From Tiki-themed mini golf to a distillery, 3 projects opening in Butchertown this year

Just to the east of downtown and near the quickly developing NuLu district, the Butchertown neighborhood is continuing to evolve from its industrial and manufacturing roots.

Stretching from the Ohio River to Main Street and from Interstate 65 to Mellwood Avenue and Beargrass Creek, Butchertown has long been known for the meatpacking industry that set up shop there in the 1800s.

A slew of new projects are in the works for the neighborhood, some slated to debut this year. Here are some developments, in alphabetical order, to watch in 2024.

Brough Brothers Distillery River Road location

1250 River Road, broughbrothers.com

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, a distillery "very focused on the public" near Waterfront Park, said Victor Yarbrough, chief executive officer.

“It’s going to be something that people in the park … can come by and get a drink or enjoy some outdoor music as well as many types of events.”

With his brothers Chris and Bryson, Victor Yarbrough opened to the public the first Black-owned distillery in Louisville, Brough Brothers Distillery, in the summer of 2020 at 1460 Dixie Highway.

Unlike its Dixie Highway facility, which is largely production-focused, the River Road location will be geared toward the public.

Yarbrough is taking a warehouse building at 1250 River Road — owned by public agency Waterfront Development Corporation — and building out various rooms for both production and public-facing uses.

“We needed to expand, and this is a way to expand production capacity seven-fold,” he said, adding that “the full gamut of distilling” will be done on one-third of the new site.

Final details are still being worked out, but Yarbrough said the new location 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.

He anticipates opening before the Kentucky Derby, likely sometime in April.

“We feel very enthusiastic about the location,” he said, noting momentum in the immediate area with the 2023 opening of Pig Beach BBQ nearby in Waterfront Park. “Waterfront Development Corporation has been a great partner and we look forward to being able to grow that relationship."

Miniature golf at South Seas restaurant

1301 Story Ave., loutiki.com

A bar and restaurant along Story Avenue is set to expand into the full version its owner originally intended this year.

South Seas, a tiki- and Southern California-inspired bar and restaurant, opened in May 2022. Shawn Cantley, a primary owner of the business along with Richard Rigney, owner of Clarendon Flavors, said he was keen to snag the Butchertown property when it became available after the closure of Hog Father Pizza.

Though he first opened the business with its food and drink components, he always wanted the concept to include miniature golf.

Having more than 8,000 square feet of space, combined with its location further away from a density of NuLu and Butchertown businesses, Cantley knew he wanted to more fully activate his space to be a draw for customers.

“If there’s a soccer game, we’re rocking,” he said, referencing the nearby Lynn Family Stadium. “But if there isn’t a soccer game, you kind of need a pull to come to that part of Butchertown at night, and this will definitely be that.”

A nine-hole golf course contained within the existing two-story building is set to open in February.

“It’s essentially boozy mini golf,” Cantley said. “It’s a super bespoke custom nine-hole golf course that looks like it was made by artisans because it was.”

Weber Group in Sellersburg, Indiana, crafted and brought the course to life. Each hole is themed around a popular tiki drink on the menu, including the Zombie and Mai Tai. The course will reflect the restaurant’s overall mid-century modern Los Angeles aesthetic.

“Think more The Beverly Hilton circa 1960 rather than Disney’s 'Jungle Cruise',” he said.

The downstairs level of the business has been open while the upper level, home to seven of the nine holes, was remodeled last year. A large room on the first floor will hold the final two holes.

“I wanted it to be fun to play, and I wanted it to be challenging,” he said. “Every hole has a makable hole-in-one, but it’s a super challenging hole-in-one, and usually going for the hole-in-one is super risk-reward.”

Cantley is also planning a second phase that would expand the course with nine more holes. This addition would be an enclosable outdoor course in the South Seas parking lot.

Unnamed bar/restaurant concept on Butcher Block

111 N. Wenzel St.

A new business is slated to join an increasingly developed block along Main Street this summer.

Since 2015, Local developer Andy Blieden has transformed multiple buildings on the 100 block of North Wenzel Street and 1000 blocks of East Washington and East Main streets, referred to as Butcher Block. The latest property set to see a big change is 111 N. Wenzel St., which Blieden’s Butcher Block Properties LLC bought in late 2022 for $300,000, deed records show.

He successfully rezoned the 1,350-square-foot single-family home from residential to commercial use last year.

Blieden said a bar and restaurant is soon coming to the space from a new tenant, joining a block that includes Big Nita’s Cheesecakes, Cultured, and Pho Ba Luu, among others.

“The concept will be announced in the next couple of months,” he said, adding he anticipates a summer 2024 opening.

Growth & development reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at [email protected], 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: South Seas mini-golf, Brough Brothers Distillery to open in Butchertown