K.T.’s, The Old Kentucky Tavern, has had quite a successful run in Louisville. With a prime location at the corner of Grinstead Drive and Lexington Road, it has been one of the city’s favorite restaurants since 1985. Now, with Louisville becoming the foodie town that it is, K.T.’s is ready to give its history and good bones to Village Anchor owner, Kevin Grangier.
Grangier, marketing guru who once owned businesses in both New York and Los Angeles, opened the Village Anchor five years ago. Nestled in a small town square in Anchorage, it quickly became a popularity in the Louisville restaurant scene. With a delicious menu, serving traditional food with a twist, an excellent cocktail selection, and brunch, the Village Anchor managed to receive local foodie awards and a constant flow of hungry visitors.
The Village Anchor was “more a branding exercise than a product,”
Grangier
said, whose marketing experience was mostly launching and branding new products. He decided to take those skills and experiment with them in the restaurant business. Louisville’s food scene ranges from neighborhood to neighborhood, but Anchorage was lacking in that area, hence why it was the perfect place for this new experimentation.
After seeing the Village Anchor’s success, Kevin planned on opening another restaurant. He was very close to signing on a property in the east end until he was approached by an even better offer on K.T.’s. He understood that in its heyday, K.T.’s was one of more popular restaurants in the city, not only because of its food and atmosphere, but also its location, which happens to sit in one of busiest intersections in the Louisville area. It was hard offer to pass up.
So what will the former K.T.’s become now?
“I want to make both the location and concept more contemporary,” says Kevin, who also wants to attract a large variety of audiences.
He has great plans for the space and will begin a full renovation starting early next year. He has already started doing research on what the best type of cuisines and atmosphere will attract people to another new restaurant in the city. He is also toying with the idea of nightlife, but most importantly, something having a good balance between fine dining and creative dining.
As Louisville awaits the new restaurant plans, we can all trust that Kevin will whip up something equally as great as the Village Anchor, if not better.
Image courtesy of K.T.'s website.