Want a vacation? A new Milford restaurant gives you that beloved feeling.

Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read
Customers have lined up outside Covalt Station since it opened last month, restaurant co-owner Joe Creighton said.
Customers have lined up outside Covalt Station since it opened last month, restaurant co-owner Joe Creighton said.

A group of Cincinnati restaurant owners hope to give customers the feeling of being on vacation with a new Milford establishment.

Joe Creighton, who owns Mecca OTR, opened Covalt Station with his wife Robin, older sister Carrie Santoro and her husband John last month.

The restaurant is named after Abraham Covalt, who settled in the area in the late 1700s, and its décor was inspired by the nearby Little Miami River and local history.

Joe told The Enquirer that, "everything in the space was intentional," such as the never-before-seen sketches by Cincinnati artist John A. Ruthven that cover the walls. The owners also put pieces of wood underneath the hand-milled floors to make them creak under foot, Joe said, and they stuffed the walls with cherry pipe tobacco for a unique aroma.

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Covalt Station, located at 222 Wooster Pike, serves a selection of burgers, beer, wine and cocktails.
Covalt Station, located at 222 Wooster Pike, serves a selection of burgers, beer, wine and cocktails.

The idea behind Covalt Station was to bring the feeling of vacation – inspired by the family's trips to Put-in-Bay, Florida, Michigan, the East Coast and the Bahamas – to Milford and Terrace Park.

Customers can buy custom-tied flies for fishing at the restaurant and book guided trips on the river with the Little Miami River Outfitters.

"People are starting to realize what we have here and are looking at it in a different light," Joe said

Menu-wise, Covalt Station offers easygoing vacation staples, such as burgers, including a shrimp burger from Lobsta Bakes of Maine. It also has oysters three nights per week and tropical cocktails.

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Covalt Station has both indoor and outdoor seating, and a potbelly stove that will burn in colder months.
Covalt Station has both indoor and outdoor seating, and a potbelly stove that will burn in colder months.

Creighton opened Mecca OTR in 2016 and previously owned Cheapside Cafe and the Rookwood Bar and Restaurant in Mount Adams.

However, the restaurateur says Covalt Station is a much more personal project.

It brought his family together.

"It's like an extension of our family room," he said.

Covalt Station is open Tuesdays to Thursdays from 5 to 10 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to midnight.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Covalt Station, new vacation-themed restaurant, open in Milford