Chili Pot, Preston Highway - CLOSED

I searched the Forum and did not find anything posted lately on the Chili Pot, so I apologize in advance if this has already been posted.

Today we headed from Jeffersontown to Preston Highway to try out the "new" Chili Pot. It would be our first visit. And it is closed. The place is empty, tables and chairs gone.

All the reviews and comments, in the Leo and on the Forum threads, were great reviews. Not sure why it did not make it. We all loved chili, see previous passionate posts on chili styles. I absolutely am not attempting to start a chain versus independent thread here, I have not set foot in a Skyline Chili, well, I can't remember when, but Skyline does have five locations in Louisville. How can they survive, and this highly rated local not make it?

Was it the limited menu? How many people are going to drive to Preston Highway just for a bowl of chili? My wife wondered if it would still be open if The Chili Pot was located on Baxter or Frankfort Avenue, or even downtown for the lunch trade. Does Skyline survive because there are five of them, located in different parts of Louisville, and the whole operation is therefore profitable? Of course there are numerous other issues when comparing the two, not just the food; rent, insurance costs, small ownership family issues/problems we will never know about.

Long story short, sorry to see an independent close.

My husband just noticed the other day that the Chili Pot was closed. We loved their chili, and service was nice too. Sorry to see it close but, as I have been know to preach before some folks will not visit Okolona too far from the nice end of town. Too bad.

[Robin Garr]

Aw, I hate to hear this. I agree that they made very good chili AND were very nice people.

I fear the fact that its closing evaded us on the forum can probably be traced back to it needing more than just a neighborhood clientele for success, and not enough of us live out that way. But it's a shame.

Dang! We made plans to go there on Saturday after running some errands in Okolona.

Makes me sad. Her store was always clean and the service friendly. I wish I had gone more often. My son will miss her White Chili and I loved her chicken salad with cilantro. I know they had started closing on Sundays several months ago. Closings like this always make me appreciate that we can pay the bills and make payroll! Oh, yeah - we are supposed to me making profit too It's a tough business. Sorry to see them go.

You know, sometimes we, on this forum, are so focused on the food and the experience, that we forget an important part of this business. It is a business. People in the food industry, and all members of this forum, need to make money. So whether it is the price of a fountain drink, the location of a restaurant, or the quality of the food, at the end of the day, does this business make money? The ultimate bottom line, and the ultimate success of staying open. Ask that independent owner on Preston Highway, or that corporate chain on Hurstbourne Lane (Applebee's at Hurstbourne & Ormsby Station).

You know, sometimes we, on this forum, are so focused on the food and the experience, that we forget an important part of this business. It is a business. People in the food industry, and all members of this forum, need to make money. So whether it is the price of a fountain drink, the location of a restaurant, or the quality of the food, at the end of the day, does this business make money? The ultimate bottom line, and the ultimate success of staying open. Ask that independent owner on Preston Highway, or that corporate chain on Hurstbourne Lane (Applebee's at Hurstbourne & Ormsby Station).

I think all of the regular posters on this forum fully realized what it takes to make a restaurant successful. While we all appreciate and look for a good experience and great food we are not blinded by those aspects of a restaurant. Obviously the bottom line in $'s is the ultimate decision but many things go into it before that even comes into consideration.

Location, overhead costs, quality of staff, food quality, etc. are but a few of the many things that go into making a restaurant successful. Sometimes it's very easy to see why one restaurant thrives while another fails and sometimes it isn't.

The Chili Pot in all visible phases seemed to be a good operation. They had very good food, their building overhead should have been reasonable given the building and location and their staff was always friendly. During members visits it didn't seem like they were struggling so the closing was relatively unexpected.

In other cases such as the Applebee's you mentioned the reasons for closing were much more evident. The location lacked good visibility which is essential for a restaurant of that type. In addition whenever you went in the place didn't have the same vibrant feel that most Applebee's do and the staff were never very jovial. I'm personally surprised it lasted as long as it did.

I'm sure the members of this forum but even more those who desire to open a restaurant wish there was a magic formula to determine what would work and what wouldn't. Unfortunately that isn't the case and in many cases we're just left sitting here asking the question "I wonder what happened?".

Hey, Chili Pot Woman here. I would really like to thank each and every one of you for your kind words, as well as your support while I was open. Unfortunately, you are right on target with the reason I believe that closing was unavoidable. Bad location. I fought this feeling for a long time because the Okolona community was so incredibly kind and supportive. I met some of the most amazing people in that community. Who'd a thunk it? Unfortunately, there just weren't enough of them. Then I was out of money to move to a different location.
I will always value this incredible site for its members and the great support that is offered. Hey, if anyone is in the market for a slightly used restaurant owner?
All my best and sincerest thanks,
Cathy Reid