Husband-and-wife duo opening new 1920s-themed bistro in downtown New Albany

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new upscale bistro restaurant is opening in downtown New Albany.

The Fair is scheduled to open Aug. 20 in the former Toast on Market location at 141 E. Market St. in downtown New Albany, according to our partners at Louisville Business First. The venture is being launched by husband-and-wife duo Juan and Roza Segoviano, co-owners of VIVA! Hospitality Group. That's the company behind the Mexican-themed Señor Iguanas and La Catrina restaurants in Louisville and southern Indiana. It also owns the Sleepy Rooster Morning Kitchen, a brunch spot in New Albany.

The Fair will serve new American cuisine with global influences from Italy, France and Spain, according to the Business First report, and could employ up to 40 people.

The restaurant is named after a former department store that used to be on the block where it is located. Roza said The Fair sign hanging outside the restaurant provided inspiration as they renovated the 2,800-square-foot space.

"We redid the facade, added a new awning and new headers over the windows, and then added some little tables out front," she said. "It was just a total redo. I had in my mind that I wanted it to be art deco, and I really asked the designers to bring the 1920s into the 2020s. They just really outdid themselves. I had no idea it was going to turn out this magnificent."

Before moving to the Louisville area in 2007, Roza and Juan operated a restaurant in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They opened the first Señor Iguanas in Clarksville and a second location near Churchill Downs in south Louisville in 2008.

The Señor Iguanas near the track in Louisville closed in 2023, but the Señor Iguanas location on the Outer Loop is still open. The brand also has restaurants in Clarksville and Sellersburg.

Roza said she and her husband originally planned to create an upscale Mexican restaurant but decided the Market Street building where The Fair is located is too close to La Catrina, just a few blocks away at 202 E. Elm St. in New Albany.

That's when they decided on the bistro concept. Roza said it's an opportunity for her family to showcase the food she loves outside of Mexican cuisine. Her son, Leo, is the chef de cuisine and pastry chef, and another son, Max, oversees the cocktail program.

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