Covington has landed on Southern Living’s “Best Cities on the Rise” list for 2024.
Southern Living ranked the northshore city No. 11 on its list of the Top 25 cities on the rise in the South, one spot ahead of Gulfport, Mississippi.
The publication says Covington has been heralded in the past as “the North Shore’s best kept secret” and “North Shore’s Renaissance,” but added that the city “continues to get better and better.”
“Over the past few years, it's been a magnet for new businesses and residents, and its 2030 Plan aims to keep that momentum going while preserving its small-town feel.”
The spotlight swerved in Covington’s direction last year with the start of millions of dollars in new construction along New Hampshire Street in the city’s downtown historic district.
The redevelopment includes the planned expansion of the 1907-vintage Southern Hotel at the corner of New Hampshire and Boston streets, and a new building that will replace the old Star Theater, which opened in 1942 but was demolished last year. The new structure will have space on the ground floor for a restaurant, office space and rooftop lounge.
Also on New Hampshire, a former barbershop and law office has been converted into TAVI, the first northshore restaurant project for BGR Hospitality, formerly the Besh Restaurant Group, since it sold La Provence in Lacombe in 2017.
Conceived as a “little brother” to BGR’s New Orleans restaurant Shaya, TAVI offers an Israeli-Lebanese inspired menu.
It is located a pita’s throw from the Covington Beer Garden, an indoor-outdoor hangout that opened in 2022. A block away, in a fashionably renovated building that formerly housed the Beck ‘N Call restaurant, is the stylish new Haven Coffee and Cocktails.
Mayor Mark Johnson has noted that while the small-time vibe lives on in the city of about 12,000 residents, “We’re not Mayberry anymore. We’re Mayberry on steroids.”
The reader-selected cities in the Top 25 “have excellent food scenes, cool yet quaint downtown districts, incredible natural beauty, thriving arts communities, and the warmth our region is known for. And they’re not done growing. Each one has exciting new projects on the horizon …” the publication said in its announcement of the winners.
Southern Living made its selections of the top cities with the help of an online survey among Southern Living consumers conducted by third-party agency, Proof Insights. Respondents were asked to rate their favorite places across the South. The survey was fielded from July 12 to Aug. 23, 2023 and had more than 20,000 respondents.