- Epic Eeats permanently closed four Northern Kentucky restaurants on May 18, including By Golly’s and The Works locations in Union and Covington.
- CEO Lance Sizemore said there are no current plans to reopen in either city and indicated potential litigation may be forthcoming.
- The closures end a rapid expansion effort that brought the Cincinnati-based restaurant group’s two brands into Northern Kentucky during 2024 and 2025.
All By Golly’s and The Works Pizza locations in Northern Kentucky are now permanently closed.
Lance Sizemore, CEO of Epic Eeats, a Cincinnati-based restaurant group, confirmed to LINK nky that the company shuttered four of its Northern Kentucky-based restaurants on May 18. As of now, Sizemore said there are no plans to reopen locations in either Union or Covington.
He mentioned there may be forthcoming litigation regarding the closures, but declined to comment any further.
As the restaurants collectively closed, photos of handwritten notes taped to their entrances announcing their closures circulated in local Northern Kentucky Facebook groups.
“Thanks to the community for support,” Sizemore said. “Obviously, we were open much shorter than we wanted to be. Maybe down the road, we’ll be able to open another location in one of those areas, but in the meantime, we would love to see people at one of our other locations.”
By Golly’s is a casual dining and sports bar restaurant concept. The brand marketed itself as a relatable neighborhood gathering place. The first location opened in Milford, Ohio, in 1983. The Milford restaurant was later acquired by Epic Eeats in November 2023. Epic Eeats’ other brand, The Works, is a brick-oven pizza restaurant concept that the company positioned as a complement to By Golly’s. The original location opened in Loveland, Ohio, in 2003.
Both brands were part of a broader franchising play by Epic Eeats, as the company would pair the two concepts together within a development or within close proximity to each other. Each restaurant would be managed by its own staff.
Throughout 2024 and 2025, Epic Eeats launched an aggressive expansion campaign into Northern Kentucky, opening two restaurants in Union, one of the region’s fastest-growing cities, and in downtown Covington, which has experienced investment and revitalization over the past 15 years.
Epic Eeats opened its first Northern Kentucky restaurant – By Golly’s – in Covington at 313 Greenup Street. By Golly’s replaced Keystone Bar & Grill, which closed in September 2023. Soon after, The Works opened in the street-level space within The Hayden, a development completed in 2023 that converted the former Kenton County Jail into luxury apartments.
In 2025, Epic Eeats announced its expansion into Union, unveiling plans to open both By Golly’s and The Works within the Union Promenade, a large mixed-use retail and restaurant development in Union near the intersection of U.S. 42 and Richwood Road. Both restaurants opened in January 2026, with ribbon-cutting ceremonies hosted by the City of Union for each. Months later, both locations closed.
Members of the Union City Commission briefly addressed the closures at the June 1 meeting after a resident broached the subject during public comment. The resident expressed frustration over the closures, arguing that the losses have damaged public confidence in the development and generated negative attention on social media.
In response, Union Mayor Larry Solomon said that some turnover is normal in large mixed-use developments, particularly during the first few years. He expressed confidence that new restaurant concepts would fill the vacant spaces.
“There’s a lot of businesses over there, and the point is that some are going to make it and do very well, but some are going to go under, and as they do, we’re going to keep pushing them to achieve our goal to get higher-end restaurants,” he said.
Currently, By Golly’s locations in Milford and Anderson, as well as The Works locations in Loveland and Colerain, are open, according to each business’s website.
