NuluFest version 2.0 will be kicking off this weekend on October 2 and plans an action-packed day of “all things local.” Festivities include live music, micro-brewed beers, and food and shopping from local vendors. There are always some great booths to check out to see what’s going on in Louisville. In keeping with the local theme, there are several new local restaurants planned for East Market Street.
Here’s a rundown of what’s in store.
- Harvest Restaurant: One of the most exciting new businesses heading to East Market is Harvest Restaurant, planned by Ivor Chodkowski, Peter Kuhl, and Patrick Kuhl. Harvest was originally slated to open in a renovated building on the corner of Barret Avenue and Christy Avenue in the Original Highlands (photo below), but has recently announced a change of plans to build on East Market’s momentum. Now, the local food restaurant will set up shop in the former Mayan Gypsy space 624 East Market, most recently home to a restaurant incubator space. Food served at Harvest will be grown within 100 miles of Louisville. The group plans to rent out the two retail spaces at their Barret Avenue building and an apartment is already rented.
- Mozz Osteria-Enoteca: One of the most ambitious restaurant projects in recent memory will occupy Primo’s old space in Todd Blue’s Cobalt Marketplace at 455 East Market on the corner of Jackson Street. Â The 10,000 square foot Italian restaurant is the concept of Casa Grisanti’s Michael Cooper and chef Matthew Antonovich. Mozz, short for mozzarella, will feature a large communal table where freshly prepared mozzarella cheese will be served with other organic foods. A more formal enoteca seating 100 is behind a 5,000-bottle wine cabinet and in back, a 200-seat jazz club called the Market Street Bar is planned to offer local and national acts. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also an 80-seat piano bar called the Nulu Lounge as well. Oh, and there’s a deli that will offer lunch. Mozz is planned to open on November 1. Check out more details at Insider Louisville and the C-J.
- Cask 55 & Crush on Market: This ambitious project slated for the old Hausman building on Market & Campbell Streets was announced almost a year ago, and a parking waiver was granted earlier this year, but the project seems slow to the gate. Businessman Mike Schnell plans a wine bar, restaurant, art gallery, and wine shop in various parts of the one- and two-story complex. It was originally scheduled to open Spring 2010.
- Tilia Restaurant: Another oldie that I’m a little unsure about progress. Tilia takes the place of closed Melillo’s at the Felice Vineyards complex across the street from the Hausman Building and will offer northern Italian fare. Anyone know the latest on either of these projects?
- More? Rumors are flying about other planned projects on East Market Street. We’re working on a few tips and will bring you the full stories when enough details become available. Â In the meantime, feel free to chat about Nulu business in the comments.
So head on over to East Market Street on October 2 to check out all the activity of one of the city’s most dynamic streets and contender for title of restaurant row.
Here’s an interview by kyGREENtv with Harvest’s Ivor Chodkowski on the importance of farming in Kentucky and the value of local foods.
http://youtu.be/F_xxia3wiks
Founder and Editor at Broken Sidewalk
Branden founded Broken Sidewalk in 2008 while practicing architecture in Louisville. He continued the site for seven years while living in New York City, returning to Louisville in 2016. Branden is a graduate of the College of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, and has covered architecture, design, and urbanism for The Architect's Newspaper, Designers & Books, Inhabitat, and the American Institute of Architects.
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Thanks for the shout out about my Brothers’ venture with Ivor.
For those of you interested, here is a link to their Facebook site if you want to kept current on what’s happening with Harvest Restaurant:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Louisville-KY/Harvest-Restaurant-Louisville/106955386003484
What is new with the wood fired pizza place planned for the SE corner of Clay and Market Streets, in the old gas station? They did start on interior demolition a month or so ago but seem to have stopped. There is still a large dumpster in the front.
The “SoHo on Main” condo project will be offering tours. Website: http://www.sohoonmain.com/ I’m hoping to get down there tomorrow to check it out. I wish they would have kept the orange and green colors, though.
I have to disagree on the color comment. I think painting those condos was a very good move.
Courtney, I agree with you…but does anyone know anything about the SE corner of Clay and Market Streets? That is an important corner of NuLu.
James, as far as I’ve heard, details about that corner are not being made public yet. Suffice it to say, all signs point to a positive development there. I’ll write about it when there’s more info.
Mellilo’s is now the home of JRA Architects.
Wood oven pizza place going into old service station at market and clay. There are now 2 signs at old wayside property (SE corner of main and shelby). One of them is for a restaurant named Please and Thank You and the other is for Analog Records. There is a new gallery open next to the Gebhart & Marshall gallery. Tilia at Bodega building not happenning, space is occupied by an architecture firm. Crush on Market has been pushed back due to economy and chef problems. The remodel of the Condos at Main and Clay is pitiful, the project went from an exciting design that took risks to looking like a cheap hotel with no landscaping on the 12 ft wide concrete sidewalks out front. If there is a worst remodeling job contest on Broken Sidewalk this project wins the award.
Stumbled upon a new restaurant to be during Nulu Fest called Decca. They will be ready next spring and will have California inspired food as well as an outside patio and art gallery space. It will be in the wayside building that has the “bubble window.” when I asked about crush on market rumor was it is now set to open next fall.
@Quagmire – So true about the former Legacy Lofts on Main (at Clay). The current owners have butchered the original design. Looks more like an extended stay motel in the suburbs. Wonder what they did with the forward looking heating and cooling systems that were going to move the development towards being more carbon neutral.
I agree, the SoHo project is uninspiring. I guess that’s what you get from a shopping center developer. From the boring and overused non-Louisville name, to the now bland look of the place, the whole redevelopment lacks imagination. I hope they do put some large plant containers on the sidewalks to at least add a natural element to the streetscape.
Did anyone tour the place? I’d like to hear a critique on the interior.
I’m always a bit perturbed when businesses use New York references to confer cachet on their products, so the SoHo name does bother me. Still, I am pleased with the work done here. I think when the whole project is finished, it will be a welcome addition to the area. They had a booth at the NuLu Festival and I asked about the trees. The woman said it was easier just to pave the whole sidewalk and then cut in the holes for the trees, which is what they are going to do.
The pictures of the interior patio area look pleasant, and the new color will last. I was excited back when I saw the original orange and green, but now I’m realizing how dated such a look might become – like The 800 Building.
It’s not exactly clear if they held onto all the original ideas (though apparently the original construction itself was pretty shoddy), but they do claim to be, well, ‘eco-chic’- so they paying some lip-service at least to greenness.
I went to Taste of Innovation at the IdeaFestival and was pleased to see that Crush had a booth there. The project may be a bit stalled, but it’s not dead.
I’d like to say, go easy on the “I guess that’s what you get from a shopping center developer”. This is exactly the type of project in which we want more developers (suburban or otherwise). While the color is not bold or “imaginative”, it might be what buyers want. I hope so, because I hope the developers make money and continue to invest in projects in our urban core.
True JC, prehaps I was a little harsh.
Nulufest returns September 24, 2011! http://nulufest.com/
Anybody know what is going on with the building on the corner of East Market and Shelby next to the Beer Store? A new place of business perhaps?