Popular Louisville karaoke bar property goes up for auction

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The home of a beloved Louisville karaoke bar is up for auction.

The property where Akiko's Karaoke Club is located, at 1123 Bardstown Road, will be auctioned at or above $500,000, according to our partners at Louisville Business First, which cited a listing on The Menish Group website.

Akiko's is known for its extensive songbook and late night operating hours. The bar is typically open from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m. daily.

The 2,561-square-foot bar, built in 1923, sits on 0.12 acres of land in the middle of the Highlands neighborhood.

The property next to the bar, at 1121 Bardstown Road, is also up for auction and will sell at or above $600,000. Robert and Patricia Webb own both properties, LBF reported, citing records.

Bidding for both properties is open now and will close at 4 p.m. Sept. 23.

"There's two properties there. The left side has the multifamily above an the vacant retail space below, and then the right side is the famous Akiko's, which has been there since the mid '90s I think," Bill Menish, owner and managing director of The Menish Group, told LBF. "It's just a great opportunity. And quite frankly, I'll be shocked if that goes to auction because we have so much interest in it that we think we're going to sell it pre-auction. No guarantees, but it's looking that way."

Menish said "if the price is right," the auction will be canceled and the sale would be put under contract.

Akiko's was set to close for good in March after 28 years in business. But days after the closure was announced, owner Min Hee said an agreement was reached with the landlord to keep the bar open, for now. Hee said the arrangement came with limitations, including uncertainty over a potential new landlord and restrictions on renovations.

"We’re good till then," Hee wrote on social media. "This is not what I wanted to agree to, but it’s better than having to leave now. So for now, we’re going to remain open as normal.

"The bad thing is that we might have to deal with a new landlord, and also we can’t do any remodeling the way we’d like to," the post said.