The restaurant entrepreneur bringing Roy Rogers back just bought Barleycorn's

The restaurant group responsible for bringing the Roy Rogers chain back to Greater Cincinnati announced Thursday it has also acquired Barleycorn's, a popular Northern Kentucky sports bar.

Taylor Mill-based One Holland Restaurant Group, which has expanded to own multiple locations of Skyline Chili, LaRosa's Pizzeria, and Dunkin' among others, said in a news release that the purchase was a natural fit.

Barleycorn's has three locations in Cold Spring, Florence and Lakeside Park. The restaurant will continue to be run by Joe Heil, whose brother Ken founded Barleycorn's original location on Sixth Street in downtown Cincinnati in 1974. Heil will serve as Barleycorn's vice president of operations, the release said. The restaurant employs 160 people including Heil's son, daughter, nephew and niece.

"We celebrated our 47th anniversary Dec. 7 and along with reminiscing and remembering a lot of great stories, we have been thinking a lot about the succession of Barleycorn's," Heil said in a statement.

“My brother Ken is no longer involved in day-to-day operations, but he knows that the tradition, employees and customers of Barleycorn's are in good hands,” he added.

Gary Holland, founder and chief executive officer of One Holland, said patrons won't notice any changes at the restaurant under the new ownership.

“I have long admired Ken and Joe Heil and the entire Barleycorn's team,” Holland said in the release. “They work extremely hard and are driven by the same things as us – taking care of your guests and employees and providing great food and great service. I’m honored that they trusted me to take over this great tradition.”

One Holland announced in October it was partnering with the Roy Rogers chain to bring 10 locations back to the Greater Cincinnati area. The restaurant, named after Cincinnati-born singer and actor Roy Rogers, will open its locations over the next six years starting with the first location in Cleves in Hamilton County.

In 2020, One Holland also purchased Greyhound Tavern, an award-winning restaurant in Fort Mitchell.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Restaurant entrepreneur bringing Roy Rogers buys Barleycorn's