Editor’s note: This is the third of five stories featuring the winners of the City of Covington’s 2024 Authenti-CITY Awards.
Jackie Slone knew the soldier was perfect for the job she had in mind, what with his articulating hands, long straight legs, and rugged good looks. As for the soldier himself, well, he was just waiting to be called to duty.
Slone, a talented mosaic artist whose art is visible throughout The Cov, keeps a bounty of potential art supplies at hand, items like shards of glass, marbles, tiles, plates, and more. Among her stash: a GI Joe figure.

“I find inspiration everywhere,” said Slone, who along with her husband and two daughters owns Left Bank Coffeehouse.
In Slone’s skilled hands, the soldier would become a centerpiece of sorts to what is arguably the most fascinating bathroom in The Cov — its walls covered in the rich textures, hues, Slone’s stunning mosaic work … and what is now known far and wide as the “Ruggedly Handsome Toilet Paper Guy.”
Velcroed to the wall directly across from the toilet seat and backed by a swath of wallpaper that reads “The Many Ways Trees Serve Us,” The “RHTPG” grips a roll of toilet paper between his hands in service to the shop’s patrons.
Granted, his piercing blue eyes might unmoor the unsuspecting first-time visitor. But he is the epitome of an unapologetically Covington brand of hospitality and an obvious choice for one of the City’s 2024 Authenti-CITY Awards.
Diminutive in square footage but vast in aesthetic, Left Bank Coffeehouse has a casual, feels-like-home vibe as well as an off-the-beaten path French café feel. The name itself is a nod to Paris and a good fit when you think about proximity to Covington’s two rivers. There’s generally a local artist or two chilling and sipping on the shop’s front porch or side patio, neighbors and small business owners catching up while they wait for coffee, and young mothers perusing Maison, the coffeeshop’s charming retail shop that carries everything from journals, chic children’s toys, and locally made jewelry to a steady inventory of Harry Styles or Taylor Swift-themed stickers.
There’s a lot to like about this shop, but everyone knows what the main attraction is.
“The standout of the shop is Jackie Slone’s mosaic work,” said Covington Business Retention & Expansion Specialist Patrick Duffy. “But, by far, the most unique, one-of-a-kind thing of all in the coffeeshop is the ‘Ruggedly Handsome Toilet Paper Guy.’”
City of Covington
Don’t forget. Our lady of quadalatte. Outside on the garage
She is awesome