Mill Iron 4 to open Feb. 5 on Frankfort Avenue, blending barbecue and whole-animal butchery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A highly-anticipated new Louisville restaurant is now taking reservations.

Mill Iron 4 is opening in the former Enso location on Frankfort Avenue in Clifton on Feb. 5.

Pitmaster Dustin Olsen and Noam Bilitzer, chef and owner of MeeshMeesh Mediterranean, are partnering on the restaurant.

According to our partners at Louisville Business First, Olsen and Bilitzer met while working at Red Hog restaurant and butcher shop in Crescent Hill.

Mill Iron 4 will blend barbecue with whole-animal butchery and dry-aged steaks. It will also have a bar featuring vintage whiskey and a curated wine list.

While the menu will feature traditional steakhouse options, Olsen and Bilitzer plan to showcase cuts of meat that aren't normally used in restaurants.

"A big part of how we both view sustainability is being able to get whole cows here and butcher them ourselves," Bilitzer told LBF. "But also, all the farms we work with sell a lot of ribeyes and a lot of New York strips that everyone wants, and a lot of restaurants and chefs don't want to commit to buying chuck and rounds and other cuts that you don't see on menus."

Customers will see a steak flight, along with Denver steak, bone-in lamb neck and money muscle. Mill Iron 4 will also serve seafood dishes, salads, soups and a selection of sides.

"I don't think there is another restaurant, definitely not in Kentucky, but I would say there are very few in America serving a lot of these cuts, like the toro steak or spider steak that we're going to open with," said Bilitzer.

Olsen and Bilitzer are partnering with former Enso owners Stacy and Daniel Holyfield and Eric Jennings, who operate North of Bourbon.

Bilitzer was just named a semifinalist for the 2026 James Beard Award. Bilitzer has received numerous awards and titles, such as being "Chopped Winner" on the Food Network show "Chopped." He was also named one of Louisville Business First's 20 People to Know in Tourism/Hospitality.

The name Mill Iron 4 is a callback to Olsen's grandfather's cattle ranch in Wyoming.

Reservations for the restaurant are available through OpenTable, but are already pretty booked up.

More Local Business News:

New hospitality spaces to debut in Keeneland’s Paddock Building during 2026 Spring Meet

UPS expects to cut another another 30,000 positions in 2026

Louisville's MeeshMeesh Mediterranean cracks Yelp’s top 100 restaurants list

Tacos, cocktails and late nights: Chica’s opens Feb. 6 in Butchertown