'Changing from the ground up' | Louisville developer leading revitalization in Harlan County

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville developer has been working to revitalize the Portland neighborhood in Louisville for the past 10 years, and now some of those same strategies are being used to bring new life to Harlan in eastern Kentucky.

Gill Holland, locally known for his development of NuLu, has turned his attention to a west Louisville neighborhood with the Portland Investment Initiative, which was founded 10 years ago. Holland, whose father was born in Harlan County, travels to Harlan several times a month for work in eastern Kentucky.

After Harlan County became an epicenter of the coal mining industry in the 20th century, the rural Appalachia area has dealt with poverty and unfair perceptions that have stunted its growth, according to Holland.

"One of the biggest challenges coming into an area that hasn't had a lot of attention is just the perception, changing the perception of the outside world as to what is actually going on," Holland said.

Harlan County had a burst of population growth in the 1930s, peaking at 75,275 people in 1940, according to the U.S. Census. The population has decreased for decades, and is now 26,831.

Holland and local investors are working to strengthen Harlan County's economy by bringing new ideas and supporting established businesses in eastern Kentucky.

After meeting in 2017, Geoff Marietta and Holland teamed up two years later to create the concept of Harlan County Beer Company. The brewery and restaurant officially opened last fall in Harlan.

"I thought he was crazy. Harlan had just voted to go wet in 2019," Marietta said. "There was nothing like a full-service restaurant brewery anywhere nearby."

It took years to renovate the dilapidated space that sits across from the Harlan County courthouse. Harlan County Beer Company is marketed as the first legal brewery in the county.

Jacki Bentley, the brewery's general manager, hired 27 people, only two of whom had worked in a full-service restaurant before. While she admitted the training process was "trickier" at times, she encourages her servers to offer patrons a special experience.

"When you are part of a community like this — that is small, that has this much history — you have more of a responsibility, I think, to provide that kind of space for people," Bentley said. "I feel like we have our flaws too, but we are getting really close."

It has become a meeting place for people to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, along with offering another sit-down restaurant in downtown Harlan, joining the Portal Pizzeria, just a block away.

"There aren't a lot of options here. We've created that," Bentley said. "It's going to create a stronger downtown. I'm very excited about the progress that I see."

While Marietta said there have been ups and downs as the brewery has gotten going, they're seeing progress. The brewery plans to build an outdoor and private event space in the future.

"We see this as activating and accelerating downtown revitalization," Marietta said. "We doubled our projections in terms of the brewery, had great community support. Harlan is an amazing community with people."

April Collins and her husband started Sassy Trash 10 years ago, initially setting up in flea markets, state fairs and craft events. It's an antique shop and thrift store that seemingly has something for everyone.

The Collins moved into a three-story building on Main Street for their first brick-and-mortar store five years ago. Collins said when they purchased the building, there were more abandoned buildings on Main Street than ones that were occupied.

"In five short years, that has drastically changed," Collins said. "It's starting to come along."

While Sassy Trash does ship items, the store welcomes visitors from several states across the region.

The shop supports local artists and vendors by selling their goods at the store. Collins said tourists gravitated toward handmade items.

"There is a lot of talent in this town, and we give them an outlet to display that," Collins said.

Bringing in tourists can be lucrative for local businesses, but accommodations are still needed in Harlan. The city in eastern Kentucky is in need of a hotel that can host regional conferences and guests.

As shops and restaurants open, Harlan can offer a variety of outdoor activities like hiking Kentucky's tallest mountains, ATV off-roading, ziplining, hunting and tours of a coal mine.

"I feel like Kentucky has not leveraged the beauty of Appalachia," Holland said. "We could and should have tourists from all over the world coming to our Appalachia. I think some surrounding states, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia have done some good work on the tourism front."

While tourism can substantially benefit the local businesses, supporting people within the community is still the top priority for business owners.

"We have people that come and shop with us, and say 'if you were in Louisville or Asheville or Knoxville, you could do so much better' and our response to them is 'Harlan deserves it too,'" Collins said. "Not only do we want a nice place for our tourists to come into, we want to show our local people that Harlan is worthy of it too."

Harlan County proved it's worthy of an amenity common at corners across cities in America.

Sky and Geoff Marietta moved back to Harlan in 2015 after living in Boston for 11 years. Sky's mother had taught for Harlan County Schools and she grew up in Berea.

When they moved back to Harlan, they noticed something missing from the downtown area: a coffee shop.

"There wasn't a spot to get a cup of coffee, sit and meet with people, catch up on homework, have good internet, do virtual work," Sky Marietta said. "We really thought that was something the town of Harlan could benefit from, it was a need."

Moonbow Tipple Coffee and Sweets opened in 2019 on Main Street. It offers healthy fast-casual options like sandwiches and salads, in-store baked goods including cookies, cinnamon rolls and brownies, along with a full coffee menu.

The shop uses local roasters for a complete offering of coffee. It's another option for people around the area.

"Harlan is a small town, but it has absolutely embraced having a coffee shop," Sky Marietta said. "The town is really changing from the ground up."

As Harlan changes, so to does the perception of people visiting.

"Once they get down here, and they see what's going on, it starts to completely change their perspective on what it means to be in eastern Kentucky," Geoff Marietta said.

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