Ferd Grisanti's closed?

Thanks for the post...It is exactly what I said....Nothing to make me go back for the amount of money you spend ...

I understand that many restauranteurs have come from "Casa Grisanti" Can anyone draw the degrees of separation or family tree for me?

[Robin Garr]

I understand that many restauranteurs have come from "Casa Grisanti" Can anyone draw the degrees of separation or family tree for me?

It's extremely long and complicated, but this is certainly true, and goes for both chefs and front of the house. Vincenzo and Majid are just two names that come immediately to mind, but there are dozens. There was an article on this in Food & Dining several years ago, and The Voice-Tribune did one recently. I don't believe either article is online, though.

In the late 70s Ferd's was managed by Paul Grisanti. It certainly was a family run establishment at that time and the food was fine. By the mid to late 80s there was a quality decline as best I can tell.

Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to dine at Ferd's...but speaking as someone who makes every attempt to patronize local establishments I believe we all loose a little piece of ourselves anytime we see a local landmark go out of business. In this case it doesn't matter that one might be able to find better food at a "chain" restaurant. What really matters is that there will no longer be an opportunity for NEW memories to be made as a result of dining with family and freinds at such a revered local establishment.

Today's C-J on-line is running a an article about the closing, but judging from some of the posts, it may have actually happened about two weeks ago(?) Although we were not regular patrons because of where we live (2-3x/year), we always enjoyed dining there, and I thought their menu was as good as any Italian menu in the area....you can have a good meal at Oilve Garden, Macaroni Grille or Carrabba's, but there's something different about the family-owned establishments that puts them on a different level...they will be missed.

I understand that many restauranteurs have come from "Casa Grisanti" Can anyone draw the degrees of separation or family tree for me?

Bill Hisle splintered off the Grisanti tree and opened Bistro 535 in Shelbyville with head chef Stuart Meredith, off of which I splintered. The Bistro was recently sold and Bill and Stuart are operating Cattleman's Steakhouse outside of Shelbyville.

Those are the branches of the Grisanti tree I know.

Yes it is time to confirm it for those who may not still believe it. We are Closed.

It is with a sad heart and empty pockets I was forced to close the restaurant. Gas prices amoung other economic issues caused the failure of the restaurant.

When Ferd Grisanti built the restaurant in J-town it was ahead of its time. I am sure both of us wished Taylorsville road was as strong as Hurstbourn Road is today. However it wasnt. Location and convience are the first rules in buisness and well Ferds was off by itself. Through time Ferd built it up and the sons continued to make it go. However you never sell a thriving buisness so it stands to reason this is how I ended up owning the restaurant. We attempted to re-intivate the restaurant with new service hours or Sunday Brunch, entering cutting edge drink contests. While we obtained some recongnition for these efforts we continued to see a drop in revenue. This March through April we were off by over 30% in revenue. Our customers were comming in and bless their hearts ordering 1/2 orders split. This 1/4 order told us well they love the food and the restaurant but they simply cant afford it as they once did. We did make our mistakes and for those we always appologized and tried to do better. We kept the recipies exactly the same even though some say we changed for the better and some say we changed it for the worse. Funny when I know that nothing was changed to hear these things as people by nature look for change.

We loved our customers, we loved our employees. I still get up each morning since June 10th and still have a heavy sad heart.

Will it ever re-open, that I cant say. All I do know is that I will not re-open as I am no longer capable of supporting it.

Thank you Louisville for your support. As I have allways said with each closure before us, Keep Supporting the Independant Restaurants. Many great ones out there. We dont want to loose any more of what makes louisville wonderful place to live and work and of course eat.


Rod Rupp
Ferd Grisanti Restaurant
Former Owner

ps...Kudos to the gang at Burbon Bistro, Had a wonderful meal there and service was fantastic.

A sad day indeed! Good luck in the future Rod (I know that losing a place is like losing a child, but where one door closes, others open up...) This is such a wretched time to operate and I am somewhat glad I shut down when I did as it truly would have ruined me. Take care and good luck! -Dave

Yes it is time to confirm it for those who may not still believe it. We are Closed.

I, for one, am deeply saddened by this news. Good luck to you and any future endeavors you undertake.


On a somewhat selfish note, is "pastry girl" Tina working anywhere now? (I'm quoting from the web site) I wasn't kidding when I said I thought it was the best cheesecake I've had in this city.

I had my wedding rehearsal dinner there in 2000 - a wonderful time for everyone who attended.

You will be missed.

Tina is actually working at Sams Club to my knowledge. She is working in the hot dog and snack stand and believe she is managing it. She is a wonderful person, and wish her well. I understand she likes this position quite well. Maybe she might make one on the side for you. She knows all the receipies by nature of doing them day in day out for 20+ years.