First edition Census Vintage 2025 · No. 27

Louisville.

Weekly Eats · Monday, August 17, 2026

Cups of Magnolia Bakery banana pudding on a silver stand

Coming · Tuesday · NuLu

Magnolia Bakery lands on East Market

620 E. Market St., The Zen · Tuesday, Aug. 18

Louisville native Alex Nessenthaler is the brand’s second U.S. franchisee after Salt Lake City. WAVE3, reporting Friday, says New York trainers have been teaching a staff of 30, and the banana pudding — hundreds of bananas a day, plus a toppings bar — is the point. Courier-Journal set the date and the Zen address on Aug. 6. Nessenthaler told WAVE she wants two more Louisville shops in two years.

Sources: WAVE3, Aug. 14, Courier-Journal, Aug. 6

Photo: WAVE3 og:image

Peach Fest at Hop Atomica and the American Whiskey Festival were Saturday. Magnolia Bakery’s first Louisville shop is still tomorrow (Aug. 18) in NuLu. WDRB says The Exchange unlocked Wednesday; the Courier-Journal dated Sole Friday. Hoodline, citing WDRB, now treats Mimi’s Ethiopian as open Aug. 5. No Eater Louisville.

August 2026 — only sourced marks

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

September 2026

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

October 2026

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

Courier-Journal dining URLs returned 402 on a direct fetch; headlines and the Aug. 3 openings list were read via search/WebFetch. Do502’s American Whiskey Festival page 403’d. Food & Dining’s Mimi’s photo is a generic doro wat still — not used. Hop Atomica’s peach-festival og:image is an illustration, not a photograph. Eater has no Louisville vertical.

With pictures

Photo stories

Real og:images from cited stories only

The Exchange NuLu storefront at 730 East Market Street, with training and construction signs still in the window

Openings · NuLu

The Exchange, across the river

730 E. Market St., Hotel Genevieve · WDRB: opened Wednesday

Ian and Nikki Hall’s New Albany gastropub took the old Byrdie’s space — about 3,000 square feet, first Louisville room for the group. Courier-Journal had flagged Aug. 12. WDRB, citing Louisville Business First, says it opened Wednesday. The photograph still shows staff-training and construction signs; it is the WDRB og:image, credited to Business First, not a dining-room shoot.

Sources: WDRB, Courier-Journal, Aug. 3

WebsiteReviews

Photo: Louisville Business First via WDRB

Secret Recipe bakery entrance on West Market Street, with the diamond logo on the glass

Openings · Downtown

Sole, under the bakery

438 W. Market St. · Courier-Journal, Aug. 14

The CJ headline Friday: a cocktail-and-dessert speakeasy named Sole is open downtown. Food & Dining, earlier, put Brenna Peters’s from-scratch Secret Recipe bakery at that address and said Sole — a hidden dessert bar — was due in July. The paywalled CJ piece is the open date; this photograph is the bakery door from the Food & Dining item, not a basement-bar shoot.

Sources: Courier-Journal, Aug. 14, Food & Dining

WebsiteReviews

Monday

Today

Text only

Saturday · Norton Commons

American Whiskey Festival

Sat., Aug. 15, 5–10 p.m. · North Village Square / Watch Hill Proper

Fourth year. StyleBlueprint and Watch Hill: free, all-ages courtyard, food vendors, live music (Soul Circus, Laurie Jane & the 45s, Kimmet & Friends). Tasting garden and VIP are ticketed; StyleBlueprint lists the garden at $60 and VIP at $300. Do502’s event page 403’d from this desk.

Sources: StyleBlueprint, Watch Hill Proper

Today · Germantown

Hop Atomica Peach Festival

Sat., Aug. 15, noon–midnight · 1318 McHenry St.

GoToLouisville: family hours noon–5 (peach treats, kids, artisans), patio party 6 p.m.–midnight with peach cocktails, beer, live music, night-market pitch. The official og:image is a watercolor, so no photo card.

Source: GoToLouisville

Just in

Openings

Text only — scheduled in the Aug. 3 Courier-Journal list, not all confirmed open

Highlands · opened Aug. 5

Mimi’s Ethiopian Restaurant

1534 Bardstown Road · former Tacos D’Amor · Mon–Thu 4–9; Fri 4–10; Sat 11–10; Sun 11–9

Hoodline, Aug. 13, citing WDRB: Yodit “Mimi” Woldetsadik and Yared Hailemariam opened Wednesday, Aug. 5 — doro wat, kitfo, coffee ceremony. CJ had scheduled Aug. 1. Now treated as open.

Sources: Hoodline, Aug. 13 (citing WDRB), Courier-Journal, Aug. 3

WebsiteReviews

Hurstbourne · scheduled Aug. 8

Purple Yum Bakery Café

1850 Hurstbourne Parkway · Lexington bakery’s second shop

CJ: Asian-inspired pastry, ube, mochi doughnuts, a “crag Rangoon” bagel. Grand opening was set for Aug. 8. No independent “now open” clip found after that date.

Source: Courier-Journal, Aug. 3

WebsiteReviews

Baxter · scheduled Aug. 1

COCOS HOUSË

917 Baxter Ave. · 9 p.m.–3 a.m. on the listed opening night

A house-music club, not a restaurant, in the old Atmosphere space behind DiOrio’s. Listed because it sat on the CJ August openings page. DJs Morris Koad and GudGroove were named for Aug. 1.

Source: Courier-Journal, Aug. 3

WebsiteReviews

On the books

Events

Text only

Aug. 20–30

Kentucky State Fair

Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane · $12 ticket includes parking

122nd fair. Courier-Journal’s Aug. 3 guide: fried-Oreos-and-barbecue language, Texas Roadhouse free concerts, last year in the West Hall / West Wing / Pavilion. Official site confirms Aug. 20–30 and a food-vendor map at kystatefair.org/food-vendors. Hellbender’s fair-food list exists; this brief does not lift dish names from it without the official map in hand.

Sources: Courier-Journal, Aug. 3, kystatefair.org

WebsiteReviews

Friday, Aug. 21

Old Lou Brew

Central Park, 1340 S. 4th St. · 6–10 p.m. · $15

GoToLouisville and the CJ August-festivals list: local craft beer, food trucks, live music, family- and pet-friendly. Tickets at the Visitors Center or the gate.

Sources: GoToLouisville, Courier-Journal, July 30

WebsiteReviews

0–90 days

Coming

Text only

Prospect · August, unconfirmed

House of Marigold, Norton Commons

10715 Meeting St. · breakfast, lunch, new dinner menu

CJ: second room, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Sun–Thu, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fri–Sat, expected this month. NuLu shop at 624 E. Market is November. No “now open” clip for Prospect by today.

Source: Courier-Journal, Aug. 3

WebsiteReviews

Jeffersontown · permits

Four Pegs, third shop

10410 Watterson Trail

Owner Chris Williams told CJ he is waiting on permits; “could open in August,” no date.

Source: Courier-Journal, Aug. 3

WebsiteReviews

Clifton · no date

Serai

2311 Frankfort Ave. · former DiFabio’s

Sebastian Moh’s Malaysian/Thai room, first aimed at March, “getting closer” as of the Aug. 3 CJ list.

Source: Courier-Journal, Aug. 3

WebsiteReviews

Saturday, Sept. 19

NuLu Fest

600–900 blocks of E. Market · 11 a.m.–8 p.m. · free

Sixteenth year. Official NuLu page: live music, local food, beer, bourbon, retail booths.

Source: nulu.org/nulu-fest

Fall · Deer Park

Murray’s Creole Pub at Pints&union

1576 Bardstown Road

Food & Dining: Lawrence Weeks and company take over the Pints&union room this fall. No opening day.

Source: Food & Dining

WebsiteReviews

Butchertown · unnamed

Mexican bar at the old Nami

835 E. Main St.

CJ, Aug. 6: a Mexican-inspired restaurant and bar is “expected to open soon” in Edward Lee’s former Nami. No name in the headline we could read. Left unnamed on purpose.

Source: Courier-Journal, Aug. 6

WebsiteReviews