Pig Beach brings chef-driven BBQ to Waterfront Park. But will it be worth the wait?

If you visited Waterfront Park in the last seven years and didn't wonder about the huge, vacant building overlooking the Ohio River, did you really visit Waterfront Park?

The status of that big building has been a common conversation topic since at least 2016 when the last tenant of 1201 River Road — Doc Cantina’s — closed after six months of operation. Previously, the prime spot near downtown Louisville housed Tumbleweed’s for roughly a decade. It closed in late 2014. Back then, Louisville-area residents, as well as out-of-town patrons, were used to having a restaurant there. Then, they got used to having an empty building there.

That changed Thursday when Pig Beach BBQ opened its doors and welcomed a new barbecue-fueled chapter for the two-level, 14,000-square-foot building on the riverfront.

“The interest has been crazy,” Shane McBride, Pig Beach BBQ partner and director of operations, told the Courier Journal. “It feels like we’re reuniting Louisville with an old girlfriend.”

Pig Beach, a Brooklyn-based barbecue joint with four other locations, began the process of opening in Louisville in 2021. As soon as the brand created an Instagram and began work, including hints of pink paint, on the River Road building, comments on and offline poured in. The main question: “When are you opening?”

“The interest is there because this building has been empty for so long,” he said. “I think people missed it and they’re glad something is here.”

The refreshed building is something to see, following about $4.5 million worth of work, according to co-owner Rob Shawger. Schwager and others on the Pig Beach crew showed off the new digs during a grand opening event Thursday, where ribbons were cut and words like “giddiness” and “dream come true” were said.

Schwager offered another word: “Relief.” This opening has been two years in the making.

“It’s shocking to me that this place sat empty for so long,” he said. “When we looked at it, we went over all the pluses and minuses and there weren’t many minuses. To me, it’s a no-brainer.”

Pig Beach added plenty to the building, which has a capacity of 600 people.

On the main floor, visitors will enter to see a pink-and-white mural showing the outline of a pig wearing sunglasses lounging below tropical trees and a postcard-like message: “Greetings from Pig Beach.” The playful artwork sets the tone for a space mixing neon lights with tasteful nods to Kentucky’s well-known fixtures, from a Jim Beam mirror to horse racing paintings.

Upon entering, patrons have a few options of where to go. You can venture to the left, where a spacious seating area full of blue tabletops, a long bar and plenty of wooden picnic tables await. This is where the river view first hits.

You can also venture to the right, where a cafeteria-style area offers grab-and-go food and drink options. This was intentional, according to Matt Abdoo, another partner with Pig Beach BBQ.

“We know how incredible this Waterfront Park is,” he said. “We wanted to embrace where we are.”

Grab-and-go customers would only get a glimpse of the full experience, which can be found by going upstairs to another area of Pig Beach that stands out for its sports bar feel. Garage doors show off the “epic river views,” as McBride called them. Green walls are a tribute to Churchill Down, and dozens of whiskey decanters, shaped like everything from trains to birds to clocks, sit above a shelf. The place has dozens of TVs, too. For McBride, a self-acclaimed “bourbon dork,” outfitting the second floor was a special adventure involving some local antiquing and thrifting.

“This is my homage to Louisville,” he said. “I wanted it to feel like it was here forever.”

Don’t let the looks take away from the tastes. Pig Beach was founded by chefs who left the fine-dining world to make barbecue. Between all of them, McBride guesses they’ve opened more than 30 restaurants. That’s where the “chef-driven barbecue” description comes from.

“Our barbecue programming is basically our ode to the classic barbecue regions across the country,” McBride said. “We’ve always taken the approach of chef mindset, with lots of layers of flavor, a balance of sweet and salty and spicy. That kind of sets us apart.”

Of course, the location also sets Pig Beach apart.

Of all the people glad to see a restaurant open in that building, Deborah Bilitski, president and executive director of Waterfront Park, might be one of the happiest.

“Since I walked in the door on my first day, it’s probably the question I’ve answered the most,” she said. “Everyone’s interested. They want to know, why can’t you get a restaurant there?”

Bilitski said they were waiting for the “right fit.” And Pig Beach seems to fit the bill.

“This has been one of our highest priorities,” she said. “We’ve been focused on getting a restaurant people will love just as much as they love Waterfront Park. It was worth the effort and wait.”

Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at ahancock@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Pig Beach BBQ brings chef-driven cuisine to Louisville Waterfront Park