LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's a rare sight in Louisville, a restaurant and grocery store using only Kentucky-grown produce and products.
What You Need To Know
- Locals Food Hub & Pizza Pub is opening a Louisville location Wednesday, Oct. 16
- The specialty grocery store and restaurant sells only Kentucky-grown and raised products and food
- The flagship restaurant is in Frankfort
- The restaurant and grocery store features products from 49 Kentucky counties
A restaurant opening soon in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood will feature just locally sourced ingredients and products. Locals Food Hub & Pizza Pub opens Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 822 E. Broadway.
The Frankfort pizza pub's claim to fame is its commitment to using Kentucky-sourced ingredients and pouring Kentucky-brewed beer.
“We think it’s super important, especially with food, and that’s our wheelhouse," said co-owner Birch Bragg.
Locals also has a 600-square-foot grocery store stocked entirely with Kentucky-only produce and products in an area where the closest grocery store is several miles away.
“That's why we are here in Smoketown, which is a (U.S. Department of Agriculture) certified desert," Birch said. "We want to put the most nutrient-rich, amazing food available on Earth, that is locally harvested and fresh-picked, right here in the middle of neighborhoods that need it the most. And then, as a community, we come together and find ways to get that food to the people that need it."
Locals’ ownership already has strong connections with Louisville, even though their flagship restaurant is in Frankfort.
“Every other week since November of last year, we have driven to Louisville, and we’ve delivered locally sourced food boxes to (nonprofit) Change Today, Change Tomorrow to Feed Louisville to Goodwill Opportunity Center,” Birch said.
Stocking items and making pies with ingredients and products representing 49 Kentucky counties, Birch said he hopes to find new partners neighboring Jefferson County, now with a second home in Louisville.
“That's why we’re so excited to open in Louisville and operate because the impact we can make on food access here is really exponential," he said.
After its Oct. 16 grand opening, Locals Food Hub and Pizza Pub will host a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m.
Correction: A previous version of this story said the grand opening was at 3 p.m. The error has been corrected. (Aug. 15, 2024)