The Gourmet Strip

Gourmet Strip

Dixie Highway, going up the hill toward Park Hills, was once known as the Gourmet Strip, because of the number and quality of restaurants available.


Town and County Restaurant US 25 and US 42 4 miles south of Cincinnati The Finest Food, Served in Most Beautiful Surroundings


Town and Country, Park Hills The Blue Star, below, opened in 1936; it's name was change to Town and Country in 1950

The Old Mill
From a Facebook post by Joseph Riley

Blue Star Tavern
from the Park Hills, Ky Facebook page

“The Old Mill was a restaurant at Dixie and St. James in Park Hills in the building where Barone’s is now [2022]. My family owned the restaurant. They built the new Blue Star Restaurant next door and sold The Old Mill (which was also had been named The Blue Star.) In the early 50’s it was remodeled and named The Town and County. My family sold it in the 90’s. The Blue Star/Town and Country building is now The Gardens of Park Hills.” The Old Mill was a restaurant at Dixie and St. James in Park Hills in the building where Barone’s is now [2022].” From a Facebook post by Sherry Caldwell Dickson

Chappie's Garden
From a Facebook post by Chris Kleemeier. That's his Dad, Bob Rieckhoff, c. 1943

The Melody Tavern, 1945
From a Facebook post by Covington Kentucky Vintage Postcards


Menu from the Blue Star Tavern, later Town and Country

Schillings, 1939 Dixie Highway


White Horse Tavern 1501 Dixie Highway Covington, KY. Famous for Kentucky Mint Juleps and Old Kentucky Dinners Recommended by Duncan Hines In his column in the Kentucky Post, April 29,1999, Jim Reis notes that the White Horse opened on September 23, 1936, and burned to ground on January 26, 1972. He further notes that the distinctive white horse that sat atop the restaurant later sat at the entrance of the Best Western Vegas Convention Center on Donaldson in Erlanger. The horse now resides at the Behringer-Crawford Museum. Read the Behringer-Crawford's piece on the White Horse.

Dr. Paul Tenkotte writes about the White Horse at this site.


Parking lot at the White Horse, next to a still standing, albeit remodeled house	White Horse Entrance, 1946
both from Facebook posts by Charles H. Foertmeyer.


The White Horse Tavern Menu, December, 1968

Here's a shot of the staff of the White Horse during the late 50's or early 60's. It was thoughtfully contributed by Carol Osborne. That's her mother-in-law, Mildred Osborne, second from the left in the front. She also tells me her mother-in-law could remember when Steve McQueen worked at the White Horse as a bus boy. Thanks, Carol!

Schilling Carhops
get Walkie
Talkies

Schillings Restaurant and Motel
Five Minutes from Cincinnati on US Route 25 & 42
1939 Dixie Highway, Covington, Ky
Each room Air Conditioned, Hot water heat, Television, Tile Baths, Telephones, Wall to wall carpets and Swimming Pool
Motel Phone - Edison 1-1400
Restaurant Phone - Edison 1-3130
The menu from Schillings? Right here

What started as Schillings in the early 1950's, at 1939 Dixie Highway, has since gone under many names
Schillings was here from 1954 or so, until 1962, when it became the Hofbrau Haus, until 1977 when it became Beef & Bourbon, until 1980, when it became the Candlewood, until 1984 when it was the Tumbleweed, and then there was D'andrea's in 1999, and . . .

The New Belvedere
Madison Pike at Kyle's Lane

Oelsner's.
From a Facebook post by Nancy Oelsner Baute

from the Ford Treasury of
Favorite Recipes from
Famous Eating Places, we
have a painting of Oelsner's
by Charles Harper,
and Oelsner's recipe for
Pineapple Cream Pie, here

Oelsner's Colonial Tavern
Greater Cincinnati's Finest
Routes 25 & 42 in the Blue
Grass State 2 Miles South
of Covington, Kentucky
Phone - HE 7546

Oelsner's, 1940

Oelsner's Colonial Tavern
Call Hemlock 9578

The Tavern was owned by Russell Oelsner, mayor of Lookout Heights for 14 years, and opened in 1940. It sat opposite the Lookout House, site of a Skyline Chili these days. It was noted in those days as a meeting place for the St. Agnes Chapter of the Catholic War Veterans, and a hangout for a number of former Cincinnati Reds Baseball players. ...and we got this from Chuck Oelsner.


Menu, Oelsner's Colonial Inn


Sanzere's, 1950, Park Hills, Kentucky Gus and Marie Sanzere opened a restaurant at 835 Dixie Highway in Elsmere after WWII, just north of the Swan, and moved to 1504 Dixie, in Park Hills around 1949. By 1956, he no longer called it Sanzere's, but the Golden Goose.

Jerry's
(across Dixie from St. Agnes and a little north, and time wise, a little after the gourmet-strip heyday)
from the Park Hills, Ky Facebook page