New grocery stores, shops, distilleries, hotels and more opening around Louisville in 2024

Louisville continues to grow and evolve as the city has seen dozens of new developments in the past few years, many aimed at entertainment, tourism and retail, including projects like Derby City Gaming Downtown, Hotel Genevieve, and Cedar Creek Crossing.

Nearly 20 such projects are expected to be completed in 2024, including numerous hotels, distilleries, and distillery expansions, sports complexes, and more.

Take a look below at new developments and others that are on the way or were announced in 2024. We will update this list as the year unfolds.

Know one we missed? Send a note to [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

Locations that opened in 2024

1. Publix, 2500 Terra Crossing Blvd. ― The popular Florida-based supermarket opened its first Kentucky location in far eastern Jefferson County on Jan. 10. Construction on the nearly 56,000-square-foot supermarket, near the intersection of Old Henry Road and Interstate 264, started in the summer of 2022.

2. Paul's Fruit Market, 4990 U.S. 42 ― This new location of the family-owned specialty grocer opened in late February. The company closed its location at 4946 Brownsboro Road, citing a need for more space for products and parking.

3. Puttshack, 7900 Shelbyville Road — Puttshack, an "upscale, tech-infused mini golf experience," opened in March at the Oxmoor Center, at 7900 Shelbyville Road. It occupies a 25,000-square-foot space inside the mall with an outdoor patio that can seat up to 56 people, a private event space, and two full-service bars.

4. South Seas miniature golf, 1301 Story Ave. — South Seas, a tiki- and Southern California-inspired bar and restaurant in Butchertown added a nine-hold mini-golf course to its space. The nine-hole golf course contained within the existing two-story building opened in April.

5. Tempo by Hilton hotel, 710 E. Jefferson St. — A six-story, 130-room hotel opened on the northern end of the Phoenix Hill neighborhood, near NuLu. This Hilton-brand hotel opened in early May just ahead of Kentucky Derby 150. Later this summer, Moonsong Café and High Stakes Grill, a full-service rooftop restaurant, are set to open this summer.

6. Five Iron Golf, 836 E. Market St. — A Louisville location of the New York City-based indoor golf and entertainment company opened in April in NuLu. It features 10 golf simulators, a bar, and food menu highlighting sharable options.

7. Iroquois Park sports complex courts, 1000 Amphitheater Road ― Six tennis courts at Iroquois Park were renovated and turned into four pickleball courts, two new tennis courts, and a futsal court, which opened in May.

8. Progress Park, 4501 Progress Blvd. — This 12-acre glamping resort in the Buechel neighborhood added a 10,000-square-foot event center that allows for events year-round. The expansion opened in June.

Developments anticipated in 2024

1. AHOY, the Adventure House of You Children's Museum, 2308 Portland Ave. ― AHOY is a progressive addition to the Portland Museum focused on creating an immersive, experiential children’s space. AHOY will include outdoor play areas as well as indoor play areas within a renovated Victorian property adjacent to the Portland Museum. It's expected to break ground in 2024.

2. Aldi/ Citadel Self Storage, 200 Juneau Drive — Aldi and a storage facility are slated to open on the site of the former East Government Center off Shelbyville Road in Middletown sometime in 2024. The 22,000-square-foot grocery store will be situated on the east side of the site, currently a parking lot for the former library and government center. A mixed-use building ― containing 4,400 square feet of first-floor retail and office space with two additional floors of climate-controlled storage units ― would be located on the western side of the property, where the old government building still stands.

3. Angel's Envy Distillery, 418 E. Main St. — Angel's Envy recently announced a second expansion, which will add 60,000 square feet across the street from its Louisville Main Street flagship headquarters, complete with a proposed pedway connecting the two buildings. The first expansion was completed in 2022, added five tasting rooms, and doubled its annual guest capacity.

4. BJ's Wholesale Club, 4801 Outer Loop — A BJ's Wholesale Club is coming to Jefferson Mall. The Massachusetts-based warehouse store company is set to build its first location in Kentucky on the site of the former Sears department store anchor of the mall. The one-story, 103,100-square-foot “retail center” will include a fuel center. Construction is set to begin in 2024 with an opening set for early 2025.

5. Brough Brothers Distillery, 1250 River Road — More than a year in the planning stages, a new venture from Brough Brothers Distillery along River Road is aiming for an April opening. The Louisville-based, Black-owned distillery plans to start construction in January on its second Louisville location which will have rentable rooms for events, retail space, an outdoor game yard, and a full bar open throughout the week. Distillery tours will be offered on-site, as well.

6. Derby City Hotel, 133 W. Market St. — This 168-room, $60 million six-story hotel will operate under the Canopy by Hilton brand. Plans for a hotel at the site have been in the works since 2019. It will join a nearby Aloft hotel that opened in 2015 and a Cambria that opened in 2021. The Derby City Hotel will have a ground-floor restaurant, as well as a rooftop bar and eatery. It's slated to open in the latter half of the year.

7. The Fresh Market, 4055 Summit Plaza Drive — A location of The Fresh Market grocery store is planned for the Paddock Shops off Brownsboro Road. The Fresh Market, founded and based in North Carolina, operates 160 stores across 22 states, including Kentucky. It's slated to open in fall 2024.

8. Hampton Inn & Suites Oxmoor, 400 Bullitt Lane ― A new hotel is opening next to Oxmoor Center in 2024. It will have five floors with 111 rooms — 69 standard rooms and 42 suites — an indoor pool and a small meeting space.

9. Heaven's Door Spirits, 600 E. Market St. ― Heaven's Door Spirits, co-founded by singing-songwriting legend Bob Dylan, is set to open a brand center in NuLu in 2024. Called The Last Refuge, the space will include a restaurant, whiskey bar and live music venue housed within the former Refuge of Kentucky Church. As of May, parts of the attraction were operating with limited hours, with a full opening targeted for summer.

10. MaybeItsFate, 1425 Story Ave. ― MaybeItsFate, "an inclusive and unpretentious community cultivating an art gallery, social club and gateway to the artistic sub-cultures of Louisville," filed plans to complete renovations and additions to the three-story building that will ultimately boast a public art gallery and a members-only social club. It is expected to open sometime in 2024.

11. Pickle and Social, 8100 Lyndon Park Lane ― Pickle and Social is coming to Louisville by the fall of 2024. The chain of pickleball-centered hangout spots will be situated on sprawling four acres in Lyndon. Pickle and Social will have 14 pickleball courts, with nine that are indoor climate-controlled, three outdoors, and two covered by pavilions. Yard games, including cornhole, will be available as well.

12. Rainbow Blossom, 4946 Brownsboro Road — A planned sixth location of the locally owned grocer is set to open in summer 2024 at the space formerly held by Paul's Fruit Market. The new storefront is expected to sell organic produce, grocery and wellness products, gifts, supplements and prepared meals.

13. Retail hub on Zorn Avenue, 1041 Zorn Ave. — A 60,000-plus square-foot retail hub is planned for Zorn Avenue just off River Road. The development is set to include retail, office, and restaurant space spread over multiple buildings, according to plans filed with Louisville Metro's Planning and Design Services. Construction has yet to get underway at the site at 1041 Zorn Ave. and no completion date is noted, though commercial foundation and new construction permits were recently filed with the city.

14. Rhinestone, 1004 Barret Ave. — Rhinestone, a tequila-forward bar, situated inside a mixed-use space, is planned for a growing commercial stretch in Germantown. Local mortgage broker Todd Mercier, along with business partner and longtime friend Bobby Blair, are re-developing the building, built in 1936, into a mixed-use concept to include both the bar and office space sometime in 2024.

15. Wawa, 1354 Veterans Parkway (Clarksville, Indiana), 9650 Preston Crossing Boulevard, 4314 Bardstown Road — The popular convenience store chain Wawa is setting up shop in several spots in Kentucky and surrounding areas, including Clarksville, Indiana. These sites will be under construction in 2024 and will include a convenience store and fuel station and are set to open in the late second quarter of 2025.

Projects announced in 2024

1. NuLu Marketplace expansion, 808-814 E. Main St. — NuLu Marketplace, the collection of eateries, offices, short-term lodging and retail in the 800 block of East Main and East Market streets, is getting an addition. A new construction three-story, 47,000-square-foot building is planned along Main Street. It will feature a similar tenant mix as the original marketplace and is set to open by the first quarter of 2026.

*2. Unnamed boutique hotel, 1140 Cherokee Road — The former Highland United Methodist Church in the Highlands is slated to become a 26-room boutique hotel with preservation of the building's exterior and sanctuary a priority, according to project developer Star Auerbach. Attached to the century-old church is a 1960s educational building addition in which Auerbach plans to locate the bulk of the 26 guest rooms, spread across its three floors. With the project still pending some key city approvals, Auerbach anticipates construction to start sometime this summer and last a year.

3. Unnamed boutique hotel, 726, 730, 734, 736, S. 7th St. and 707 York St. — The southeast corner of the 700 block of Seventh Street between Broadway and York Street would become a 2-story, 48-room boutique hotel, according to a development application filed in mid-January with Louisville Metro Planning and Design Services. The proposed hotel would have a nearly 27,000-square-foot footprint. Surface parking is included in a site plan submitted as part of the filing.

4. Kroger grocery, retail and housing development, 6803-6805 Beulah Church Road — The estimated $100 million development south of Interstate 265 has been approved by Louisville Metro Council to be developed into hundreds of residential units, retail and dining offerings, and a Kroger Marketplace and fuel center.

5. Unnamed mixed-use concept, 18th and Jefferson streets — The retail hub that caught fire in 2022 is being built back up. The new vision is a two-story, mixed-use structure that will feature eight retail spaces on the first level and four to five apartments on the second level. The project anticipates breaking ground later this year.

6. Sunday School Distillery, 629 E. Market St. — A new distillery project is planned for NuLu along Market Street. Developers plan to renovate the building's interior and add a new nearly 4,900-square-foot addition to the rear.

7. South Campbell/East Jefferson streets hotel, 901 E. Jefferson St. — A 123-room hotel from a major brand is planned for the NuLu district, though details were few as of spring 2024 when the project was announced by local developer Mo Deljoo.

8. Sons of the American Revolution Education Center and Museum, 809 W. Main St. — The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution will open a Revolutionary War museum on Museum Row. The museum and education center is focused on curating an interactive experience for visitors rather than simply showing guests artifacts. The anticipated opening is in 2026 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.

9. Louisville Free Public Library in Fern Creek, 9127 Fern Creek Road — A new 18,000 square-foot library is expected to be built in Fern Creek with an anticipated opening in 2025. The library will be located directly next to Fern Creek High School.

10. Oldham County Public Library, 3000 Paramont Commons, the intersection of KY-1793 and US Hwy 42, Goshen ― Oldham County is moving and upgrading its library, located for the past 40 years inside a repurposed dairy farm at 12505 Harmony Landing Road in Goshen, Kentucky. The new library will have more technology, bigger book collections, outdoor events, larger meeting rooms and study areas, and additional programming. It's expected to open in spring 2025.

* denotes project that was planned in 2023, but publicized in 2024

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Grocery stores, distilleries, hotels opening in Louisville in 2024