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 Lucky's Market, which closed amid a company bankruptcy in 2020. 

This gets us talking about what we'd like to see in the grocery market in Louisville — a second Trader Joe's and more options inside the Watterson Expressway are on our wishlist. 

In other grocery news, Stinnett also tells us about the latest with Hy-Vee. In spite of delays, the Des Moines, Iowa-based grocery retailer says it is still planning to open a location in Kentucky. It initially announced plans to build in the Fern Creek area in 2021 but it has yet to happen.

Bourbon and restaurant news

Later in the show, we discuss some bourbon industry news with LBF reporter Stephen P. Schmidt, including the auction of a distillery in Downtown Louisville. This auction includes aging bourbon, equipment as well as real estate and other assets. We also talk about a new downtown tasting room for Green River Distilling Co., which sounds  different than some of the other tasting rooms you can find in that it'll have a more sports bar like atmosphere.

Finally we wrap up the show with a bit of restaurant and bar news, including the news that Baxters 942 is losing its liquor license. And we discuss a new grab-and-go bar coming to Oxmoor Center that will allow customers to drink while they shop this holiday season. 

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

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% over the last three years to $13.04 million in 2023. 

Second generation owner Summer Auerbach joins us on the Access Louisville podcast this week and explains things weren't always so rosy. 

She discusses the challenges and strategies of growing the family business, which was founded by her parents in 1977. Despite opening a sixth location and expanding its New Albany store recently, Auerbach emphasizes maintaining the company's small, accessible, and family-like culture. On the show she also highlights the importance of direct communication, team input,and creating written guidelines for consistency. Auerbach also reflects on overcoming tough times by differentiating from competition, being nimble and innovative, and leveraging data and metrics to drive growth

"We have really been able to make changes quickly, to be responsive to community needs and make sure we are separating ourselves from our competition," she said. 

She also talks about where she sees the company heading in the future — including a potential medical cannabis dispensary license that it is seeking.

"I think that will be a natural progression for us as that space moves forward," she said. "I'm proud of our state for taking this leap. I'm glad we're not the 50th state [to make marijuana legal.]

Auerbach also was recently honored as part of LBF's Most Admired CEOs program. More on her and other honorees here. 

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 has grown from bringing two teacher candidates in its first year to annually bringing a new 40+ person cohort of aspiring teachers from across the nation to the city, according to its website.

On the show Claypool explains that they started 24 years ago when the idea of a teacher shortage was just a looming threat. Today it's actually severe and taking place all over the country. 

"What we discovered in building the program is there's always a shortage of good teachers at all times, forever," he said. 

With that, Jefferson County Public Schools needs the organization to bring people  from outside the community because the community itself can't produce enough teachers, he said. Fortunately, the district pays its teachers well and has some aggressive relocation incentives.

There's more details on how the organization is recruiting teachers here and some of the lessons they've learned over the years on the episode. Also of note, Claypool is among honorees for Louisville Business First's Most Admired CEOs program. 

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. 

We talk campaign finance trends on this week's Access Louisville podcast. 

A few weeks ago, LBF Reporter Piper Hansen began digging into donation trends among workers at some of Louisville's biggest employers. She found that most of those donations (for the second quarter of 2024) went to Democratic presidential nominee and sitting Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump.   Here's a look at trends from the top three employers, according to info from OpenSecrets.org, a nonprofit campaign finance tracking website.

• United Parcel Service Inc. employees — $226,529 donated in total; Harris contributions: $139,746; Trump contributions: $86,783
• Ford Motor Co. — $119,986; Harris contributions: $76,071; Trump contributions: $43,915
• Kroger Co. — $85,917; Harris contributions: $46,696; Trump contributions: $39,221

Hansen talks about these figures on this week's Access Louisville podcast and you can read more about what she found here. 

Campaign contribution data just released for the third quarter, as well. Hansen is digging into those figures now — looking at individual donations this time — we expect to be posting a story soon at Bizjournals.com/Louisville. Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

More this week

Following the campaign finance talk we discuss talk a little restaurant news, including an ownership change Le Relais. We also chat about a new endeavor from the team behind Wild Eggs. It'll be doing a virtual kitchen for a related concept (Crazy Bowls & Wraps) in order to serve customers on delivery apps.

We talk about a deal to purchase the former Harvest restaurant building selling and some news from the Louisville Economic Development Alliance. And wrap things up with some local media news, with Bill Lamb returning to WDRB.

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

We've got a little bit of everything on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

To start off the show, we chat about what Louisville and Kentucky had offered the Sundance Film Festival. As we've reported multiple times in the last year, Louisville had been in consideration for the legendary film festival but that is no longer the case. 

That said, LBF Reporter Michael L. Jones did recently get his hands on what had been offered by the city and state to bring Sundance here: An incentive package valued at $73M.

After that, we get into some development and restaurant news. We chat about an upcoming move by High Horse, a popular Butchertown bar, that's going to Louisville's NuLu neighborhood following a dispute with its landlord.

Further, we discuss a new pedway that's planned between two NuLu buildings and a new bourbon attraction, called Whiskey Thief, that's moving into that neighborhood. LBF got a sneak peak at Whiskey Theif recently.

Late in the show, Jones tells us about an ownership change at Ciao, a well-known Italian restaurant near the Highlands. 

And we wrap things up by talking about the Kroger company's efforts to update its store on Outer Loop as it faces new competition from Publix. 

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

We didn't get the part, but we gotta keep auditioning.

Louisville was recently snubbed on a bid to land the Sundance Film Festival. As we reported a few weeks ago, the legendary film festival had Louisville on a short list for possible relocation. Then it narrowed its list even further and the Derby City is now out of the running. But that doesn't mean our film ambitions have dried up entirely. 

Soozie Eastman, founder and president of 502 Film, joins the Access Louisville podcast this week to talk about where the city goes from here in terms of its developing film industry. Of particular interest to us is the reuse of shuttered Louisville Gardens in Downtown Louisville, which has been proposed as a site for a sound stage that could bolster the business.

That effort was considered during the Sundance bid and is continuing forward and eyeing completion in late 2026, she said — though she's more of a supporter of the project, not an active developer on it.

"Sound stages are really, really special pieces of property within the film industry," she said. "It becomes a hub for a community. And quite honestly, while we have been doing incredibly well growing our film economy as is, having a sound stage is kinda that missing link that helps us grow to the next level."

That's just a sample of what Eastman had to say. Be sure to check out the show for more. And for a wider look at Louisville's film industry, check out this recent piece from LBF Reporter Michael Jones. (Note: This was written while Sundance was still in play.)

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

We catch up with the latest restaurant news on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

Reporter Michael L. Jones leads the podcast with a story about Renshoku Ramen, an Old Louisville restaurant that has faced a few struggles of late, including being hit by a car (known as being MagBarred) more than two months ago. The crashed killed the driver and caused a fire that spread to the building at Second and Oak streets. Co-owner Nick Robey told Jones in a recent story about how the ramen shop reopened in late August, but the crash is still impacting his business.

That's just one of the stories on this week's show. We also talk about a favorite New Albany doughnut shop, Honey Créme, which recently hit the auction block. The online reserve auction launched last Monday with an opening bid of $750,000. 

We also chat about the sale of Kyros Brewing in Louisville's Portland neighborhood; an expansion for Back Deck BBQ into the Butchertown neighborhood, the closure of Bakersfield in the Highlands and a new location for Derby City Pizza that's coming to Jeffersonville.

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

Every once in a while, you have to look back at your career and your place in the community and not only ponder where you've been but look ahead at what's coming next. 

That's what we did on Monday, Sept. 9 as we sat down with our newest inductees in LBF's Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame:

• Sandra Frazier, founder, Tandem Public Relations
• Jimmy Kirchdorfer, chairman and CEO, ISCO Industries Inc, and an owner of Valhalla Golf Club
• William Summers, chief community development officer, Republic Bank

The three joined us on the most recent episode of the Access Louisville podcast, which was recorded live in front of an audience for a special event at Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana. 

We covered myriad topics on the show — from Louisville's hits and misses to honing in on specific moments of the three honorees careers.

For an example of the latter, Kirchdorfer spoke about taking his family's business from a small irrigation company that primarily served clients in Kentucky to one that serves people around the world. He remembers walking into the company's plant and watching a system that was going to be used in Asia being built right here. 

"They needed our expertise, halfway across the world — calling us," Kirchdorfer said. "That kinda inspired me to think bigger."

Fraizer told us about the advice she gives to young professionals looking to advance in their careers and get more involved in the community. She tells them to slow down, learn from what they're doing and don't worry about offending people. 

"If you do want to get engaged in things, have a strategy and processes. You've got to come to it from a thoughtful place that isn't going to immediately shut people down," she said.

And Summers spoke about a few of the community's key turning points, such as the opening of the KFC Yum! Center. He was a long-time member of the Louisville Arena Authority board, a non-profit that oversees the arena's management and operation, which he called a big part of his career.

Opening the arena was a key win for Louisville. But the community has had its misses too, such as not bringing an NBA franchise to the city.

"That would have been a game changer," he said. 

Summers believes there are a lot of opportunities to be had for Louisville, though. "We as a community, we have to be comfortable taking more risks," he said.

Access Louisville is also available on popular podcast services, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First, where we cover recent news and spotlight local business and community leaders. Monday's recording was only the second time we've recorded in front of a live audience. The last live show, which featured former Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and Philanthropist Christina Lee Brown, can be heard here.

You can check out who made this year's Forty Under 40 class here. And you can read more about the Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame (including past inductees) here.

Louisville has a big decision to make about what kind of public transportation system it wants. 

Transit Authority of River City, better known as TARC, is facing a "fiscal cliff" as a result of several factors, including covid-era stimulus funding running out. We talked about the issues with TARC executive director Ozzy Gibson on a bonus episode of the Access Louisville podcast this week. 

Gibson and others want to hear from the community about what they want out of the agency. And it's collecting input via an online survey, which you can take part in here. The deadline for the survey is Sept. 20.

Lots of people around town, and on social media, have voiced support for a robust transit system, complete with rail and bus offerings. But, as Smith explains on the show, it's most certainly a financial issue. 

"Everybody tells me, you need to look at what Cincinnati's doing, Indy. They tell me to look at Richmond [Virginia] — all three of those raised taxes to get the good service they have." 

For Louisville to do that it would require the support of 14 Metro Council members to bring fourth a referendum, which would then be decided on by the voters. 

A few of the aforementioned cities raised taxes in 2017 or 2018, so when they got money from Covid-era stimulus packages, they were able to make upgrades and add new busses, Gibson said. Louisville, had to use its stimulus money to keep service running — and now that's running out.

"If we wanna be the best, it's gonna cost money to get there," Gibson said. "Otherwise, we're just going to be little ol' TARC. We will be cut [by] 50%. And how long will it take us to get back to where we were? Maybe not in my lifetime. If people don't take the survey and reach out to the powers that be, we can't be anything." 

Service cuts are already the first of a three-pronged strategy to address the operational budget gap projected to be as much as $30 million by July 2026 without cuts, additional revenue or some combination of the two. Those strategies include:

• The January 2025 service reductions.
• A community-focused network redesign process called TARC 2025 that launches this summer and will result in a full plan for an updated TARC network within the reality of available funding by February 2025.
• Comprehensive efforts to identify new sources of revenue to support service from local, state, and federal sources.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. It's available on popular podcast services, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, which are linked above. You can also listen in the player above. Since this is a bonus episode, look for us to drop another episode later this week. 

Is Louisville's lack of population growth a cause for concern? We talk about that on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

LBF Reporter Piper Hansen recently finished a story examining population trends in Louisville. 

Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau released in June show Jefferson County’s population decreased by 1.4%, nearly 11,000 people, between April 2020 and July 2023. Meanwhile, the Louisville MSA gained only 2,602 people (0.2%) while the Nashville MSA gained 80,929 people (4%); the Cincinnati MSA gained 19,5050 (0.9%) and the Indianapolis MSA gained 45,723 (2.2%).

Sure, there are people who like Louisville the size that it is and they don't want to see the population explode like it did in Nashville. That comes with its own set of problems. 

But we're not exactly on that road right now — or even going in the direction of that road.

“We’re not going to be the next Nashville overnight, everybody can relax,”  Christine Tarquinio, GLI’s vice president of talent, workforce and brand strategies, who launched the Live in Lou initiative, told Hansen for her story.

After the population talk we switch to a few lighter topics, including: 

• Renovations at the Holiday Manor Kroger store and the groundbreaking of a new Kroger in Highview;

• A couple of new shops around town, including Kawaii Candy & Karaoke in Anchorage as well as Goldie's "For the Love of Food" in Nulu; and

• The end finally coming into sight for the Sherman Minton Renewal Project. 

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