I’m often asked by both diners and restaurateurs: Can Louisville sustain all these new restaurants opening?
Who knows?
Fernando and Cristina Martinez announced the launch of OLE Restaurant Group today.
What’s certain is restaurateurs keep opening up new eateries despite knowing even well-established places struggling to be profitable. Tis a brave soul who enters this game.
Which brings me to Fernando Martinez, chef and co-owner of the brand-new Guaca-Mole Cocina Mexicana. He announced on his Facebook page today that he and biz partners Christina Martinez (his wife) and cousin Yaniel Martinez are forming OLE Restaurant Group, which stands for “Oh, Let’s Eat”.
According to the post, “Under this group we are planning to open a Cuban restaurant, a tapas restaurant, and a Latin American churrascaria (steak house).”
Wow, just three weeks after opening Guaca-Mole, he’s on the path to do more. One veteran chef I talked to this morning—a big fan of Martinez’s cooking, I should add—said to me, “And you watch
Fernando, he’ll do it and do it well.”
And as if the number of restaurants opening must somehow balance with those that close … there are two new ones to announce: The Bodega (in NuLu), which closed last week, and Buckhead Mountain Grill (on Westport Road in Louisville), which closed today.
Ironically, previous tenants at each failed before: Melillo’s and The Winery at the Bodega site; and Rocky’s Sub Pub at the Buckhead site.
Bad locations? Nope. Look around each property to see how many others are doing well. Lots of chains are killing it near that Buckhead, and lots of indies are doing well on Market.
Ultimately, what usually kills restaurants is they don’t make money either through bad management, lack of customer traffic or both. Nuff said.
Let’s hope those employees find work soon.
Run for the Rosé, a Derby Week tradition for 32 years, is no more.
A discussion of the event’s demise on LouisvilleHotbytes’s forum points to declining attendance and a lack of big name sponsor to pay for it.
This is sad because it was the only contest in town for restaurant servers to show their tray-handling skills—and how often do you see tray service any more?
I was never fond other restaurant employees being allowed in because it did nothing to ensure the best competed against the best, but hey, it wasn’t my contest.
That attendance declined … let’s face it. It wasn’t terribly interesting to watch once your teammate or fellow employee was done—and even then it wasn’t exactly riveting. Plus, I can’t imagine those not connected to the industry gave much of a hoot about it, so where was the audience coming from?
Still, I’m sorry to see it go. It was neat while it lasted.
Steve Coomes is a Louisville restaurant industry veteran turned food writer. In his 22-year career, he has edited and written for dozens of national trade and consumer publications including Nation's Restaurant News and Southern Living. A past restaurant critic and food feature writer for Louisville magazine, he pens features for ...
