Cena closing! (Except that it's not)

Not as bad as it sounds but it's still closing November 28. Here's the complete story from insider Louisville: http://insiderlouisville.com/lifestyle_ ... novations/

[Robin Garr]

Yeah, really just a clickbait headline.

[Robin Garr]

PS: I thought I'd tweak the subject line a little bit to avoid passing on the clickbait.

Well, I'm not so sure it was really set up as clickbait because how many times have we seen the restaurant close that was supposed to reopen elsewhere and it never did? I realize this is Fernando and he has a great track record but... The fact remains it's closing now with no concrete plans for when and where it will reopen, in my mind that mean that it's closing!

I agree with Mark. It's gone although MAYBE it will be resurrected.

Well, I'm not so sure it was really set up as clickbait because how many times have we seen the restaurant close that was supposed to reopen elsewhere and it never did? I realize this is Fernando and he has a great track record but... The fact remains it's closing now with no concrete plans for when and where it will reopen, in my mind that mean that it's closing!

Yeah, the writing on the wall doesn't project a comforting vibe.

It wasn't really a restaurant of it's own. It was always in the basement of MBB, right? A sort-of speakeasy. No frontage, little marketing. You kind of had to know it was there to be there. Good for certain markets, bad for others.

Take him at his word, Fernando will make this happen, I have no doubt.

If you wanna see some of what his vision was, but with Spanish flair- go to Artesano. That's great frontage and a stand-alone Restaurant. You won't have any doubts, either.

PS. I haven't even been there, that's how much I trust this team.

I'm extremely disappointed to hear this. I also think the notion that upscale to fine dining just doesn't work in Jtown is kinda silly and really hate to see the area lose something like this to dining hubs like Bardstown Rd or Frankfort Ave. The place had no visibility. None. When people going to MBB don't even realize the TPD/Cena was there, it's a problem.

But, this is gonna be the way it works. Cena and TPD both failed and the restaurateur is telling people J-town is the problem and that's gonna be the narrative about J-town. I love Martinez and his restaurants rarely disappoint but I wish this wasn't the way it was handled.

Cena and TPD both failed and the restaurateur is telling people J-town is the problem and that's gonna be the narrative about J-town. I love Martinez and his restaurants rarely disappoint but I wish this wasn't the way it was handled.

Thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking! Our family moved from NYC and chose to settle in J-town. Yes, it has a "unique" charm at times, but that is what we love about it. Trust me, my dining cravings can vacillate from Johnny V's to Cena and back again in no time flat. To denigrate an area in this manner is not what I would expect from Fernando and what I've come to know of him. ::steps off soapbox::

[Robin Garr]

To denigrate an area in this manner is not what I would expect from Fernando and what I've come to know of him. ::steps off soapbox::

Bear in mind that the link in the original post is not from Fernando directly. it's from one of the blogs, and could have been misquoted or taken out of context. I'd like to hear that from Fernando directly before I get mad.

I didn't take it as a slam on the neighborhood. But maybe I'm reading it wrong. Could it be that certain neighborhoods can't sustain certain concepts, while others can? There has to be a reason why places do demographic studies, and look at neighboring businesses to figure out how to invest.

The way I read it is J-town was voting UP M&BB not DOWN Cena.

This is where the Norton Commons rumors will start...

Are there other fine dining restaurants in J-town that have been successes, to disprove the theory?

Bear in mind that the link in the original post is not from Fernando directly. it's from one of the blogs, and could have been misquoted or taken out of context

I dunno, the way Coomes wrote the article he sure appears to be quoting Fernando quite a bit.

[Robin Garr]

Are there other fine dining restaurants in J-town that have been successes, to disprove the theory?

Probably more the other way around: The space was originally purpose-built for Perusa, which was more ostentatiously high-end, and it didn't last a year.

That said, though, I'm not sure that the mega-strip that is Hurstbourne Lane is quite the same thing, demographically, as "Jeffersontown" in the traditional sense. A different, broader catchment.

But back to your original question: Ferd Grisanti was arguably upscale, and it lasted a quarter-century in the heart of Old Jeffersontown.