The Works Pizza opening caps off a multi-year, multi-million-dollar renovation project in the heart of Covington’s central business district.
Located on the ground floor of The Hayden, a 12-story luxury apartment building, The Works is a brick-oven pizzeria franchise based out of Loveland, Ohio. After an over-year-long renovation, The Works opened its doors in March.
On May 6, the City of Covington and the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce celebrated The Works Covington and their staff at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“This is an incredible location,” Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce CEO Brent Cooper said. “When I think of ‘The Works,’ I think of when I go and order something with the works; it takes something good, it makes it great. That is what’s happening here in Covington. The Works is now adding on to all the great stuff that we’ve got going on here.”
The restaurant is owned by Cincinnati-based Epic Eeats, a holding company that also owns By Golly’s Bar & Grill. Epic Eeats has invested heavily in development along Park Place in Covington over the past couple of years. The firm opened a By Golly’s just up the street in the former Keystone Bar & Grill building.
The Works’ location features an outdoor patio with several picnic tables and umbrellas, an indoor bar with seating and a number of flat-screen televisions for patrons to watch while they eat. Its menu boasts items like brick-oven pizzas, wings, sandwiches, wraps and other appetizers.
Epic Eeats Chief Operating Officer Heather Fry said The Works puts emphasis on its products and staff as a company.
“One of the things that makes our company special – it’s not the building, it’s the product,” Fry said. “It’s not our chairs, it’s not our beautiful patio around the corner. It’s our team.”
To drive home the point, Fry introduced Tasha Danzilo, a 21-year employee of The Works who had worked her way from a server to the general manager of the company’s Loveland store.
Alan Murphy, the general manager of the Covington location, said The Works Covington has retained most of its staff since opening, highlighting the company’s culture.
“Anyone who ever opened a restaurant knows that when you have a grand opening staff, you’re lucky to retain a small percentage of them, and we’ve retained quite a bit, just because of the way the culture of the company,” Murphy said. “People want to work here.”
Besides its Covington location, The Works is also opening another store in Union, which will be located in the large-scale Union Promenade development off U.S. Hwy 42.
The Works Covington is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, it’s open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
