(Louisville Business First) - Rafferty's closed its East Louisville location on Springhurst Blvd at the end of July, but another franchise group has already swooped in to buy the building and open a new restaurant.
Roosters' local franchise owner, Chicken Coop LLC, bought the building at 3601 Springhurst Blvd. and intends to open a Roosters Wings there this fall.
Paula Cassady, a partner at Rafferty's, which serves American food, like soups, salads, burgers and steaks, said that Rafferty's wanted to consolidate its Louisville locations, so it decided to close its Springhurst store.
The Bowling Green-based chain offered jobs to all 46 of the Springhurst employees. They could choose a spot at the second Rafferty's location on Breckinridge Lane or at the sister chain, Double Dogs in Middletown. Cassady said all but 12 of the employees made the switch.
The Louisville-based Roosters franchise group, owned by partners Robert Gauthier, Chad Givens and Tony Crish, bought the building on July 25 for $1.35 million, according to property records. Gauthier said they will be opening a Roosters at the former Rafferty's.
"That’s an area of Louisville that was underserved," he said. "Everybody was having to come to to Shelbyville Road. And we will pick up some of Southern Indiana with the new (Lewis & Clark) bridge."
Roosters will hire about 100 employees for the 7,200-square-foot restaurant. Gauthier estimated they will spend a total of $2.2 million to open the location.
