Building, Frankfort and Ewing

What used to be in this building at the corner of Frankfort and Ewing? I don't remember. And why is it for sale directly from the Louisville Metro Government? I could probably do some snooping around online and figure it out, but I am a profoundly lazy man and besides, I hear the voice of a pork chop calling my name.

Ear X-Tacy

No, Ear X-Tacy didn't go out of business after their desperate plea for more business- they've just moved down the street a piece, to the old Fed Ex/Kinko's building at 2226 Bardstown Road.

Presumably, the rent here is much cheaper and/or they have a landlord who's willing to work with them (which is something all too rare these days). Meanwhile, their old location at 1534 Bardstown Road sits empty.

But now who's going to move into a place this expensive? Good question.

On the Border

On The Border is no more. How can a Mexican restaurant go out of business in this town? Along with pizza joints, they're like the basic building block of American civilization nowadays, with seemingly no upper limit on how many of them any given city can sustain. And yet, like Los Chubascos, it's vamoosed.

When it comes to authenticity, though, On The Border was probably near the bottom of the scale, what with so many great Latin restaurants in this burg. On the other hand, its close promixity to Tinseltown Theater should have guaranteed that even a Taco Bell could thrive out here. (Oh, wait - there is one nearby, and it is.)

Drexel Heritage

Drexel Heritage (9801 Linn Station Road) is having a big going-out-of-business sale. I never really paid attention to them and didn't even know what they were - I had to Google them when I got home to find out that they're a furniture store. Tucked amongst mostly residential and office spaces on Linn Station Road, I'm surprised they managed to make a go of it at all. Location, location, location.

Markdowns

Sad to see Markdowns (104 Fairfax Avenue) go. Although the sign says "clothing outlet", they actually had all kinds of interesting Big Lots-type finds in here. Most notably, I scored a bunch of great discontinued-colors Fiestaware here a few years ago.

Furlongs

Whoops, Furlongs on Shelbyville Road has gone wayward; when did that happen? I never actually dined or drank here, but I did apply for a bartending position here last Winter. Some middle-management guy shook my hand, and said "Hello there, the manager's not here right now, he's home sick with Swine Flu." I doused my hands with sanitizer when I returned to my car, and never returned for a follow-up.

Zone Comics/Superhero Cafe

At first I thought this place was another victim of the ongoing economics crunch and the ongoing cultural downfall of America (meaning, more and more kids today are too numb with Ritalin and video games to care about reading comic books). But rejoice - Zone Comics still lives on to fight the good fight, just a few doors further down at 291 Hubbards Lane.

Utopia

When Utopia is out of business, it's time to worry. Someone should change the sign to "Dystopia" now.

The Pink Door

When did the Pink Door give it up? I hardly ever frequented the place but always enjoyed its style. Their myspace and twitter haven't been updated since last summer.

4111 Oechsli

Right down the way from 4109 Oechsli, another vacancy in the real estate desert.

Louisville Gold Club

Another Louisville strip club, lost to the aether. Louisville Gold Club, formerly at 319 E Market Street, is now vacant and for lease.

The Pitchin' Wedge

This place always reminded me of one of Daniel Clowes' absurd storefronts in the backgrounds of his comics. Sadly, it seems to have gone the way of Ice Haven. I walked by there the other day on my way to La Catalana and noticed it's empty. And for the rest of the evening, I drove myself insane singing Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind" over and over but substituting the words "Pitchin' Wedge".

Boudreaux's

Well, that was certainly a short run. Boudreaux's at 116 East Main opened just a few months ago and they've already packed it in. Just happened to be walking by the other day and noticed the place is empty and for lease. I only went in here once and was treated pretty snootily, so I can't say as I'm shedding a tear to see them go.

4109 Oechsli

How can anyplace so close to Havana Rumba, a virtual hub of hipsterdom, go out of business? Then again, a Google search shows that this spot has most recently been Girlfriends Gift Shop (who seem to still be in business online) and the Louisville Bridge Club (who have since moved to Dutchmans Lane). I suppose rum-soaked inebriants (like myself) aren't the sort of traffic these places were hoping for.

Clothes Encounter

Right next door to Scrub A Dub Dog. Wash your clothes, wash your dog, one-stop washing. It was a perfect block. And now it's all gone. Sad, I tell you, sad.

Smith's Furniture

I'm going to miss Smith's Furniture, and those old commercials with the owl... "Smith's Furniture, that's whoooo!" The last of their locations was here on Shelbyville Road and it finally followed its departed sister stores and gave up.

Of course, I never bought so much as a lampshade or a bobeche there; I just liked that the place existed, for its own sake.

The Patron

Aaarrgh!! One of my top five restaurants of all time, The Patron, has given up the ghost. They were unfortunately just too cool to live: in a nation with a dying economy and an increasingly dullard population, The Patron delivered stunning cuisine and specialty drinks (remind me to do a full feature on Lee Look, their supremely multifaceted bartender, one of these days on one of these blogs).



Someday, if I ever open a high-end cafe, I'm going to pattern it exactly after the way they did things at the Patron.

Kentucky BBQ Company

Well, I'll be damned. I just wrote about these people on Louisville Mojo a couple months ago and now they're gone. When I interviewed the guy there in December, he was enthusiastic and gave no sign that the ship was taking on water. Did they just move somewhere else, perhaps? Maybe. But their website's gone too.

Ray Parrella's Italian Cuisine

Ray Parrella's Italian Cuisine, a Louisville area institution since 1961, has closed its doors. The building at 2311 Frankfort Avenue is for sale, complete with fixtures and ready to go as another restaurant.

Scrub A Dub Dog

Dog gone. Building at 816 Cherokee Road empty and their website is scrubbed.