LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Smoke plumes out the top of The Patriarch, the smoker that started Chan Nelson's business Back Deck BBQ.
Union 15, a neighboring restaurant, closed their doors for good at the start of 2024. Nelson's not worried, even if business does slow in the winter.
On the bottom rack of the smoker, he cooked his best-selling weekend special -- burnt ends.
"It just creates a beautiful bite," he said, talking about the way the meat's fat renders out.
Back Deck is across the street from Iroquois Park and Colonial Gardens. They've been open two-and-a-half years. Nelson ran the business as a food truck for nearly a decade. He sells more BBQ in warmer seasons because they get more customers coming from the park.
"They have concerts in the summer and the fall, like every other weekend, and then in October they have a pumpkin walk that's real big," Nelson said.
Kelli Luther visited the area on her lunch break. The splash pads at the park are usually her reason to come by in the summer.
"We live in Shively and there's not really a whole lot of restaurants that aren't fast food. There's a few sit down places," she said.
Downwind of Nelson's smoker, you can see right through the empty pizza joint, Union 15. It's one of three restaurants at Colonial Gardens to recently close. However, a new one is already opening. What used to be a Biscuit Belly is being converted into Hakkaido Ramen House. Costa del Sol is now open where Taco Luchador used to be.
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During lunch, the Latin restaurant's booths were filled as cars rolled by on New Cut Road. They're currently hiring and have a community open house scheduled for Jan. 17.
Hakkaido is expected to open by the end of the month.
The developer who owns Colonial Gardens, Underhill Associates, puts on concerts in the summer to help drive business, and has more social events planned for this year.
"I'd like to stay here and be here," Nelson said. "I'd just like to be a little more busy in December and January. But other than that, we support them over there as much as we can."
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