As of a post made on their Facebook Page on June 12, the Rudyard Kipling has closed:
The Rud, at 422 Oak Street, is/was owned by Amy and William Enix, who used to own "That Place on Goss" and took over the Rud in 2013. According to this article, the shows scheduled for June 19 and June 26 at the Rudyard Kipling will still take place. The Rud's Sunday brunch had recently gotten some attention for being particularly good - and the Facebook post notes the brunch might "pop back up." The "Motherlodge," so-called in honor of Rudyard Kipling's poem of the same name, was a much-loved Old Louisville staple. In the words of Kipling himself:
"Full oft on Guv'ment service
This rovin' foot 'ath pressed,
An' bore fraternal greetin's
To the Lodges east an' west,
Accordin' as commanded.
From Kohat to Singapore,
But I wish that I might see them
In my Mother-Lodge once more!"
Owner Amy Enix hopes that someone will see the virtue of investing in the Oak Street corridor. "Brunch was doing great. The restaurant was on the upswing, but for reasons that are personal for us, we have to sell the building."
The asking price right now is $365k - and Enix would be more than happy for someone to buy the building and re-open it as The Rudyard Kipling. "I think that would be great!"
And it could be an exciting project - according to the Rud's site, it's "located in an historic old home on Oak Street where Temple Bodley cherished letters of the George Rogers Clark family, where from the second floor the Stites family watched boats ply Oak Street in 1937, "The Rud" preserves old brick, art glass, woodwork and traditional Kentucky recipes blended with new music, theatre, warmth and welcome." The Rud opened in its current building in 1984.
Images courtesy of the Rudyard Kipling
