Thanks to a $1 million donation from the Hillerich family, an empty lot in Smoketowncould become a much-needed grocery store cooperative.
Located adjacent to the Lofts on Broadway at the intersection of Preston and Finzer Streets, the vacant, ~2-acre property was once home to Hillerich & Bradsby Co. — the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger baseball bats.
The nearly 2-acre site used to house Louisville Slugger manufacturing. | Photo by LOUtoday
If all goes to plan, it would break ground by the end of 2023.
Rebound Inc. will then use its half of the property to develop the city’s first community land trustfocusing on affordable housing, which is a tool to ensure residents don’t get priced out of their homes due to gentrification + other factors. The trust will also have a resident-filled board of directors to guide its efforts.
The site is next to Metro United Way’s headquarters at 334 E. Broadway. | Photo by LOUtoday
What is a food cooperative?
A food co-op is an independent grocery store owned + operated by members of the community. LACE’s first project is the Louisville Community Grocery — also a food cooperative, though it’s not been built yet.
Who is the Hillerich family?
The Hillerich family history in Louisville begins in 1856 when J. Frederick Hillerich started a woodworking shop. His oldest son, John Andrew “Bud” Hillerich was born in 1866 — and according to company legend — he crafted the shop’s first professional bat for local baseball “megastar” Pete Browning, whose nickname was“The Louisville Slugger.”
The rest is hits-tory as baseball legends like Honus “The Flying Dutchman” Wagner, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio + Hank Aaron picked up the bat and swung it into popularity.
The great-grandson of Bud, John A. Hillerich IV, currently serves as the company’s president + CEO as the company continues to manufacture Louisville Slugger bats at the factory downtown for Wilson Sporting Goods.
Share this story with three friends who want to see Smoketown hit a homerun.
Louisville Juneteenth Festival | Thurs., June 16-Sun., June 19 | Various times | Various locations | Various prices | This four-day festival celebrates 60 years of civil rights achievements via workshops, poetry slams, a luncheon + parties.
Friday
Drag Race: Jorgeous | Fri., June 17 | 8 p.m.-3 a.m. | Play Louisville | $20+ | See this season 14 RuPaul’s Drag Race queen + upgrade to a meet and greet ticket for $10 more.
Beechmont Summer Concert Series 2022 | Fri., June 17 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | The Gazebo at Southern Pkwy + West Woodlawn Ave. | Free | Bring a blanket or chair + enjoy the musical stylings of Hog Operation. 🎶
Saturday
Proud of My Calling Experience | Sat., June 18 | 3 p.m. | Kentucky Derby Museum | $25 | See a one-hour live performance featuring the lives of three of the greatest horsemen in the late 19th + 20th centuries. 🐎
NoCo Arts Market | Sat., June 18 | 12-6 p.m. | 628 Michigan Ave, Jeffersonville, IN | Free to attend | Explore Jeffersonville’s new cultural district + shop from local artists, crafters, and makers.
Sunday
Trail Discovery Hike: Cull Hollow Loop | Sun., June 19 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | Bernheim Forest | $12 for members; $15 for non-members | Lace up your hiking boots for a moderate hike guided by a volunteer naturalist. 🥾
Tuesday
Tesla | Tues., June 21 | 8 p.m. | The Louisville Palace | $29+ | Tease your hair + slip on your leopard pants for this No. 22 ranking rock band on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hair Metal.” 🎸
Music Trivia with Greg! | Tues., June 21 | 8-10 p.m. | Planet of the Tapes, 640 Barret Ave. | Free | Gather your music know-it-alls + compete to become music trivia champs at this movie-themed bar.
We have amonthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.
Raise your glasses. This toast is dedicated to DerbyCity’s beverage industry, from morning iced lattes from Germantown’s Full Stop Station to afternoon power smoothies and evening specialty cocktails at bar Expo downtown. We appreciate what makes our local drink scene unique.
And to kick off our National Drink Up Week, July 25-31, we want to partner with local coffee shops, wineries, bars, restaurants, distilleries + more to shine a spotlight on our local beverage tastemakers. Find out more below.
Local sisters Blakey Martin + Debbie Steinhave opened their bakery, SissyCakes, at 102 Fairfax Ave. in St. Matthews. The duo makes 10+ bundt cake flavors and the space will be used for baking and pick-up orders only. Place an order online for your cake, or get one at Paul’s Fruit Market. 🍰 (WLKY)
State
Titans, assemble. Gov. Andy Beshearhas announced his 17-person Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee, which will help the governor explore legalizing medical marijuana. Four Louisvillians sit on the committee: Jennifer Cave of Stites & Harbison, Dr. John Farmer + Dr. Linda McClain, and Dee Dee Taylor of 502 Hemp Wellness Center. (LEO Weekly)
Real Estate
Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelbyville — which was created by Col. Harland Sanders’ wife in 1959 — is up for sale. The property features a 25,000-sqft banquet hall + the Sanders’ former residence, Blackwood Hall. It’s being listed by Morgan Hancock and Jonathan Klunk of Six Degrees Real Estate for an undisclosed amount. (Louisville Business First)
Cause
Humana donated its nine-story tower at 515 W. Market St. to the University of Louisville for its $25 millionHealth Equity Innovation Hub. It will be distinct from the forthcoming New Vision of Health Campus the university has planned, but will have similar research goals investigating health equity + social determinants of health. (WDRB)
Local nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack has collaborated with Labcorp to offer a summer meal program that will feed children across eight states, including here in Louisville. In addition to nutritious food, the bags provided to students also included items like sidewalk chalk + jump ropes. 🎒
Louisvillian
WAVE Meteorologist Tawana Andrew was recognized by Today’s Woman Magazine as the “Most Admired Woman in Media” at a ceremony at the Mellwood Arts Center on Tues., June 14. The celebration highlighted 16 local women across categories like hospitality, corporate leadership + sisterhood and community. 🏆
Festival
Moon Taxi, Lotus, and The Floozies are three of 30 musical acts booked for The Big Stomp festival. The two-day music festival, which was previously known as PeteFest, looks to “stomp” the stigma associated with mental health problems + will rock the Jones Fields Nature Preserve from Fri., Oct. 14-Sat., Oct. 15. 🎸
Funk Festwill be grooving at Waterfront Park to the musical stylings of Jodeci, Master P. + Mystikal and on Sat., June 18. The festival will benefit the local nonprofitChristopher 2X Game Changers, which looks to transform the lives of at-risk young people. 🎶(LEO Weekly)
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Eat
Skip the meal hassle with Sunbasket, a meal kit delivery service that makes healthy eating beyond easy. Sunbasket offers 10 different meal plans that work for those with dietary preferences and specific restrictions (think: paleo, gluten-free, veg, diabetes-friendly + more). Bonus: Sign up for $100 off your first four deliveries. 🫑*
Correction
We got so excited for some Clean Eatz yesterday that we mistakenly said the new cafe + meal prepping shop at 3565 Springhurst Blvd. was across the street from the St. Matthews Target. It’s actually near the Springhurst Target. Thanks for the catch, reader Ed H.
A health message from our sponsor The Word: Hyperpigmentation,the extra melanin in our skin that creates dark spots. The good news? The appearance of these dark (and often age-related) spots can be drastically reduced with an easy, DIY home routine created by Dr. Steven Gundry.*
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The Strawberry Moon — named for its proximity to berry picking season — shined over the city on Tues., June 14. The supermoon at its perigee, or its closest point in orbit around Earth, is about 12,000 miles closer to our planet than usual, which accounts for its huge size + luminous glow.
While strawberry season is reaching its end, we’ve got six local farms where you can get your last-minute berry fix.
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Editor’s pick:I am the proud sister of a puzzle master.
My older sister + several of our friends were the winners of Hi-Wire Brewing’s Puzzle Challenge on Monday, where they won $50 for completing a 500-piecer the fastest.
Though Hi-Wire hasn’t announced the next puzzle night yet, you can stop in at the taproom on Sat., June 18 + shop from a host of local vendors during the Kentuckiana Pride Festival & Parade from 2-6 p.m.
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