Downtown Owensboro visitors can now grab tropical cocktails, listen to live acoustic music, and enjoy tiki-inspired food without ever leaving the riverfront.
The RiverPark Center recently launched “Currents,” a seasonal pop-up tiki bar and grill operating inside the downtown venue through Labor Day weekend.
Katie Calhoun with the RiverPark Center said the organization first experimented with themed pop-up concepts in 2024 during its “Peppermints” holiday experience. Since then, the venue has expanded the idea with concepts including “Sound Garden,” “Crush,” and now “Currents.”
Calhoun described Currents as “a tiki paradise” with a tropical atmosphere and “a little disco element here and there.”
The venue features indoor and outdoor seating, live local music, tropical-themed drinks, and an expanded food menu. Calhoun said the RiverPark Center recently obtained a food license, allowing the team to further develop the dining side of the concept.
“We wanted to add the restaurant element to things, too,” Calhoun said. “We did brunch at Peppermints, and it went over well, so we wanted to expand that a little bit.”
Currents is open Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., with Sunday brunch offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The dinner menu includes items such as lobster rolls, teriyaki chicken sandwiches, shrimp and andouille sausage kabobs, loaded tostadas, taco salads, and tropical-inspired cocktails and frozen drinks. The Sunday brunch menu features dishes including lobster avocado toast, tropical French toast, smoked salmon stackers, and coconut cream crepes.
Calhoun said the idea originally stemmed from a slower winter event schedule and a desire to bring more people downtown and into the RiverPark Center building.
“We just wanted to look at what we could do to get a few more people in the building and more people downtown, and it just kind of spiraled from there,” she said.
Entertainment will primarily feature local musicians performing laid-back acoustic sets designed to complement the courtyard setting.
“It’s gonna be a nice Jimmy Buffett chill summer,” Calhoun said.
The venue will also feature karaoke nights and could potentially add comedy events later this summer.
Calhoun said RiverPark Center staff members take a collaborative approach when transforming the space for each themed pop-up.
“It’s a little bit of an everybody’s hands-on-deck kind of thing,” she said. “The education director builds me stuff, the bartenders come in and help — we try to knock it out in a couple weekends as much as we can.”
She said community response to the pop-ups has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s very encouraging to keep moving forward with it, for sure,” Calhoun said.
While the RiverPark Center can sometimes feel tucked away from the main downtown foot traffic near the riverfront and Friday After 5, Calhoun said the nearby parking garage and live music help attract visitors.
“If you can hear the music on the street, you kind of wonder what’s going on,” she said.
Currents is family-friendly and open to all ages. Calhoun said the menu was intentionally designed to remain affordable while offering quick grab-and-go options for visitors headed to nearby downtown events.
“We tried to keep it low-cost,” Calhoun said. “We’ve also got the Beach Bums menu, which is kind of your low, or short on cash, short on time. It’s quick throw-together stuff you can grab and go.”
The drink menu includes tropical cocktails, frozen beverages, and non-alcoholic options.
“We can also do anything on the drink menu as non-alcoholic,” Calhoun said. “Lots of non-alcoholic drinks too, for people who don’t want to partake.”
Ultimately, Calhoun said the goal is to create a beach-like escape in the heart of downtown Owensboro.
“A cold drink in your hand, the music playing, a little bit of imagination — you’re at the beach,” she said. “Who wants to pay for gas?”
