Rooftop restaurant in downtown Louisville brings back igloo dining experience with Halloween theme

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The mood is just right for a spooktacular night at a rooftop restaurant in downtown Louisville.

The restaurant on the eight floor of the Hilton Garden Inn, 8UP, launched a clever, cool way for customers to enjoy a meal and drinks outside as the weather gets cooler. 8UP brought back its igloos but decked them out for Halloween. So, they're igBOOS -- get it?

The restaurant created the igloo dining experience last year for the first time, and they proved to be a hot success. Dustin Stutzman, the area director of sales for First Hospitality, said they were sold out in December and much of January.

The plan was to bring the igloos back again this year in November. With all the changes and challenges for the hospitality industry tied to the coronavirus pandemic, Stutzman said the team decided to launch the igBOOS a few weeks early for Halloween.

"For us, 2020 has been the year of creativity. The nature of this is of course unique, and it gives people a reason to get out and come to downtown," said Stutzman.

So, like last year, there are food and beverage minimums, which differ based on the timeslot. The igBOOS are just dripping in Halloween decorations and shrouded in smoke. Stutzman recommends only inviting up to eight of your closest ghouls and goblins in order to best practice social distancing in the igloo.

IMAGES | 8UP is giving their rooftop igloos a spooky feel for Halloween

"I think this is a highlight of downtown right now," said Stutzman, "and I think that it should get more people down here. When they get here, they can stay the night, they can walk down the street to the other attractions. They can go to a bourbon distillery, and there are still six of those open. So we want to be part of what brings more people back downtown."

The igBOOS can be booked for up to two-and-a-half hours, and there is time booked in between each reservation for the spooky globes to be sterilized and cleaned. Guests must wear a mask to get into the hotel and up to 8UP, but it is up to guests whether they’d like to wear the masks once inside the igBOO.

To make a reservation, use 8UP’s reservations page designed specifically for the igloos on Open Table. You can click here for a link to that site.

Once Halloween is over, the igloos will be transformed into the traditional winter themes. And they will remain up through March.