Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden “Hops” Beer Garden

The appropriately-named newest entertaining space at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is a beer garden and restaurant focused on local food and drink. Guests relax in the beer garden’s multi-tiered deck and enjoy an incredible view of the new kangaroo exhibit, a new little penguin habitat and Klimb, an adventure ropes course.

Designed to be self-sustaining, food operation is disposable free with zero single-use plastics. With a seating capacity of 130, the space can be booked by the public for after-hours events as well. 

As part of the Roo Valley, Little Blue Penguin, Ropes Course, and Hops renovations at the Cincinnati Zoo, Motz Engineering provided the MEP facility engineering for a new themed restaurant – Hops Beer Garden. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating and is situated to overlook the ropes course, the Roo Valley “Kangaroo Walk,” and to admire the urban Cincinnati skyline. As part of this project, Motz had to provide engineering to support a full commercial kitchen and restroom. The head chefs at the Cincinnati Zoo made a last minute addition of a pizza oven, which Motz Engineers were able to work with mechanical contractors to revise mechanical exhaust and cooling systems to accommodate the pizza oven. In the end, the restaurant has proven to be a great success.