3 new restaurants open in Louisville in last two weeks of October. Here's what to know
In the final days of October, Louisville has gained three new restaurants. The new spots include a smoothie shop, a popular doughnut joint, and a burger place that closed and then reopened.
Here's what to know about the latest batch of restaurant openings in Louisville:
Better Blend
4149 Shelbyville Road, betterblend-smoothies-bowls.com
This Kentucky-based smoothie company opened its first Louisville location in St. Matthews earlier this month.
Better Blend is known for its smoothies and smoothie bowls that "taste like your favorite indulgences, but without the guilt," according to its website, with options like "Apple Jacks," "Birthday Cake," "Chocolate-Covered Strawberry," "Peanut Butter Pie," and more.
The company was founded by Isaac Hamlin, who played rugby at the University of Kentucky and was "inspired to find a replacement for the heavy meals that were the team’s pregame tradition," according to the website.
"I created Better Blend because I enjoy helping people and this is just a vehicle that allows me to do that on the largest scale. The world can be a healthier place, we just need to make it easier," he says.
Better Blend is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Duck Donuts
12939 Shelbyville Road, duckdonuts.com
Duck Donuts, a popular doughnut shop that originated in North Carolina, opened its second Louisville location on Oct. 28.
The first Louisville location, which was the first Kentucky-based Duck Donuts, opened in 2021 at 4600 Shelbyville Road in St. Matthews.
“We are delighted to continue our Duck Donuts expansion in the greater Louisville area, and serve our warm, delicious and made-to-order donuts to those across Middletown,” Jeff Penn, Duck Donuts Louisville franchise owner, said in a press release. “This new location is a testament to the incredible support we’ve received since opening our first location and we look forward to sprinkling even more happiness throughout the community.”
As far as the menu goes, fan favorites include “Beach Ball,” a doughnut topped with vanilla icing, rainbow sprinkles and chocolate drizzle, and “Bacon in the Sun,” a doughnut with flavors of maple icing and topped with chopped bacon and a salted caramel drizzle, the Courier Journal previously reported. Other doughnuts are inspired by the flavors of blueberry pancakes, chocolate-covered strawberries, French toast, and s’mores. Diners could also try coffee, breakfast sandwiches, doughnut sundaes, and milkshakes.
Duck Donuts is open Monday and Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m
Six Forks Burger Co.
1039 Ash St., sixforksburgers.com
This is a bit of an open and closing story. On Sept. 5, Six Forks Burger Co. owner Troy King took to Facebook to announce the family-owned restaurant in Schnitzelburg would be closing.
About a month later, in early October, King posted another video on the restaurant’s Facebook page with the message: “We’re back.”
“We were not aware that we would be receiving phone calls and emails, even got a lot of comments about how we were going to be missed and we shouldn’t close,” King said at the time in the video. “We didn’t close because of financial reasons, we didn’t close because it didn’t work. We closed purely because it was really stressing us out.”
Six Forks returned Oct. 18 with a slightly smaller menu and now operates as take-out only. It has self-serve kiosks and an app for ordering, King said previously, in an effort to be “fast and efficient.”
Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at ahancock@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 2023 Louisville restaurant openings: Better Blend, Duck Donuts
