First Look: See inside the new Game on the River in Jeffersonville
This article was written by Michael L. Jones and originally appeared in Louisville Business First on December 19, 2023.
A popular Louisville restaurant quietly opened a second location in Southern Indiana this month.
Game on the River opened at 117 E. Riverside Drive in Jeffersonville more than a week ago. Game on the River is located in a nearly 2,800-square-foot space that was previously occupied by Portage House, which closed in April 2021.
Tim Lewis, owner of Game, said the opening of the new restaurant was low-key because he is still waiting for some decorations and he wanted to give the staff time to acclimate to the space.
“We’re open. We’re just not doing a lot of advertising, right now,” Lewis explained. “We’re going to close down for a couple of days for Christmas. So, we’re really not trying to unleash the hounds until the end of the month. I want to do a grand opening when we get our big outdoor sign for the front of the building.”
Game is unique in Greater Louisville in that it offers dishes featuring exotic meats like roasted buffalo tongue sliders, yak meatballs, and kangaroo burgers.
Lewis purchased the original Game location, at 2295 Lexington Road, from the restaurant’s founders, Chase Mucerino and Adam Burress, in March 2020. He first announced the second location in October.
Game on the River has a similar menu to the Louisville restaurant, but Lewis said he added seafood to the new location because of the riverside view of the Ohio River.
“We do have a barbecue alligator flatbread on the menu, and there are some other seafood options on the horizon,” Lewis said. “That’s pretty much the only change that deviates from the other restaurant.”
Prices at Game on the River range from $5 to $18.
Lewis declined to reveal how much he invested to open the Southern Indiana restaurant, but he expects to have about 28 employees.
Lewis worked with Chase Rodgers and Jenny Johnston, of PRG Commercial Advisors, to locate the property in Jeffersonville. It is owned by Jon Grell, a commercial real estate adviser for Pluris Real Estate.
Grell told Business First that he and his partners, Ian and Kristen Clifford, completed more than $100,000 in renovations on the building, including all new windows, Hardie board siding, drywall, and paint.
Now that the Southern Indiana restaurant is open, Lewis said he’s looking forward to really celebrating after the Christmas holiday.
“We’re looking to have the outside sign by the end of the month, hopefully,” Lewis said. “So, I’m really thinking the first of the new year will be our grand opening. We’re going to do something on a bigger scale.”