, the Saints first ever win over a Division I team.

Akers, a 1961 graduate of Betsy Layne High School, arrived at Bellevue High School in 1969 to coach basketball. He started out as a JV basketball coach from 1969-73, becoming the varsity coach in 1973-79. He guided the Tigers to the semifinals in the region in ‘76, the first time the program did so since ‘49. Akers was named Ninth Region coCoach of the Year that season.

John Erardi, a Northern Kentucky resident and former sports writer and columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer, served as the guest speaker.

Ryle wins Region 5 wrestling title

The Ryle wrestling team captured the Region Five title at Walton-Verona on Feb. 12. The Raiders edged out host Walton-Verona in advancing to the state tournament at George Rogers Clark starting on Feb. 24.

Landon Evans (113 pounds), Rider Trumble (132), Caleb Duke (175) and Travis Steiber (190) claimed individual titles as the Raiders racked up 233 points.

Like Ryle, Walton-Verona claimed four individual titles and finished with 218 points. TJ Meyer won at 120 pounds, Hunter Isaacs at 138, Mason Schweitzer at 144, and Luke Hyden at 215.

Campbell County was third with 210 points. Christopher Ferraro turned in the Camels’ lone individual win at 126 pounds by defeating Conner’s Maalik Washington, 8-2. Highlands junior Rilan Pinkston improved to 33-0 by pinning Simon Kenton’s Gaven Pugh for the 150-pound championship. This is Highland’s first wrestling region title.

Holmes senior Emauryon Arnold won the meet’s Most Valuable Wrestler award along with the 285-pound title, an 8-7 win over Covington Catholic’s Willie Rodriguez.

Meyer the Ninth Region Scoring King

With all the history and talent in the Ninth Region, Holy Cross guard Jacob Meyer can now claim something no one else can.

Meyer passed Beechwood’s Scotty Draud to break the Ninth Region scoring record on Feb. 12 against Dixie Heights. Meyer entered the contest needing 16 points to break Draud’s mark of 3,128 career points. The senior broke the record on a dunk in the second quarter with 2:31 to play. Play paused shortly after, with Meyer getting the game ball, a handshake, and hug by his coach Casey Sorrell before he was mobbed at midcourt by a pool of photographers and cameramen.

Meyer came to Holy Cross as a freshman playing under Brandon Grammer. He certainly didn’t wait for his time to shine, scoring 498 points as a young gun and leading the team, averaging 17.8 points per game. He scored 606 points during his sophomore season that was shortened to 24 games due to COVID.

Meyer ended up leading the nation with 38.2 points per game and scoring 1,109 points during his junior year. He’ll end up with over 1,000 points scored in consecutive seasons if his senior year scoring stays on pace. The top four scorers in Ninth Region history are now Meyer, Beechwood’s Scotty Draud (3,128 points), Dixie Heights’ Brandon Hatton (3,045 points) and Highlands’ Scott Draud (2.865 points).

Beechwood No. 1 in NKBCA preseason poll

The Northern Kentucky Baseball Coaches Association has released their preseason top 10 high school baseball teams.

Three-time defending Ninth Region champion Beechwood starts the year off at No. 1. Conner was ranked second, coming off a 29-7 season. Back-to-back 10th Region champ Campbell County is third, Highlands fourth, Ryle fifth and Covington Catholic sixth. Ninth Region runner-up from last season St. Henry is seventh. Rounding out the top 10 is Dixie Heights, Simon Kenton and Newport Central Catholic.

The first day of games for the KHSAA baseball season is March 13.

Knopf, Roman Furuta, Garrett Dennis, and Blake Koenigsknecht won the 200 medley relay (1:38.22). A couple of hours later, Furuta, Pleiman, Koenigsknecht, and Zach Stephens won the 200 freestyle relay (1:28.48), and Pleiman, Stephens, Dennis, and Knopf won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:16.55. Both advance to the KHSAA state swim meet in Lexington starting on February 17.