Access Louisville

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...

We talk strategy with the CEO of a popular Louisville attraction on this week's Access Louisville podcast. DeVone Holt has been at the helm of the Muhammad Ali Center, as president and CEO since September . He's the first in the organization’s history to hail from Louisville. On the show he talks about how he plans to both foster local relationships and expand the organization's rea...

The bourbon news doesn't seem to stop flowing. We chat about a major strategy change for Louisville-based distiller Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF-A, BF-B) on this week's Access Louisville podcast. The discussion was spurred by the recent news that the company, which owns Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester and other spirits brands, is laying off 12% of its global workforce...

We chat about what's next for the bourbon industry on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Specifically, LBF Bourbon Reporter Stephen P. Schmidt is on the show to talk about the coming year for the industry. Schmidt recently talked to several people in the industry for a two-part story on the year ahead in this signature Kentucky space. He heard a little bit of everything from speculat...

We've open up our crystal ball, blew on the circuit board and put it back together. Surely, now, we're ready to predict the future.  As we have the last few years, we start another year of the Access Louisville podcast by making predictions for what we think will happen in the area over the next 12 months.  We tackle a large range of topics in our predictions — construction, sports, busi...

If only we had a crystal ball. In the last several years, the team at LBF's Access Louisville podcast have developed an end-of-the-year tradition where we sit down and try to predict what might happen the next year. In this week's episode, we revisit predictions we made for 2024 — and it was a mixed bag on what we got right and wrong. Some of the things we covered include Racing Louisvil...

We catch up with a major Louisville nonprofit on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Tamera Reif, senior director of Housing Services at Volunteers of America Mid-States, is on this week's show to talk about a number of ongoing projects with the organizaiton. She spends her days in the world of residential homeless and housing work — a key issue affecting Louisville in recent years. S...

We've got a classic restaurant news update on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Reporter Michael L. Jones is on the show to tell us about Byrdie's . James Beard-nominated Chef Jenner Tomaska and his wife and business partner Katrina Bravo opened Byrdie’s, a new French-inspired bistro, in Louisville’s NuLu neighborhood on Thursday, Dec. 12. Byrdie's is on the first floor of...

How important is a proposed $250M development around Louisville Slugger Field? We chat about that on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Reporter Joel Stinnett initially reported on this project, on Dec. 2. and is on this week's show to share a few insights and details about it. The Louisville Sports Entertainment District would be a 500,000-square-foot mix of housing, retail, hospita...

After some struggles years ago, Louisville-based Rainbow Blossom has a great last few years.  Rainbow Blossom, an independent chain of natural food markets that specializes in natural grocery, body care and health and wellness products, just opened a new East End location a few months ago . It also made LBF's Fast 50 list of growing companies in Louisville in this year, with revenue rising 18...

We go over all the latest restaurant news on this week's Access Louisville podcast. LBF Reporter Michael L. Jones is on the show to tell us about several interesting developments.  Notably, Jones shares the story of Frank Faris, who formerly owned Genny's Diner and today is behind the Frickled Pickle Express food truck. Jones, who has reported on the restaurant scene in Louisville for ma...

This week on the Access Louisville podcast, we chat about the Givaudan Sense Colour explosion that shook the city on Tuesday, Nov. 12.  Two people were killed in the explosion, which took place at 901 Payne Street.  On the show we talked about the atmosphere in the newsroom the day it happened and some of the fallout, including damage to surrounding homes and business. And we discuss past violatio...

A couple recent real estate deals allow plans for a proposed 27-story tower to move forward.  And we chat about those transactions on this week's Access Louisville podcast.  LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett is on the show to talk about New York City-based Zyyo's latest moves toward building the facility, as it has closed deals to purchase 140, 138 and 136 W. Market Sts., according to de...

Louisville is getting a new international grocery store — which got us talking about the market's needs on this week's Access Louisville podcast. LBF Reporter Joel Stinnett joins the show this week to tell us about Saraga International Grocery, which has signed a lease and will open its first area store at 200 N. Hurstbourne Parkway inside The Forum Center . This was formerly the site of...

After some struggles years ago, Louisville-based Rainbow Blossom has a great last few years.  Rainbow Blossom, an independent chain of natural food markets that specializes in natural grocery, body care and health and wellness products, just opened a new East End location a few months ago . It also made LBF's Fast 50 list of growing companies in Louisville in this year, with revenue rising 18...

Like many communities, Louisville has a shortage of teachers. We talk about efforts to address it on this week's Access Louisville podcast.  Rowan Claypool, founder and CEO of Teach Kentucky, is on the show to talk about his organization's work. Founded in 2003, Teach Kentucky aims to help college graduates launch their teaching careers in Louisville’s public schools. The organization ha...