CINCINNATI, Ohio — The coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of hardship for a lot of restaurants, but it’s also sparked some creativity.
At Night Drop in East Walnut Hills, they’ve actually put a movie screen up to entertain their guests while they dine outside.
Night Drop is a two-year-old bar and restaurant on the basement level of this building. And when the pandemic hit, Manager Giacomo Ciminello said they knew things had to change.
“Night Drop has an interesting problem,” Ciminello said. “I mean, it was a cocktail bar in the basement of another restaurant. We could fit maybe 12 to 15 people in there, tops. So we wanted to come outside and see how we could change things up a little bit.”
After a couple months of being shut down, they took the outdoor seating idea and expanded it to the big screen.
“Literally been thinking out of the box,” he said.
Ciminello said the idea to play a movie for guests was a great way to bring people in.
“We wanted to make something fun and exciting and also we make a great cocktail,” he said. “We’ve redone our food menu to make it something more fun and approachable for the neighborhood.”
And so far, it’s a hit in the community. Lauren Tzirides and David Kracrik said it’s great to finally have a date night outside the house.
“It’s nice to see local businesses being able to kind of adapt and use their large patio like this and do the best we can with the time we have right now,” he said.
For Tzirides, the film being shown brings nostalgic vibes.
“I’m not gonna lie, I came here for the movie,” she said. “They’re showing ‘The NeverEnding Story,’ which is one of my favorite all-time childhood classics. And we can bring out the dog. So we’re really thrilled to be here.”
Movie showings start around 9 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Ciminello said so far the concept is working.
“We appreciate all the support, of everyone coming out,” he said. “The feedback has been fantastic. And we like making new film nerds.”
More information on Night Drop can be found on their website.
