The Bellevue building that housed Miller’s Fill Inn was purchased on June 2 by an ownership group that operates three bars in the Greater Cincinnati region.
Hickory Wald Kentucky LLC purchased the building from owner and proprietor Lois Miller for $420,000, according to the Campbell County Property Valuation Administrator website.
Entrepreneurs Aaron Kohlhepp, Andrew Sulzbrun and Jack Weston are the owners of the hospitality group. In addition to their most recent purchase, Hickory Wald’s portfolio also includes The Hannaford in Covington, Rhinehaus in Over The Rhine, and Nation Kitchen + Bar in Cincinnati’s Pendleton neighborhood.
The first bar located inside the Bellevue building was titled Jim’s Fill. Lois Miller took over the bar in the 1990s, changing the name to Miller’s Fill Inn. She purchased the building in 1998 for $276,000. After approximately 30 years at the helm, Miller decided it was time to retire. May 28 was her last day. Going forward, the bar will simply be known as The Fill Inn.
“We’re excited to carry on the legacy of Miller’s, Jim’s, and everyone before them who have made this a special place,” the new owners posted on the bar’s Facebook page. “We thank Lois for her 30 years of stewardship and wish her the best in her retirement. Now she can finally come here and drink!”
Hickory Wald employees Robb Abner, Bill Leahy and Adam Brumley have been tapped to manage the operations of the bar. Each of them grew up in Fort Thomas and frequented the bar for years as patrons. Both Abner and Leahy have experience bartending and managing at The Hannaford.
“We’ve been going to Millers for 15 or 20 years so we’re we were all familiar with the bar and the location especially, and just wanting to be a part of it,” Abner told LINK nky. “We’ve seen it through all these years and just met some of the people — love the vibe and wanted to carry that on.”
Located along Donnermeyer Drive, the 5,703-square-foot building was erected in 1957. The inside features a band area, large bar and a gaming room with pool tables, dartboards and a bowling machine. Abner said the new ownership is installing a Golden Tee arcade golf machine in the game room. On the outside is a patio and large parking lot, which Abner says the bar will utilize as an event space.
Wanting to stay true to its roots as a real neighborhood bar, Hickory Wald opted not to conduct extensive renovations on the building. Instead, they’ve mounted several new televisions to the wall loaded with popular sports channels.
“We were not wanting to steer too far from what was going on already,” Abner said. “People like it. I mean, it does kind of have this old feel to it, but that’s part of the vibe.”
Part of the bar’s allure is its generational legacy. Abner said the bar’s Facebook page was flooded with people sharing memories of friends and family members from decades prior having a drink at the bar.
“People that live in Bellevue, Dayton and Newport — their parents were going there and their grandparents were going there,” Abner said. “We wanted to extend the legacy basically and give the people somewhere to go that, you know, maybe their grandpa that they’re not able to have a beer with anymore might have sat in the same seat years before.”
Opened back up to the public on June 8, The Fill Inn is open seven days a week from noon until 2 a.m. Los Cuñados Taco Truck has been set up in the parking lot and has been a big attraction so far.
