Louisville's NuLu Pop Up

This Friday will mark the last Pop Up Friday of the hip NuLu East Market District. Every Friday of July, the retailers and restaurants of the NuLu neighborhood offer special late night hours, discounted items, and refreshments. From 7:00pm to 9:00pm there will be free live outdoor entertainment to add to the festivities. The event is family friendly and is sure to provide excellent food, top notch shopping, and an exciting ambiance that is uniquely Louisville.

Louisville’s Downtown has recently undergone major development and with the revitalization of many downtown neighborhoods, the growth of Louisville’s Downtown has never looked brighter. Louisville is the largest central business district in the state of Kentucky and with the recent opening of the KFC Yum Center in Central Downtown, the community is booming from the center outwards. 

Louisville’s Downtown is made up of five districts; East Main District, West Main District, Medical Center District, Fourth Street District, and the Civic Center District. East Main is also home to Louisville’s historic Whiskey Row, a row of seven historic buildings built between 1852 and 1905 that served as Kentucky’s bourbon industry’s epicenter.   

Louisville’s East Main and Market Streets make up the East Main District. It was not that long ago that East Main and Market were lined with run down historic buildings, but now they are now this neighborhood is thriving. This area has been lovingly named NuLu, and is flourishing with restaurants, bars, and retail shops. Toast on Market, Mayan Café and Wiltshire on Market are a few of the staple restaurants of the NuLu District. RYE, Please and Thank You, and Garage Bar, are some of the new local hot spots, and Ghyslain On Market and La Coop: Bistro a Vins add a French flair to the Street. There are eighteen restaurants to date, within a three or four block span of the NuLu neighborhood, giving the Highland’s “Restaurant Row” a run for their money. Not only are there excellent restaurants in NuLu, but there are rows of locally owned boutiques with some of the most unique offerings. Scout, Red Tree, and Revolver offer home furnishings, gifts, and home accessories that are sure to make you smile. Each store has it’s own individual style and carries something for everyone. There are rows of art galleries along the street as well. Nearly ten art galleries line Market Street, including Zephyr Gallery, Mary Craik Gallery, and Swanson Reed Gallery. Other shops include antique shops, environmental building supply stores, natural bath soaps, and soon to come, an artisan butcher shop.  

There is definitely a shift towards Downtown that I see being made. Where it used to be that without question you went to dinner on Bardstown Road at Ramsis, Sapporo, or the now defunct Avalon, you now have a choice which area you want to spend your night in. Should we go to the Highlands, NuLu, or maybe Downtown to the new prohibition style St. Charles Exchange or delicious barbeque joint Doc Crows?  My hypothesis is that in five years we will all be spending our nights Downtown or in the NuLu district. My only question though, is what is considered our “Downtown.”  With Downtown expansion and revitalization, the lines will inevitably become blurred.  Are the Highlands considered Downtown? Is Nulu considered “Downtown?”  What do you think?

Ilyse's Louisville