Despite its demise, due to a tragic act of arson in 2014, all Old Louisville residents still vividly remember The Old Louisville Tavern. How could anyone forget the neighborhood bar that brought beloved Taco Tuesdays so close to the University of Louisville campus? And even setting aside its fabled taco bar, how could anyone forget the half-priced bottles of wine every Thursday night and the occasional middle-aged woman in leopard print belting out Whitney Houston karaoke? The Tavern had a special place in all our hearts.
If you’re one of the many who often reminisce about wild nights spent at The Old Louisville Tavern while longing for the bar’s heavy front door to open once again so you can enjoy one last fizzy draft beer with a jumbo buffalo chicken wing, you’re in luck. Scott Lukemire, co-owner of The Tavern, has plans to reopen the Old Louisville staple late this spring. With it, he’s bringing back the bar’s signature favorites along with a few additions only The Tavern can pull off.
Image: Scott Lukemire
“We’ve had a lot of contracting issues over the past year that have slowed us down a lot, but we’re moving pretty quickly now so we’re pretty optimistic about opening very soon,” Lukemire explains about the construction of The Old Louisville Tavern’s historic building. “The thing that will speed us up is the fact that we’re going very minimalistic on the inside. We want to keep it true to a neighborhood style tavern. We didn’t want to lose the essence of what we had before of that neighborhood tavern feel by making it too fancy on the inside.”
Image: Scott Lukemire
And The Tavern’s previous regulars would agree that the bar’s simplistic design is what made it such a welcoming environment for all of its patrons. With open front windows and front patio seating, The Tavern seemed to entice everyone who passed, and Lukemire plans to keep that specific alluring feature. “We’re going to redo the patio with paved brick to make it a little bit nicer,” Lukemire explains. “And we actually salvaged quite a bit of limestone from the building’s foundation when we began the rebuild. So we’re going to use that to build a nice waist-tall limestone wall outside on the side of the building to separate us from our neighbor.”
And if the bar’s outer makeover isn’t enough the draw people back in, it’s new inside look sure will. Though Lukemire promises that the building is the same size it was before, one can’t help but wonder how one remodel can make a familiar room look so much bigger.
“We’re really excited about the second floor. We’re basically adding seven windows that will all open to let the breeze and natural light in.”
Image: Scott Lukemire
As for The Tavern's weekly events, Lukemire has stated that his team's definite plan is to still incorporate the bar's famous Taco Tuesday and Trivia Night into each week. However, now the bar will have the space to accommodate 100 guests as opposed to the previous 60 seats it used to provide. “We’re definitely going to still do karaoke on Thursday nights and we’re actually planning to do karaoke on Saturday nights as well. And for Friday nights, we’ll probably do a local deejay. That’s all we have planned right now but we’re thinking about adding some live music to Wednesday nights for Whiskey Wednesdays.”
Scott Lukemire hopes to reopen The Old Louisville Tavern by Derby weekend. For more information about this historic building’s remodel and news about its grand reopening, follow The Old Louisville Tavern on Facebook.
Image: The Tavern
