The Porch

Kind of an different take for a downtown hotel restaurant, to be in the Marriott. Article in the CJ, but the site has more info.

https://www.porchlouisville.com/

[Robin Garr]

I assume this is the replacement for BLU? (I didn't read the CJ story.)

They are working on a bourbon concept for the space that Blu occupied.

[Robin Garr]

They are working on a bourbon concept for the space that Blu occupied.

So this is the former Champions space then? Or something else?

According to the article, it is replacing both of them. Excerpt....

The restaurant, at the corner of Jefferson and Third streets, will open for lunch and dinner Wednesday before expanding its hours for breakfast the following day.

The restaurant was developed and is operated by management company White Lodging. It replaces both Champions Sports Bar & Restaurant and Blu Italian Grille.

Executive chef Josh Carter has worked with White Lodging for nearly 10 years and oversaw the switch as a former Champions chef who's now leading Porch's kitchen.

In between those jobs, he also helped open the nearby Corner Restaurant & Bar at Aloft Louisville.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks, Silvio!

We went to the soft opening last week, and I'll say overall the food was excellent but that the core of the restaurant is certainly a step down from Blu. Also, while the food is very good it certainly had completely different caliber from what they had previously. I really if they are trying some different and trying to stand out but it certainly doesn't give you the impression you would expect for a high-end hotel setting.

We have talked to Graham Weber, executive chef of the Marriott downtown several times in the last year about this project. He was excited to create a new menu but I didn't get the impression that he was overly thrilled with the concept either. He told us that the old Blu space is going to be redone and become a bourbon bar that will also serve Tapas (that's popping up everywhere these days). I'm also sorry to see the Jazz Buffet Brunch leaving, we enjoyed going to that several times a year. The actions were nice Sunday brunch is are going downhill with the loss of this 1 and the loss of the one at the Oakroom.

Closing a downtown convention center completely in a city the size of Louisville for nearly 2 years is risky business. Yet, the flow of foot traffic, and the survival, and even growth of businesses has been impressive. With the reopening of the convention center comes a doubling of hotel rooms in the past 5 years, and a boom in bourbon tourism. I think downtown extending over into Nulu will be quite a bustling scene by August when the center opens its doors and the first conventions begin.
The Marriott will see unprecedented traffic flowing on all sides with its location between the Omni and the convention center.