LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Move over Swift Packing Company, there's a new king of hogs in Butchertown. Pizza is returning to the unique Louisville neighborhood, right across from the Story Avenue meat packing plant.
The Hog Father Pizza Shop opens Monday, Feb. 8 in the space once occupied by the hugely popular Butchertown Pizza Hall, which suddenly closed in 2019.
Head Chef Crosby Reasor has been creating started, sandwiches and specialty pies like the Redux Deluxe.
"It has bacon jam, pulled pork and chow chow on it," Reasor said. "I like to keep things Kentucky with my menu a lot."
Once at Harvest Restaurant in NuLu, Reasor said the pandemic has been a weird time for restaurants, but he's confident pizza will win out.
"It is pandemic proof," Reasor said. "You can get it to go, you can eat here, it's great the day after as well."
Investor Jon Leslie and long-time Butchertown business owner Andy Blieden are behind the move to reinvest while other businesses are unfortunately closing.
"It's a wish for things to get back to normal soon," Blieden said. "This is an exercise in optimism, we really believe we are working toward getting back to normal."
The restaurant has been redesigned with COVID-19 in mind, including a roof-top deck. Blieden said Hog Father is currently hiring 20 employees, and they know there are plenty of Louisville residents who are fit for the job.
"That's 20 new restaurant jobs, and we haven't had trouble finding people because a lot of good people are out of work," Blieden said.
While they know it will be tough to succeed during the pandemic, Butchertown has always excelled in the face of tough odds.
Blieden said the reopening is driven by one simple mission: "Restaurants are the backbone of a community and of a neighborhood."
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