2 new restaurants from Fernando Martinez

The current issue of Food & Dining magazine has a profile of Fernando Martinez that says he plans to open two more restaurants by the end of this year: a Cuban restaurant called Mima and a Venezuelan restaurant (no name yet). They would both be located next to the AC Hotel, which is on East Market Street in NuLu. (This is in addition to the new Taco Luchador locations in the South End and Jeffersontown.)

You can read the Martinez profile here (go to page 20):

https://foodanddine.com/magazine-archiv ... 19-vol-64/

Fernando, familia, and Ole Group--the gift to Louisville that keeps on giving! And with such depth in concepts. Truly gifted and blessed people.

My daughter and I went to Guacamole yesterday. It had been awhile since Ive been there. It was as good as ever! The Guac Sampler is just incredible. Great food, great service.

Great news. With the closure of Artesano and the sale of Mussel Burger Bar and of Mercato Italiano, I was afraid Fernando's entrepreneurial creativity was being subsumed under the enlarging of the Taco Luchador empire. Glad to see that wasn't the case; maybe it was just a period of retrenchment and regrouping.

[Robin Garr]

I was afraid Fernando's entrepreneurial creativity was being subsumed under the enlarging of the Taco Luchador empire.

Same. Time will tell, I'm sure.

[Robin Garr]

I was afraid Fernando's entrepreneurial creativity was being subsumed under the enlarging of the Taco Luchador empire.

Same. Time will tell, I'm sure.

Also, Red Barn.

I was afraid Fernando's entrepreneurial creativity was being subsumed under the enlarging of the Taco Luchador empire.

Same. Time will tell, I'm sure.

Also, Red Barn.

Yeah. That seemed like a misstep from the beginning, though.

I was afraid Fernando's entrepreneurial creativity was being subsumed under the enlarging of the Taco Luchador empire.

Same. Time will tell, I'm sure.

Also, Red Barn.

Was that Joe’s Older than Dirt??

[Robin Garr]

Also, Red Barn.

Was that Joe’s Older than Dirt??

Was before and is again.

This is in addition to the new Taco Luchador locations in the South End and Jeffersontown.)

Update / current stuff - Tacho Luchador's opening in Jtown is drawing near . They have completed the patio and have a "Now Hiring" Sign viewable while passing it on Taylorsville Rd.

I was afraid Fernando's entrepreneurial creativity was being subsumed under the enlarging of the Taco Luchador empire.

Same. Time will tell, I'm sure.

I really loved Artisano. Need to go check out Steak & Bourbon.

I eat at Luchador fairly regularly and have been to Guaca Mole once. They're both great restaurants, but between the vibe I got in the restaurants themselves (especially Guaca Mole), and Ole's marketing on its own website, they almost feel like a chain--or like they may want to become one by franchising eateries in other cities, but I may be way off base on that.

https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/ ... urant.html

Louisville is getting a new restaurant — and it's right next door to the AC Hotel NuLu.

It’s called La Bodeguita de Mima and comes from the Olé Hospitality Group.

According to a commercial alteration filing with the city, the restaurant will be located at 725 E. Market St. The property is owned by Creation Gardens, Inc., which purchased the two-acre area to bring AC Hotel by Marriott to NuLu.

“We’ve had that lot forever and we just couldn’t figure out what to do with it,” said Ron Turnier, president and chief financial officer of Creation Gardens. “We thought we were going to be the nucleus of NuLu back when we bought the property in 2009 — we thought we could drive people there. But we sat on the property for a long time and NuLu developed without us.”

Eventually, the company decided to bring a boutique hotel to property and broke ground on AC Hotel NuLu in 2017.

There are two buildings at 725 E. Market St. next to the hotel, and Turnier said Olé will use both.

The first is the 6,288-square-foot building that was built in 1911. It was previously Neurath & Underwood Funeral Home and it features a large front porch facing Market Street. The secondary building is 4,059 square feet and was formerly Ghyslain on Market, which closed in early 2017.

In between the two structures is a courtyard, which will be used for al-fresco dining, Turnier said.

A media relations representative for Olé said more details about La Bodeguita de Mima will be available in the coming weeks.

Olé Hospitality Group, founded by Chef Fernando Martinez, also owns El Taco Luchador, Steak & Bourbon, Guaca Mole Cocina Mexicana and Joe’s Older Than Dirt restaurants.