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Robin Garr

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Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by Robin Garr » Fri Oct 19, 2018 8:10 am

I'm sure Madeleine will succeed wherever she lands.

Chef Madeleine Dee wrote:Hi, folks!

Fond as you know it will be closing in mid 2019 when our lease ends. At that time, the building will be sold and we will continue our evolution somewhere else.

We have already begun to seek our next location so we can find the perfect place! Ideally, that would be a tiny farm with a fine dining restaurant, cafe, Fond Originals store, wine cellar, event space, and B&B. This was the original vision for Fond, so I am hoping that we can somehow make it a reality, creating dozens of Kentucky jobs along the way.

Logan Street Market will be opening in the spring. At that time, I will take my position as the Resident Chef and have a Fond Originals storefront right inside the market! Once we have secured this first shop for our gourmet product line, we intend to expand on a small scale to Lexington, Nashville, and Cincinnati.

Between now and the opening of Logan Street Market, we will experiment with opening Fond up to the public as a Fond Originals pop up store during the week while we are making our products. I will also be switching up the types of events we will be offering at Fond, as well as the price points, so that we can welcome more guests and meet more people. Weekend dinners will continue as usual. We are currently sold out for 2018, but are accepting January & February reservations via email. In home events are possible, and we welcome requests!

Fond is the love of my life. I have devoted every penny I have, every moment of my time, and every ounce of my energy to it. By any measure, it is a success, and I am proud to still be here after 3 years in business. Operating it has helped me mature and become a much stronger person, one who wishes to do what is right for the future of her endeavors and to continue to grow as an owner, a boss, and a team player.

I want to thank everyone who took a chance and tried my little restaurant, especially those diners who returned again and again because they felt the love I put into my work. Cooking is my art and the best way I know how to connect with others. I am grateful for the first edition of Fond, and I am very much looking forward to Fond 2.0!

Thank you for supporting me on this journey. Please keep in touch!
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bob.durbin

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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by bob.durbin » Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:47 am

I'm kind of torn with this Logan Street Market. Maybe it's just me, and I may have gotten my information mixed up but, isn't it supposed to be a market aimed at providing affordable, accessible food to an area of the city that is usually described as a "food desert"? I don't really see how having a gourmet whatever it is shop as one of your anchor tenants is in anyway building toward that goal.

Again, I may have mixed up my information or maybe the focus has changed and I missed that update. But this really looks like another example of outsiders coming into a neighborhood and pushing long time residents out/neglecting the needs of those residents in order to make money peddling $8 espressos and gourmet, organic, small batch heirloom tomato jam to housewives from the east end looking for some excitement by slumming it for the day in Shelby Park.
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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by Robin Garr » Fri Oct 19, 2018 11:22 am

I could be wrong too, but I thought Logan Street Market aimed to succeed by being something bigger. Accessible quality food at decent prices (and with SNAP and WIC availability) to give everyone a chance, while at the same time hoping to grow into something like Cincinnati's Findlay Market to draw crowds and make the businesses prosper.
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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by bob.durbin » Fri Oct 19, 2018 11:35 am

Robin Garr wrote:I could be wrong too, but I thought Logan Street Market aimed to succeed by being something bigger. Accessible quality food at decent prices (and with SNAP and WIC availability) to give everyone a chance, while at the same time hoping to grow into something like Cincinnati's Findlay Market to draw crowds and make the businesses prosper.


You are correct on that, Robin. Early press releases certainly highlighted those points. However, since the opening has been pushed back quite a bit from the original projections, which is not unheard of in this industry, I feel like they might market to those more upscale customers to bring back a return on investment.

Either way, I hope it succeeds. This is definitely something that the city needs and that I have been missing since leaving Ann Arbor nearly a decade ago. I'm excited to see how it turns out and wish everyone involved the best of luck. I'll certainly be giving them my business and money if it offers a legitimate selection of goods and services.
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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by neal.johnson » Fri Oct 19, 2018 2:28 pm

bob.durbin wrote:I'm kind of torn with this Logan Street Market. Maybe it's just me, and I may have gotten my information mixed up but, isn't it supposed to be a market aimed at providing affordable, accessible food to an area of the city that is usually described as a "food desert"? I don't really see how having a gourmet whatever it is shop as one of your anchor tenants is in anyway building toward that goal.

Again, I may have mixed up my information or maybe the focus has changed and I missed that update. But this really looks like another example of outsiders coming into a neighborhood and pushing long time residents out/neglecting the needs of those residents in order to make money peddling $8 espressos and gourmet, organic, small batch heirloom tomato jam to housewives from the east end looking for some excitement by slumming it for the day in Shelby Park.


You win. What a beaut.
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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by Mark R. » Fri Oct 19, 2018 2:49 pm

At least in my view the purpose of the Logan Street Market was not to bring food to an underserved portion of the community (a.k.a. food desert), that was the proposed purpose of the development that was proposed for the West end. My understanding was that this market was to provide Louisville with a year-round food market like those that have developed in many other cities such as the Findlay market Robin mentioned.. A place for anybody from the community could go to buy items that are not normally found in local supermarkets or elsewhere in the community at reasonable prices.

If you look at the Shelby Park area it's right in the heart of an area that has many excellent local restaurants. Yes, there is the large number of supermarkets but there is certainly not a lack of quality food in the area. I my interpretation of the purpose of this market Fond fits in exactly with my view of what should be in the market. Things like this, butcher shops, cheese mongers etc. are what I envision being in this market.

Hopefully it will thrive.
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Adrian Baldwin

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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by Adrian Baldwin » Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:14 am

^ Right on, Mark.


Posts like Bob's are why Louisville continues to lag behind comparable cities with our reputation of being unwelcoming to new things.

Can I assume you were front row at the Top Golf hearings?
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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by Carla G » Mon Oct 22, 2018 1:19 pm

I think you’re being a bit harsh on Bob. I can see his point.
While I love the idea of a ‘hay market’ with various food options I think there may be some discrepancies in your definition of ‘ reasonable prices’.

I guess my question would be , “ Is the single mom living in downtown with two kids and taking the bus to work going to be able to afford shopping there?” I honestly don’t see her profile as one worried about finding a good cheese monger.
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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by Chelsea M » Mon Nov 19, 2018 10:57 am

Correct! Thanks, Robin. Logan Street Market will provide a year-round source of fresh, local, affordable food and will be accepting SNAP, WIC, and Double Dollars. In addition, we will have 32 local, independent vendors, as well as a weekend farmers market. We definitely admire Findlay Market and see this as something the city of Louisville needs! Chef Madeleine Dee will be our resident chef, and while Fond will also hold a booth at the market, she will be doing much more for example, nutrition classes for the public. We can't wait to meet you all at the Market!

Robin Garr wrote:I could be wrong too, but I thought Logan Street Market aimed to succeed by being something bigger. Accessible quality food at decent prices (and with SNAP and WIC availability) to give everyone a chance, while at the same time hoping to grow into something like Cincinnati's Findlay Market to draw crowds and make the businesses prosper.
Logan Street Market
http://loganstmarket.com
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Robin Garr

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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by Robin Garr » Mon Nov 19, 2018 11:39 am

Thanks for popping in to give us the info, Chelsea, and welcome! Best wishes with the market, and I hope you'll keep us posted on developments ... as well as jumping into any other foodie conversations that interest you.
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Re: Fond closing on Frankfort next year, looking to future

by Carla G » Mon Nov 19, 2018 3:40 pm

Love love the idea of nutrition classes for the public. What a cool thing to offer!
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