Couture Closet Boutique - La Grange, KY

123 E. Main Street, La Grange, KY 40031

http://coutureclosetboutique.com

La Grange, Kentucky’s Main Street is one of the few remaining in the United States that has a working railroad go directly down the middle of the street. We’re not talking a three-car streetcar, but a heavy CSX train that runs from Louisville to Cincinnati. (Yes, there are still about two accidents a year when people or cars believe they can out run a train.)

Couture Closet Boutique's storefront (brown awning with white letters)
can be seen to the left of the train engine. Photo by cledwards.

When an antique store closed at this address, Lauren Montgomery and Tera Davis set up shop in January 2007. As twenty-something women, they knew that there were women traveling from Louisville to the bridal district in Cincinnati to find the perfect dress.

They believed if they provided a different experience, one that was more personalized and with dresses women couldn’t find elsewhere, they could pull in customers who wouldn’t have to complete the drive to Cincinnati. They were correct. Now women stop in this small town — with a population just over 8,300 — to receive one-on-one attention and pick from designers such as Hayley Paige, Lillian West and Sara Gabriel. The owners also have a private label designer providing dresses that no customer will find in a magazine.

“We’re very hands-on and pay attention to your details and budget,” Montgomery said, “it’s something I think is lost in retail these days.”

Amongst the quaint shops with an 1880’s look along Main Street, this modern store offers private appointments and promises “a no pressure atmosphere.”

Patrick O'Shea's - Louisville, KY

123 W. Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202

osheaslouisville.net

Opened in 2010, this Irish pub nearly met its end in July 2015 when a three-alarm fire that burned Louisville, Kentucky's Whiskey Row raged only feet away.

“We had firefighters on our roof; we were on the phone calling the insurance company,” said owner Tom O’Shea.

Luckily, the damage was only two days of mandatory closure.

Part of the city’s Main Street Revitalization project, O’Shea has also dealt with what he describes as a “construction war zone” as six years of rehabbing historic buildings and revitalizing the area continues.

O’Shea’s family spent $3.6 million on their rehab. (A pittance compared to neighbor Old Forester Distillery’s $45 million project.) Revealed and exposed throughout the restaurant were 150-year-old hardwood floors and preserved brick walls.

Patrons favor the fish and chips, hand-ground burgers and more than 24 craft beers on tap. The 17,500 square feet also accommodates numerous private parties and corporate events.

It’s a grand evolution from Mary’s Chateau, a smaller venue with Cabaret-style entertainment and great libations that Tom O’Shea’s Irish immigrant grandmother, Mary, opened across town when she moved to Louisville, KY in 1958.  Tom’s father, Kevin, eventually took over the business and then handed it down to his sons. They now own this restaurant and another, O’Shea’s Irish Pub, on Baxter Avenue.