Bluegrass Burgers Closed

As I was driving down Frankfort Avenue earlier this afternoon I noticed that the chairs were on the tables at Bluegrass Burgers and no cars were in the parking lot. So I stopped and a sign on the front door indicates that they have closed.

We used to get veggie and black bean burgers from them every now and then, and liked them, but I must admit that we have not patronized them recently.

Didn't they have a change in ownership within the last year or so?

[Robin Garr]

Awwww! I hate to hear that, Mike. Like you, I liked the place a lot AND hadn't been for a while. (Mary used to go fairly regularly with some friends, though.)

Christopher Seckman, the owner of North End Cafe, was the original owner. I don't recall having heard that he was out, but what do I know?

Meanwhile, it doesn't look good. No answer on their phone (502) 614-6567, although it rings through, doesn't appear to be disconnected. No mention on their Facebook page, but it had been fairly active with near-daily posts until August 31, and not a single post thereafter. Last Instagram post, same day. Last day of the month: Gave up their lease at month's end?
https://www.facebook.com/BluegrassBurgersKY/

I went there last week for the first time in forever. The food was good but overall the place had a very run down vibe. Things just didn’t seem like it was going well. A little dirty, they were out of most of their advertised soft drinks, and it just seemed off.

[Robin Garr]

Interesting. I wonder if there was an ownership change that occurred when the social media all stopped abruptly, and the new owners gave it a couple more months before giving it up. Just speculating, no information at all.

Pretty sure the Doc Crows restaurant group bought them

[Robin Garr]

Well, that sent me to Chef Google, and sure enough, the sale happened almost a year ago, mid-October 2017.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/l ... 761702001/

Something else has happened more recently, though, with the abrupt cessation of their social media after July 31, and its apparently vacant status now.

I've got to say, looking back over that group's history, with the singular exception of Doc Crow's, staying power is not what they're known for.

It definitely changed hands and they quickly raised prices, changed the veggie burger to a boring black bean burger (Can I just quickly say that I am SO SICK of black bean burgers) and did away with the toppings bar. We went once after learning all of this and never went back.

[Robin Garr]

Ick. I'm just as glad that I hadn't been lately. Thanks for the follow-up, Heather.

It's so frustrating when a restaurant like this that has a good following and a great product gets sold in the 1st thing the new owner does is change everything! If the restaurant is successful with the current format stay with it, in most cases you bought the restaurant because it successful so why change something that's working? In this case from the comments that have been posted appears that the new owners just came in and changed everything. No wonder it went out of business.

With a nice black peppery sear on their burgers, I was very impressed when they opened. However, it seems to me that there was a steep decline in food quality and execution just a couple of years ago, then it’s been a steady decline the rest of the way. This isn’t a surprise to me either.