A stainless-steel sculpture of a swordfish helps mark the entrance to Mitchell's Fish Market. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        NEWPORT — Doreen and Joe Lautz of Covedale liked what little they saw of Newport on the Levee on Wednesday, but they were expecting a lot more than the opening of Mitchell's Fish Market restaurant.

        “We were under the impression that several shops and restaurants would be open today,” Mrs. Lautz said. “Apparently, somebody had the wrong information out there.”

        They were part of a strong lunch crowd that visited Mitchell's, and they were impressed with the restaurant owned by Cameron Mitchell of Columbus, who is making his first entry into the Greater Cincinnati market.

IF YOU GO

Navigating Newport on the Levee is relatively easy, especially for anyone who has visited the Newport Aquarium in the past two years.    • from Cincinnati via Interstate 75, take the Fifth Street exit in Covington and follow the Ky. 8 signs across the Fourth Street Bridge into Newport. Follow the Levee-Aquarium signs to the parking garage off Dave Cowens Drive.    • From Cincinnati via I-71, take I-71 south to I-471, take the Ky. 8 Newport exit and follow the signs to the parking garage.    • From the Florence/airport area via I-75, take I-75 to I-275 east to I-471 south, I-471 to the Ky. 8 exit and follow the Levee-Aquarium signs to the garage.    • From downtown Cincinnati, take the Taylor Southgate Bridge south into Newport and follow the Levee-Aquarium signs.

        “This is very nice,” Mrs. Lautz said. “We'll be interested to see what all this looks like when everything is open. I guess that won't be for a few months yet.”

        The $200 million Levee development opened with three businesses Wednesday. In addition to the Mitchell's restaurant, the Shadowbox Cabaret theater opened to a sellout crowd Wednesday night, and the Firstar 3-D IMAX theater, which opened for a few showings Sept. 14, reopened for regular showings.

        “We've tried to emphasize all along that the tenants at Newport on the Levee will open when they are ready,” said David Wechsler, vice president of Steiner and Associates, the developer. “We thought we had gotten our message across, but apparently not everyone heard it.”

        Right now, Mr. Wechsler said, the developer is concentrating on people visiting Mitchell's, the Shadowbox and the 20-screen movie theater scheduled to open Oct. 12.

        A major Levee tenant, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, is to open Nov. 7.

        Other businesses are scheduled to be open by the end of October, and several more by the end of the year.

        Five more restaurants, including two in an electronic games arcade, are to open by spring.
       
       

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