Dine, dance and drink — that’s the slogan of Covington’s newest electronic dance club and eatery, Galaxie.
Galaxie, located at 815 Madison Ave., is the brainchild of entrepreneur Thor Morgan. The original Galaxie location is in Louisville. Following their success in the Derby City, Morgan decided to look at areas up north to open a second dance club and restaurant.
Morgan said that after an intensive search and vetting process, he landed on Covington as Galaxie’s next location.
“We looked all over, honestly, the tri-state area, and really felt at home in this town,” Morgan said. “This strip, Madison Avenue, is a beautiful, really cool area, and just so much potential.”
Galaxie’s food and drink menu features several favorites, including margaritas, loaded Vader fries and wakatakas – their signature flatbread tacos.
Galaxie opened in the former ACME Lock building last December. After ACME Lock shuttered, Morgan and the building’s landlord, Edward Wimmer and Erin Eimer, collaborated on a total renovation of the space. The interior of the building was gutted, with a bar, stage and dance floor added afterwards.
While the project was challenging, Morgan said Galaxie signed a long-term lease in the space. LINK nky reported that Galaxie signed a seven-year lease in March.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Morgan said. “It certainly wasn’t an easy project to take on, but we signed a long-term lease.”
Furthermore, Galaxie took advantage of Covington’s Small Business Incentive program, which provides financial incentives to small businesses that have either just opened or are looking to relocate into the city.
In March, the Covington Board of Commissioners approved a one-year, $6,000 rent subsidy for Galaxie. The program reimburses up to $500 of the business’s monthly rent payments for up to one year.
The City of Covington hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Galaxie on Thursday, where the business owners were celebrated for expanding into the city.
“We know this is your second place – that you have another place in Louisville,” Mayor Ron Washington said. “This adds to this block. As you know, SparkHaus is going in. There are going to be many entrepreneurs going to businesses here, doing business down there. Hopefully they’ll come and enjoy have a margarita and a wakataka.”
Galaxie is one block away from some of the highest foot traffic businesses in Covington, including Hotel Covington, Braxton Brewing, Agave & Rye, among others. Madison Live, a live-music venue, is also close to the bar.
Moreover, Galaxie hopes to gain further foot traffic from the opening of SparkHaus this September. SparkHaus, which is under construction in the former Simms Furniture building at 727 Madison Ave., is relocating Northern Kentucky-based startups, investment firms and entrepreneurial support organizations in one centrally located office hub. Upon completion, the daily foot traffic around the area will increase.
Galaxie is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to midnight, and on Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.