Nelson County distillery opening high-end restaurant on prominent downtown Louisville corner

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Nelson County bourbon and gin distillery will open a new high-end restaurant on a marquee corner of downtown Louisville.

At 2nd and Main streets, Monk's Road Boiler House will take over a building long-occupied by Bearno's By the Bridge, a space that has recently undergone a complete transformation. The two-story venue will have a bar for tastings and events in the basement and a restaurant on the first floor.

The name comes from Log Still's line of bourbon and gin, Monk's Road.

The bar will offer Monk's Road bourbon and gin along with a wider collection of other spirits. The goal for food is to offer high-end steak and seafood along with some Italian options.

Playing off the building's rich history, some of the design elements stayed to true to its origins, like an old safe that will soon keep vintage bourbons safe.

Wally Dant, president of Log Still Distillery, hopes the new restaurant can be a place for tourists and locals.

"We want them to be a part of our family," Dant said Friday. "We've got to go back to what we've always said, which is God, family, community and then bourbon. And so if we can continue that theme up here, we want people to feel comfortable coming in saying 'Hey, this is a great place for me to come.'"

Log Still Distillery celebrated its full-scale opening in 2022, now producing a range of spirits, including gin and bourbon. The $60 million campus in Gethsemane features a tasting room, a concert amphitheater, an event venue, a bed and breakfast and cottage rentals.

The restaurant in Louisville plans to offer a shuttle service from the distillery to give people a full-service experience. So people can have the option to eat dinner in Louisville and then maybe catch a concert at the distillery's music venue, The Amp.

There isn't a set date for the opening of Monk's Road Boiler House, but Dant hopes it'll be ready by early July. The restaurant is also hiring and those interested can stop by the restaurant to apply.

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