Waterfront restaurant breaks free from dock with patrons on board

COVINGTON, Ky. - Jeff Ruby's Waterfront restaurant broke free from its dock on the Ohio River with at least 150 patrons on board Friday night around 10:15 p.m., according to the Covington Police Department.

The restaurant was lodged under the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, which kept it from drifting down the river. Two tugboats surrounding the restaurant kept it in place, as well. Those same boats are still in place as of Saturday afternoon, keeping the restaurant from drifting off.

Crews used ladders and ropes to rescue everyone on board Friday night. A walking board was placed on top of the ladders in an effort to evacuate more guests at a faster rate.  Authorities say the restaurant drifted about 100 yards from the dock.

People could only be rescued one at a time, which is why it took several hours to evacuate the boat. No injuries were reported.

Despite the precarious situation, rescue crews, the Waterfront staff and restaurant guests remained calm throughout the entire process.

I did not sense anybody being panicked," said Kathy Kinane, a customer, "I really didn't, We all would've like to have had the evacuation go a little bit quicker than it did."

Guests onboard include former Bengals wide receiver Cris Collinsworth, President of Cincinnati Bell Jack Cassidy, and owner of the Waterfront, Jeff Ruby.

"I wanted all the guests to come off," Ruby said. "I wanted to be there to talk to the guests to see if they were all okay. When I got here, I knew everybody was safe and now I wanna go on and just apologize to them."

Sports Anchor Denny Janson contacted Collinsworth who was on the boat with his wife. According to Janson he sounded exasperated and stated he did not want to talk on TV because "it had been a long night."

Janson also contacted former Bengals player Boomer Esiason via email to inform him of the situation. Boomer responded with, " Thanks Denny, I'm glad everyone is OK. Bad weather I guess."

The Waterfront's general manager Charlie Bledsoe told 9 News in an interview with reporter Adam Marshall on March 10 that the restaurant planned to remain open for business despite the flooding of the Ohio River.

The restaurant recently purchased temporary ramps that allow customers to safely get to the upper level parking lot to the front doors during high water situations.

"The Waterfront is the last dog standing. We are able to stay open," said Bledsoe. He also stated that the only way the Waterfront would close it's doors during flooding would be if the city forced them to do so.

"The water comes up every year and they've got a set of ramps they put up and they've stayed open year after year," said Lieutenant Rob Ervin from the Covington Police Department. "They're use to it, I mean it's just a part of doing business down here on the river."

The Ohio River is currently at 55.2 feet, which is considered a moderate flood level.

The Clay Wade Bridge was built in 1974 and named after a prominent Kentucky newspaper reporter. The bridge is 675 feet tall and has a navigational channel beneath it, according to cincinnati-transit.net .

Ruby told 9 News crews that he plans to have engineers at the restaurant Saturday to inspect the restaurant so that he can determine when his business can reopen.

Stay with 9 News and WCPO.com for updates on this breaking news story.