Access Louisville

The hard stuff keeps flowing, in spite of potential hard times ahead .   We chat about the latest with the Kentucky Bourbon industry on this week's Access Louisville podcast.  LBF Bourbon Reporter Stephen P. Schmidt is on the show to give us the latest on Chicken Cock Whiskey (yes, they realize they have a funny name.) The bourbon brand built a tasting room in Bardstown a year ago and is now...

Our next live podcast is July 28: Join us as we take look at Louisville's most important development projects. Registration here . Affordable housing is an issue affecting many communities in the country, including Louisville. We get into some of the factors behind it on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Elizabeth Strojan, executive director of the Louisville Metro Housing Authority...

We take a trip to the Hoosier State on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Our discussion revolves around some of the economic goings on in Clark and Floyd counties. LBF recently took a deep dive into trends in the area for a section we called Southern Indiana spotlight. To start, we chat about new home development, which has taken off despite higher interest rates affecting housing afford...

GE Appliances President and CEO Kevin Nolan says a move to bring expanded laundry machine production to Louisville, from China is part of the company's ‘zero-distance’ business strategy. We talk about the move and the strategy with LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett on this week's Access Louisville podcast. As Stinnett reported on Thursday , GE Appliances is spending $490 million to expan...

Louisville's bar scene is a lot to keep up with but we give it our best shot on this week's Access Louisville podcast.  This week Louisville Business First Reporter Michael L. Jones is on the show the share some local bar and restaurant news. We start with a new location for High Horse Bar — which is now in Nulu after leaving space in Butchertown. We recently had Brian Goodwin, a partner...

Jim Allen, vice chairman of Robert W. Baird & Co., is on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Baird is the sponsor of the podcast, but Allen was on the show with LBF Editor-in-Chief Shea Van Hoy to talk about local business as well as other topics.  At the top of the program, Allen tells us about progress since the merger between Hilliard Lyons and Baird. The merger of the two legacy fi...

A handful of significant commercial real estate deals top this week's Access Louisville podcast.  LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett is on this week's show and tells us about the sale of the Brown-Forman Cooperage . As he reported recently. Lebanon, Missouri-based Independent Stave Co. purchased the 16-acre property at 402 MacLean Ave. from Brown-Forman for $13.66 million on May 1, accord...

What's behind the Kroger Co.'s recent push to invest in Louisville? Jake Cannon, Louisville division president for Kroger, is on this week's Access Louisville podcast to explain that and much more. LBF has been reporting on major investments from Kroger in the market during the last few years. In March we had a story about a $1.8 million remodel of the West Broadway location . Befor...

The temporary closure of The Dirty Bird restaurant — which has struggled to obtain a liquor license — tops this week's Access Louisville podcast. The Audubon neighborhood restaurant has garnered attention in part because of the suggestive names on its menu — the appetizers are referred to as "foreplay" and the fish sandwich is called "the hooker," for instance. Fred Pizzon...

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. Follow us on popular podcast services to never miss an episode. A look at the latest happenings in NuLu, a little pickleball, a little golf and even a small restaurant recap. All of the above are topics in a loaded edition of the Access Louisville podcast. LBF Reporter Michael L. Jones is on the show to discuss how Gravely Brewi...

Sarah Worrell, general manager of Kentucky Kingdom Theme and Waterpark joins us on the Access Louisville podcast this week.  On the show, Worrell tells us a bit about what's new at the park, including the newest addition — Discovery Meadow . Discovery Meadow is an $11 million investment (part of $25 million in upgrades overall) and will open May 10. "It's gonna be unlike anything an...

Ford Motor Co. recently showed off the latest iteration of its large Expedition SUV in Louisville. Was the reveal a sign of confidence for the automaker? After all, it gave the company a chance to boast about its high level of domestic production — something important in the wake of a trade war.  We chat about that as well as the auto industry overall on this week's episode of the Access Loui...

What are Louisville's biggest assets and how can we best leverage those? That was recently a topic of discussion on the Access Louisville podcast. We took the weekly LBF show live for a special episode — recorded in front of an audience and with three guests:  Jennifer Barber, office member in charge, Louisville, Frost Brown Todd Scott Catlett, chair, Impetus for a Better Louisville and forme...

UPCOMING EVENT: Access Louisville Live presented by Baird. Be on hand for a live recording of the Access Louisville podcast April 22. Details and registration here. A new pizza joint, a French Bistro and the latest on the brewing scene. All of the above are topics on this week's Access Louisville podcast. LBF Restaurant reporter Michael L. Jones is on the show to tell us about a new St. Matth...

UPCOMING EVENT: Access Louisville Live presented by Baird. Be on hand for a live recording of the Access Louisville podcast April 22. Details and registration here. Sometimes Mother Nature just has our number — and that's certainly been true so far in 2025.  On this week's Access Louisville podcast we discuss the loss of Thunder Over Louisville — which is being canceled this year because...

UPCOMING EVENT: Access Louisville Live presented by Baird. Be on hand for a live recording of the Access Louisville podcast April 22. Details and registration here. Louisville and the surrounding area have seen a bevy of new data center projects announced in the last several months. We discuss what it all means on this week's Access Louisville podcast. The latest news is a $6 billion project...

The city got some surprising news this week with the announcement that Kim Schatzel was out as president of the University of Louisville. What started as a Tuesday night rumor quickly evolved into a close-door meeting of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees on Wednesday. Louisville Business First reporter Michael Jones was at that meeting and shares his insights on the situation on this...

We have a classic restaurant news update on this week's Access Louisville podcast.  LBF Restaurant Reporter Michael L. Jones is on the show to share some of his latest reporting. We start off on the surprising news that Joy Luck has closed its two locations in the area. The Asian fusion eatery, which had locations in the Highlands and on the East End, has been a staple of the local restaurant...

Louisville lost one of its biggest luminaries this week with the passing of Junior Bridgeman. We discuss his passing and share some of our favorite stories about the basketball star turned businessman on this week's Access Louisville podcast.  Bridgeman died at age 71 after suffering a medical emergency during the 45th Annual Leadership Luncheon on Scouting held at the Galt House on March 11....

We get some perspective from a Louisville CEO on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Logan Pichel, president and CEO of Republic Bank & Trust, is on this week's show. ( He also recently made our Power 50 list of the area's most powerful executives.) We cover a little bit of everything including diversity, equity and inclusion , mergers in the banking industry and banking unde...

We chat about a couple of apartment developments in the area on this week's Access Louisville podcast.  But we also discuss why these proposals seem to touch off so much controversy.  Specifically on the show we talk about two apartment development projects: One in a former school house in the Highlands and another near Highlander Point Shopping Center in Floyds Knobs , Indiana.  Through the...

The hits just keep coming for economic development in Louisville — most recently with the news that KFC is leaving town . That's one of five recent examples of some absolutely abysmal economic news coming out of Louisville.  Before that it was Papa John's flight from Louisville to Atlanta . And the news that Humana Inc. is vacating its Main Street tower in Downtown Louisville . You can t...

A big time change coming to U.S. soccer could mean Louisville's best opportunity for a new top-tier sports team. And we chat about it on the Access Louisville podcast.  As LBF reported on Thursday, The United Soccer League is planning to launch a division one professional soccer league which will directly compete with Major League Soccer at the top of the U.S. soccer pyramid. LouCity FC curre...

Does Louisville hate big ideas? We get into that on the Access Louisville podcast. A proposed revamp of the Belvedere is what gets us talking about the topic. Renderings of the project were recently unveiled, which showcase a unique and distinct design, on Louisville's waterfront. The designs were created by London-based Heatherwick Studios, which is also behind the Vessel in New York or Litt...

We chat about several local construction projects on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Topping the discussion is what looks to be a new grocery store at 201 Blankenbaker Parkway . LBF Reporter Joel Stinnett spotted a demolition permit that had been filed to tear down part of the structure there (which used to be home to a Winn-Dixie and Walmart Neighborhood Market) in order to make way f...