LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Frankfort business is looking to move into Louisville where Logan Street and Broadway intersect. What once was the Epping Soda Bottling Company back in 1863 will now be a much healthier option.
Birch Bragg, co-owner of Locals Food Hub and Pizza Pub, said the company's concept include locally-sourced woodfire pizzas, salads, appetizers and counter service.
The business is part pizzeria, part grocery store and looks to feed the Smoketown neighborhood with food from local farmers.
"We intentionally put food hub at the top and pizza pub at the bottom, because food hub is our ultimate goal at the end of the day. We want to be a place that's dedicated to providing nutrient-rich, clean foods to people who need it the most," Birch said.
Locals Food Hub and Pizza Pub was funded in part through a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The funding helps offset some of the ways the business wants to save customers money, like accepting SNAP and matching the dollars people spend when they use those benefits.
The grocery store's stock is limited by what grows seasonally in the state, meaning you won't find watermelons in January.
It mirrors how the building's architect, Terry Zink, is working with the steel and brick bones of the space.
"They're both born out of the idea to return to simple and authentic ingredients," Zink said.
Remodeling the old building gives the space some character including massive vaults, safes in a wall which haven't been opened, and an old gasoline sign showing how the room used to be outside. Until the demolition work began, a drop ceiling covered the skylight up above.
Now, with new light on their new location, they hope to carry the success of their Frankfort store which just celebrated its third anniversary on July 21.
"In that time, we've purchased almost $1.2 million from 164 different farmers across 42 counties," Bragg said. "So on the farm impact piece, we're doing a really good job there."
It's an impact they hope to expand with the Louisville location by bringing fresh food to a neighborhood that's struggled with finding a grocery store to take root in the community.
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