‘Downtown Sturdy’ initiative goals to revitalize downtown Louisville space, kick-start tourism

A new initiative called “Downtown Strong” aims to stimulate tourism in the city center while revitalizing the neighborhood. Rebecca Matheny, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership, said messaging should cover the full potential of downtown. “We talk really positively about our city,” said Matheny. “We’d love to see people come back to work. We’d love to see people when it’s appropriate for events. We really want people to understand that downtown is clean, that it’s safe, that it’s inviting . ” This is important now, according to Matheny, after a year of unrest in the city of Louisville and a pandemic that has hit economies across the country and around the world. “We know this is going to be very difficult at the national level for both traditional retail and restaurants,” said Matheny. Max Bloom confidently takes the risk by opening the fourth location of his Parlor Pizza restaurant on West Liberty Street. It’s the second time for Bloom, who said he saw the Promise in downtown Louisville. “We had a downtown location that we had to close because of the pandemic,” said Bloom. “We knew it was going to be slow, didn’t understand exactly how slow it was going to be, but as a downtown resident I see downtown come back to life a little bit every day, so we wanted to be one step ahead of the curve A. Do a little and build our Parlor brand and reopen downtown. “Matheny hopes people like Bloom will continue to see the potential she sees for the area and hopes it will bring them back to being one bustling downtown. “It’s incredibly important for everyone who is downtown recreation to happen, and we have companies that are very, very focused on our central urban core and making our community move forward,” said Matheny. Parlor Pizza on West Liberty Street opens on April 15th. Matheny encourages people to share their experiences online and make suggestions as to what better things they can do to revitalize the downtown area.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –

A new initiative called “Downtown Strong” aims to stimulate tourism in the city center while revitalizing the neighborhood.

Rebecca Matheny, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership, said messaging should capture the full potential of downtown.

“We talk really positively about our city,” said Matheny. “We’d love to see people come back to work. We’d love to see people when this is appropriate for events. We really want people to understand that downtown is clean, safe and welcoming.”

Messaging was now especially important after a year of unrest in the city of Louisville and a pandemic that hit economies across the country and around the world, according to Matheny.

“We know this is going to be a very difficult time for traditional retail and restaurants at the national level,” said Matheny.

Max Bloom confidently takes the risk by opening the fourth location of his Parlor Pizza restaurant on West Liberty Street. It’s the second time for Bloom, who said he saw the Promise in downtown Louisville.

“We had a downtown location that we had to close because of the pandemic,” said Bloom. “We knew it was going to be slow, didn’t understand exactly how slow it was going to be, but as a downtown resident I see downtown come back to life a little bit every day, so we wanted to be one step ahead of the curve A. A little and expand our Parlor brand and reopen downtown. “

Matheny said she hopes people like Bloom continue to see the potential she sees for the area and hopes it will turn them back into a busy downtown area.

“It’s incredibly important for everyone to have downtown recover and have businesses that are very, very focused on our central urban core and making sure our community moves forward,” said Matheny.

Parlor Pizza on West Liberty Street opens on April 15th.

Matheny ‘encourages people to share their experiences online and come up with suggestions on what better they can do to revitalize downtown.