Access Louisville: Heart of the City: Our next live podcast is 4 p.m. Feb. 5. Join us as we talk about development within Louisville's urban core with Lee Weyland, of Core Real Estate, Hank Hillebrand, of the Poe Cos., and Rebecca Fleischaker, of the Louisville Downtown Partnership. Details and registration here.

We've unplugged our crystal ball, waited five minutes, then plugged it back in. 

Surely, now, we'll be able to see 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, business trends, bourbon and more. You'll have to listen in on your favorite podcast streaming app to hear all of them but here are just a few to give you a taste: 

• Greater Louisville Inc. will change its name. It's role and collaboration with Louisville Economic Development Authority is being reconsidered, after all.
• We'll see 10 or more homes sold at greater than $2 million. They have been steadily climbing, including with one coming in around $7 million recently.
• AC/DC will headline Louder than Life this year? We're all hoping that one is true for the major music festival. 
• A deal will be struct to move JBS Swift out of Butchertown. The neighborhood has changed and developed a lot in the last decade.
• We've even got a few political predictions. (A gubernatorial bid for Sen. Robert Stivers, perhaps?)
• Also, more bankruptcies in the bourbon industry? There have been a few in recent years after all.

Keep in mind these are just predictions based on familiarity with trends and stories in the area. 

The predictions show is a favorite Access Louisville tradition. On this week's show we also look back at the predictions we made around this time last year to see what we got right and what we got wrong.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. It's available on popular podcast services, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Against the Grain wound down its operations at Louisville Slugger Field in late December.

This week on the Access Louisville podcast, we chat with Sam Cruz, one of the founders of the brewery, about the closure and what's next for the Louisville beer brand.The company had been at Louisville Slugger Field for 14 years. It announced the closure in a Facebook post recently, saying its lease at the ballpark is expiring and it has opted not to renew. The restaurant’s last day was Tuesday, Dec. 23.

Losing the space is like letting go of a "living memory," Cruz tells us on the show. But he's not sad about it.

"Its hard to be sad about evolution," he said. "Life changes. Our company and us as people we've grown and evolved and the restaurant has kinda run its course. It's time to look beyond that. I felt really comfortable ... being able to land the plane as oppose to holding on and potentially crashing at some point." 

In recent years, Cruz and business partner Jerry Gnagy bought out two previous partners in Against the Grain, and those two partners had been handling the restaurant side of the business, Cruz said. The brewery has had a production facility in Portland for about a decade now. 

With the previous partners out and the alcohol industry as a whole in decline, Against the Grain has been working on a pivot toward production. In particular, they've been working on diversifying their abilities as a production company for different beverages. 

"We could do soda or we could do a packaged water. We're going to get into coffees and products like that. So the future for us is over the next year at the very least is building on that portfolio of contract clients that we have," he tells us.

You can hear the full interview during the episode.  

Against the Grain closed its Highlands Public House in August 2024, citing a challenging lease renewal and shifting neighborhood economics. 

In 2022, it shuttered the Sandwich Emporium Downtown and parted with The Whirling Tiger music venue in Butchertown, later sold to new operators. Earlier this year we reported the company launched a new line of THC beverages called ZAZA. The brand is available in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, and regionally in the Chicago-area.

Against the Grain is the second-largest brewer of beer in Metro Louisville with 5,000 barrels produced locally last year. 

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, which are linked above. You can also listen in the player above.

A deal that would see the Humana Building, at 500 W. Main Street, redeveloped as a large hotel, seems to be cooking behind the scenes.

LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett broke the story recently and joins us on the Access Louisville podcast to tell us about what he's learned. 

As reported on Dec. 12, Louisville-based Poe Cos. is in the planning stages to convert the 26-story Humana Building into a 1,000-room hotel, according to multiple sources familiar with the project. The tower is located at 500 W. Main St., near Louisville's Belvedere, Museum Row and the KFC Yum Center. 

To reach 1,000 rooms, an additional tower may be constructed behind the existing tower, near or where The Exchange office space and Vincenzo's restaurant now sit, according to at least one source. The existing tower would be converted to house the majority of the rooms, the sources said.

On the show, Stinnett tells us how his reporting on the matter came together, other projects the Poe Cos. has in the works and what the needs look like with hotels in Downtown Louisville. We also go over what might happened next. 

Later in the show we chat about the landscape for electric vehicles going forward. 

This is in the wake of the news that Ford is pulling back on EV plans, dissolving its battery manufacturing venture with SK On (called BlueOvalSK) and repurposing its recently opened battery manufacturing facility in Glendale, Kentucky. As part of the repurposing, BlueOvalSK is laying off all its Glendale workers. A Ford subsidiary plans to takeover the plant and repurpose it for battery energy storage. 

It's a complicated situation for the automaker being as it just announced a new manufacturing platform at Louisville Assembly Plant in August in support of a new midsize EV pickup truck with a $30,000 price tag (low for the EV market.) Plans for that truck are still on, Ford says.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Louisville got a major economic development announcement recently with the news that multinational tech giant Foxconn is opening up a facility here — but it does raise some questions.

We talk about what we know — and what we don't know— on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and other officials announced on Tuesday, Dec. 9, that Foxconn Technology USA Corp. — the American subsidiary of Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd. — would invest $173 million to launch a manufacturing operation in Jefferson County, creating 180 full-time jobs. 

In a news release, Beshear called it the company's first U.S. manufacturing operation, but that doesn't appear to be the case. 

The other main question we're wrestling with is what products are going to be made at Foxconn's local facility, which is planned at 6675 Randy Coe Lane. 

The company has not confirmed anything officially, though there are some hints.

The Foxconn discussion is just one part of the podcast this week. 

We also chat about closure of Angel's Selfie Museum, located near the KFC Yum Center just off Whiskey Alley. We discuss our recent coverage on how immigration policy changes are impacting the workforce. And we talk about a new golf simulator, Five Iron Golf, which opened in Downtown Louisville.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

We've got a classic restaurant news update on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

We start things off by talking about Mashup Food Hall, which opened its doors at 750 E. Jefferson St. recently. Part of the $115 million NuLu Yard development from Weyland Ventures, Mashup Food Hall is home to six local vendors, including Dipped & Drizzled and Mable’s Southern Kitchen, Barcelona Bistro Bar, 721 Mint It! Herb & Juice Bar, Nexus Bar Bites (formerly Happy Belly Bistro), Wiltshire Pantry Bakery & Café and Cold Stone Bagels.

We also talk about a couple of recent closures around town, including Fizz District in Crescent Hill and OutCast Fish & Oyster Bar in New Albany. 

We also hear about a new location for Maya Bagel Express, a New York-style bagel restaurant, which opened at 2513 Preston Highway on the edge of Germantown. The more than 3,000-square-foot space was previously occupied by a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant that closed in August.

Following a break, LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett gives us a break down on the state of Downtown office space. CBRE’s November Downtown Louisville SkyView report shows there is more than 1.8 million square feet of vacant space inside Downtown towers, representing a 40.2% direct vacancy rate, up from 35% one year ago.

After that, Reporter Olivia Estright tells us about Actors Theatre's plan to bring back its classic, "A Christmas Carol" this year. And Reporter Michael L. Jones tells us about the newly renovated Portland Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. 

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A potential revamp of the Belvedere, along Louisville's waterfront, has been a big priority for Mayor Craig Greenberg. And it's a topic that got a lot of people talking thanks to a bold early design (which has now been abandoned.) 

We get an in-depth update on the project this week on the Access Louisville podcast via an interview with Layla George, who's managing the reimagining effort.

In an interview with LBF Editor-in-Chief Shea Van Hoy, George talks about what she's heard from the public since that initial design from Heatherwick Studio came out early this year. People had strong opinions about it, but as she explains, the idea has been scrapped because of the structural work it would have required. Now project officials are looking at what's next for the site.

"There's so much potential to the site that's untapped right now," she said. "We are long overdue for Belvedere version 3.0." 

Those behind the project have certain amenities they want to see up there, she explains — a covered stage, shade, seating, a walking path and a better, more accessible connection to the Ohio River.

A new design is currently under development and could be released by February. Officials are working through the cost estimates before releasing new designs, she said. 

George said she visited around 50 parks and public spaces in cities across the country for design inspiration. Interestingly, though, many places that featured beautiful landscape design were empty. And so, she explains on the show "success really looks like a lot of people using the space, all the time." 

Two strong examples from her travels she shouted out were Klyde Warren Park in Dallas and Discover Green in Houston. They were both of which were packed during times where no special events were going on — just daily life, she explained.

"Those two parks were models for me. After seeing that, I thought, we can absolutely do that at the Belvedere." 

You can hear more in the interview itself. Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, which are linked above. You can also listen in the player above.

We cover several interesting happenings around town this week on the Access Louisville podcast — including a nearly $36 million development that's under way in the Portland neighborhood. 

LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett was on hand earlier this week for the ground breaking of Liminal, located at 1416-1426 Lytle Street.  Antecedent Development and its partners are working on the project, which aims to transform historic warehouses into 138 apartments and 20,000 square feet of commercial space. The development joins other major investments in Portland, pushing total revitalization efforts beyond $100 million.

We discuss the distinctive look and feel of the project and its potential impact on the neighborhood. 

After that we talk about plans from Louisville-based Texas Roadhouse Inc. to replace its very first Louisville store, near Outer Loop, with an updated and more modern space nearby.

Reporter Olivia Estright is on the show as well to talk about a couple stories that she has been working on this week, including the closure of two restaurants in New Albany, Indiana. The owner was trying out a plan for dual concepts in a space on State Street, but it didn't take, she explains. 

Estright also discusses the relocation of Mahonia, a plant shop that's moved from NuLu to St. Matthews. A big road construction project in NuLu was one of the reasons for the moves, she explained.

After a break, Reporter Stephen P. Schmidt jumps on to chat about the United Soccer League, of which Louisville City FC is a part. As we've reported before the USL is launching a new top tier Division I, which will have a system of relegation and promotion. Soccer fans in the US have bemoaned the lack of such a system in Major League Soccer, so the new league is drawing plenty of interest. 

Schmidt recently penned a story in which he offers his take on what the league will look like when it launches in 2028. And that story is getting some traction with soccer fans nationally. 

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

We chat about a few new restaurants to check out around town, plus a few high-profile closures on this week's Access Louisville podcast. 

To start off the show, we discuss the long-rumored return of Papalinos, a Highlands pizza joint that closed more than a decade ago but everyone remembers fondly. 

As of Nov. 10, it's back, this time at 1022 Clarks Lane, explains LBF Restaurant Reporter Michael L. Jones. Original chef Allan Rosenberg along with notable restaurant owner Fred Pizzonia are behind the revival, which replaces The Dirty Bird, a chicken and bluegrass restaurant also co-owned by the pair as well. This is actually one of a few moves the pair are making with their restaurants, which Jones goes over on the show (you can also read more in the link above.)

After that, Digital Editor Zak Owens is on the show to talk about the demise of Against the Grain's flagship restaurant at Louisville Slugger Field. 

Founders Jerry Gnagy and Sam Cruz said the decision was driven by the end of the lease term and a desire to focus more fully on the company’s beverage manufacturing operations. 

“The last 14 years have been a blast-and-a-half with so many great people … It’s all been a heckuva ride,” Gnagy and Cruz wrote on Facebook. “There are no heavy hearts or regrets, only a million great memories.”

Jones also tells us about Adrienne and Kris Cole, the husband-and-wife team behind The House of Marigold, which is opening a second location at 624 E. Market St. in the NuLu neighborhood in spring 2026. This will be the second House of Marigold restaurant to open in less than four years. The Coles launched their flagship Middletown restaurant at 10310 Shelbyville Road in 2023 and quickly earned accolades, including Southern Living’s “Best New Restaurant in Kentucky.”

We also chat about Pasta Garage Café & Market, an Italian restaurant based in Lexington, opening a Louisville location this week at 552 E. Market St. in the Gateway to NuLu building. 

We go over the recent closure of The Silver Dollar — a celebrated bourbon bar. The bar had been open since 2011 and made the announcement earlier this week.

And we chat about Serai, a new Malaysian restaurant coming to 2311 Frankfort Avenue in early 2026. Louisville Business First previously reported that the restaurant in that space now, DiFabio’s, owned by husband-and-wife duo Caitland DiFabio and Jon Riley, will close at the end of December.

After that we have a brief discussion on Kentucky's role in the hemp industry and how that may change due to federal legislation which passed alongside the bill to reopen the government.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

It'll be hard for anyone in Louisville to forget last Tuesday, Nov. 4, and the crash of UPS Flight 2976.

Around 5:15 p.m. that day, on what was shaping up to be a beautiful autumn evening, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 bound for Honolulu crashed during takeoff from Louisville, igniting a massive fire and creating an enormous smoke plume visible across the city.

It's been hard to talk about anything else since then. So on this week's Access Louisville podcast we discuss how we reported the story, including its impact on business. 

On the show, LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett is on the show to recount his conversation with Sean Garber, CEO of Grade A Auto Parts & Recycling, which was hit by the aircraft and debris during the crash. Hearing what happened at the business was one of the toughest interviews he'd ever done, Stinnett said on the show. 

We also discuss how important Worldport is to UPS' business and the company's response so far, including a statement from its CEO Carol Tome in Atlanta. 

More coverage from the Business First team this week: 

• UPS identifies crew killed in jet crash as death toll rises
• Power outages, road closures persist near airport 
• Bar spared in UPS crash
• Feds begin probe after deadly UPS jet crash

At about 6 p.m. Thursday, airport officials announced that runway 17R/35L (the runway used by UPS Flight 2976), or West Runway, was back open, meaning the airport (SDF) was again fully operational. For those seeking assistance, the city has set up a Family Assistance Center that can be reached at 1-800-631-0604.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify,

With only a few professional teams across the commonwealth, college athletics are the biggest show in Kentucky. 

And we get down to the financials behind it on this week's Access Louisville podcast. Josh Heird, athletic director for the University of Louisville, and Marc Hill, deputy athletic director for the University of Kentucky join the show as special guests, alongside Louisville Business First Editor-in-Chief Shea Van Hoy and Managing Editor David A. Mann. 

Making it even more special was the fact that we recorded the show in front of a live audience at the Baird Conference Center, located on the 29th floor of 500W Jefferson Street in Downtown Louisville. Baird is the sponsor of the Access Louisville podcast.

LBF's Stephen P. Schmidt recently wrote a big story on the financial landscape of college sports, which really served as the impetus for this show. On the program, we cover a range of topics and I've picked out a few selections below.

College athletic departments went into the red in order to create revenue sharing programs. When do they get back in the black? 

Hill said UK went into the red for the first time recently, as a result of the revenue sharing program. But "we have a three-and-a-half year plan to come back get back in the black. We've been able to have some ventures on the league level in order to do that. We want to come back whole on the other side," he said.

Heird added that an athletic department has to be looked at holistically as a part of a University.

"I wish that the narrative would shift a little bit ... look, almost every athletic department is losing money. But it's a department within the university as a whole. So, what is the value of that department to the university," he asked. Adding that it's a question that the university leaders around the country are having to navigate right now.

Additional revenue sources for departments and contract lengths for college athletics 

There's a lot of conversations out there on new revenue in the wake of new spending by departments.

"This industry is gonna get really creative — and has gotten really creative. And we're going to find all the opportunities we can," said Heird.

That said, the idea that millions of dollars are going to start raining down on athletics departments is in accurate, he added. For instance, some athletic departments are trying concerts in their stadiums — but that's only generating so much new revenue. 

Hill added that UK doesn't want to put too much pressure on the backs of fans and supporters to generate new revenue. 

Heird also touched on the controversial move this year to schedule the UK and UofL basketball game in November rather than December. 

He explained that scheduling is a complicated process with a lot of different considerations — and it becomes even magnified when TV scheduling gets involved.

"I think everybody was mad just because it was different than it used to be," he said of this year's schedule. "At the end of the day, we want to play the University of Kentucky because our fans love it. I think there fans love it. I think it's good for the state."

We also chatted about the length of college player contracts — both officials explained why multi-year deals are not on the table at most negotiations. And we discussed the potential for congressional involvement in the college sports as a couple of competing pieces of legislation have made it to the desk of lawmakers. 

You can hear more in the episode itself. 

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcast and Spotify.