LOUISVILLE CITY LIVING

Waffles, tacos, shag carpet: These new places are worth a trip downtown

Maggie Menderski
Courier Journal

We’ve got more than $13 billion worth of development on board in Louisville.

Sometimes that means we’re getting a new apartment tower, and other times it means we’re getting a Waffle House.

But we’ll get to that Waffle House in a minute.

Downtown and its edge neighborhoods are growing and shifting dramatically.

The interior of the new Odeon music venue and bar at 1335 Story Ave. in Butchertown.

Here’s the scoop on what may have changed since the last time you saw it.   

Downtown Louisville

The Alley Theater has bowed out of downtown, but the gift shop that doubled as its box office is bracing for a dynamic grand re-opening as an artists collective on Oct. 7.

They’re calling it “Drag’ed to Brunch.”

And it’s exactly what it sounds like.

For $30 you can have brunch, see a drag show and celebrate the expanded Awesome Opossum Gifts at 633 W. Main St. Tickets are available here. 

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The owners of the artists consignment shop announced plans this summer to expand from the 550-square-foot retail space into the whole 4,000-square-foot theater. They’ll use the extra space to expand their retail options, provide studio space for artists and host events.

El Taco Luchador will open at 500 W. Jefferson St. on Aug. 30.

A few blocks away, Taco Luchador made a splash earlier this month when it began serving tacos and tortas out of the empty Zoe’s Kitchen at Fifth and Jefferson street.

They’ve got a happy hour, by the way — $10 pitchers of margaritas, $2 domestic and $3 import beers from 3-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. They’re launching a breakfast menu, too.

And while we're on the topic of breakfast, let's get back to that Waffle House I mentioned.

It’s heading for 209 S. First St. The sit-down diner chain purchased that site in May 2017, and we're getting closer to waffles. Commercial building permits for the renovation and the parking lot were filed late last month.

Portland

Louisville’s largest neighborhood has seen quite a bit of movement lately.

Portland Video, which has been renting entertainment to the area for more than 30 years, has closed its iconic orange building at 2615 Portland Ave. That’s been a trend we’ve seen nationwide as more movies are streamed online.

There’s another trend, though, that’s hitting Portland, and this one has to do with writing rather than watching.

The Young Authors Greenhouse is bringing an imaginative retail store and writing tutoring mash-up inspired by 826 National to the Anchor Building at 2509 Portland Ave. Organizers told the Courier Journal last week that they hope to have the center, which is themed with underwater research lab and hot air balloons, open in the spring.

Meanwhile, Louisville Literary Arts, a nonprofit that focuses on educating adult writers and connecting them with one another and with published authors, is opening its first office space at 1512 Portland Ave., in Portland Point behind McQuixote Books & Coffee.

A full service bar is being built at the new Tim Faulkner Gallery in Smoketown. 7/6/18

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It’s an organization that’s been around since the founding of the InKY Reading Series in 2004. Louisville Literary Arts will offer writing workshops in the new office space, but it’ll also host meet-up style events in the coffee shop and Portland Point's new record store when it opens.

Speaking of which, the owners of Rocinante Records tell me they hope to celebrate their grand opening next month. Mickey Ball, a co-owner of McQuixote, and Danny Seim are building a small but well-curated collection of records to be sold behind the coffee and bookstore. 

This is all happening in the building that was home to the Tim Faulkner Gallery until this spring. The gallery and event venue packed its bags for Smoketown earlier this year, right near the neighborhood's borders with Shelby Park, Germantown and Paristown Pointe.

The re-imagined gallery and its Stopline bar opened at 991 Logan St., last month.

Butchertown

The Crossfit craze is coming to Butchertown.

Next month the practice — which involves a combination of weightlifting, gymnastics, running, rowing and a variety of other practical movements — will move into a space behind Play nightclub.

The gym will have its own entrance on Buchanan Street, but it’s 8,000-square feet that, until now,  has gone largely unnoticed.

And while we’re in the business of noticing things, let me direct your attention around the corner to Odeon at 1335 Story Ave.

Odeon in Butchertown:Bar and music venue Odeon is a blend of nostalgia and modern technology

The living room-like bar and music venue, which opened earlier this year, has a solid happy hour menu and entertainment line-up. 

The real attraction though? The jarringly delightful, funky shag green carpet that covers the second floor.

It’s like drinking in your grandmother’s basement – if your grandmother’s basement also had a superb cocktail menu.

City Living reporter Maggie Menderski covers retail, restaurants and development in downtown and its nearby urban neighborhoods. Reach Maggie at 502-582-7137 or cityliving@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @MaggieMenderski. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/maggiem.