Louisville restaurant rebrands with focus on lunch to increase foot traffic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville restaurant has swapped the fried chicken and barbecue for something lighter in a total rebrand to bring in more people.

Louie's Hot Chicken and Barbecue reopened Aug. 27 as Louie's Soup and Sandwiches, according to our partners at Louisville Business First.

The fast-casual restaurant on Poplar Level Road closed for a remodel in early August and recently started welcoming customers back.

Owner Jon Mitchell said he changed the concept in an attempt to increase foot traffic by putting more emphasis on lunch.

"We'd have sales at the old place, but it still never really amounted to a whole lot of profit," Mitchell told LBF. "We're always busier at lunch, so we kind of just felt like, 'Let's try to lean into a lunch menu and see how it goes.' Spicy fried chicken (is) not exactly the most lunchable food."

The new menu features a variety of hot and cold sandwiches, including roasted pork, Cuban, and chipotle turkey and salami. There are also soups and sides, such as potato and pasta salad, with prices ranging from $6.99 to $13.99. Mitchell said he plans to bring back Louie's popular wings in the future because of customer demand.

"I know people are sad about the chicken, but they should come try a sandwich. I think they'll like it," he said.

With the new rebrand comes new hours. The restaurant now closes at 7 p.m. weekdays and is closed Saturdays, though Mitchell said he may open some Saturdays in the future.

"I'm eliminating Saturday now just as a lifestyle choice," he said. "When it gets to spring, I have some plans to maybe open one or two Saturdays a month, depending on weather and availability. We'd kind of have a big Saturday barbecue throwdown."

Louie's first opened in 2018 in a 900-square-foot space previously occupied by Lolita's Tacos.

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