Advertisement Waterfront restaurant partially sunk in Ohio River Restaurant closed since 2011 incident Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A floating restaurant that's had misfortune befall it over the last couple of years is in trouble again.The Waterfront restaurant barge partially sank in the Ohio River sometime late Monday or early Tuesday as it was docked at a marina downstream from Covington.Photos: Restaurant sinks in Ohio River | Watch this story It was sitting in about 20 feet of water on the river bottom close to shore, WLWT News 5's Brian Hamrick said.“It’s up to the ceiling of the first floor,” restaurant owner Jeff Ruby said. “I don’t know what caused this, but I’m going to find out before an employee drowns.”The barge has been docked since breaking loose from its mooring a second time in February and hitting the Clay Way Bailey Bridge.Ruby said one employee was nearly killed.“Ice hit the barge and it broke loose, snapped the cable; I took off running to try to get off the boat,” employee Steve Poe said. “I got three quarters of the way down the ramp and fell in the water, and I had a hard time getting back up on the boat.”The barge was also struck by another barge a few weeks ago, but that damage had been patched.Damage shows, at some point, the restaurant barge collided with the barge next to it. An entire section of the façade crumbled off the top floor of the boat.Hamrick said crews had been unloading the contents and pumping water out as needed, but sinking hadn't been expected. A team was scheduled to come in from Pittsburgh to fix the problem but won't get to the restaurant until Friday, Hamrick said.The restaurant hasn't reopened since the first time it broke free in 2011 and floated about a hundred yards downriver with more than 80 guests aboard. They all had to be rescued.Ruby said last month that he intends to replace the Waterfront with a new one on the Covington shoreline.The Coast Guard has issued a notice to boaters to slow down near the site to keep the wake action from causing further damage.The Waterfront is now moored at the C&B Marina in Boone County, where it will remain until it can be pumped out and patched.