The Bard's Town
Four score and seven years ago (OK, sometime in 2003), co-owner Doug Schutte was in another world when he should have been focused on his job at hand-directing a play. Instead, he found himself giggling as he thought about some day opening a lunch time place called "The Shakespeare Café," with lunch items like The Hamlet Sandwich and the Spinach-upon-Avon Salad . He babbled about the idea for some time, most likely annoying the bejeezus out of those unlucky souls who found themselves trapped in his yarn-spinning web.
Then, after a fellowship gig working at Shakespeare's Globe in London, Schutte found himself resolute to find a way to combine his four favorite things on earth-Booze, Food, Theatre, and Booze-into one gigantic gala of goodness. And thus the idea for this beacon of hope (we're quite self-delusional) was originally hatched in 2006, referred to in its initial stages as "The Billy Shakespeare" and some other names that would be embarrassingly awkward to admit to the general public.
Each year at Christmas, when their dear friends would get together for late night "Friend Christmas," plotting and scheming would invariably occur. Co-owner Scot Atkinson, then a resident artist at The Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA, and Schutte discussed the possibility of the venture, and wondered aloud why there was no theatre in the Louisville Highlands-especially as the Highlands constitute the artistic hub of the city.
And so as he was apt to do, Schutte began obsessing, building a business plan and attempting to find a site in the Highlands that could house both a restaurant and a theatre. Around this time, co-owner Jon DeSalvo decided to shake off his other restaurant ventures and jump into The Bard's Town madness, and the third member of our triumvirate was on board.
In early 2009, we first stepped foot in 1801 Bardstown Rd. 14 months (and many tearful nights) later, the building was ours, and the process of turning a building that lay dormant for over a year into our humble slice of heaven had begun.
Then came the name. "The Bard's Town." A triple entendre of sorts, the name pays homage to the Highlands street we love so dearly, and also to the man known as "The Bard"-William Shakespeare. And while we do quite a bit of Shakespearean punning here at The Bard's Town, the name is really intended to place focus on "The Bards" of today. This is why we ask our cooks to be creative, why we hire servers who have passions in theatre, music, and visual art, why we make a conscious effort to get as many Kentucky Proud ingredients as we can, why we promote local artists via the paintings on our walls and the performances in our lounge, and why we will have a theatre company devoted to new work...to the new "Bards." Our ultimate goal is complete world domination via an assembly of creative talent as yet unseen (refer back to the earlier "self-delusional" comment).
Early in 2010, the team began putting together a menu that would represent perfectly the identity of this unique venture. As the menu continues to evolve, we find ourselves more and more proud of the artistically delicious food we present to you.
And so the concept that was The Bard's Town is now alive and well, still in its infancy, still evolving, still striving to become the place you can't believe you ever lived without...with a lot fewer teary eyes at the end of the day.
Doug Schutte most recently served as the Executive Director of the KY Theatre Association. In addition to cooking, Doug oversees the front of the house in the restaurant, and manages the finances, PR, and marketing. Doug will also serve as Executive Director for the theatre.
Jon DeSalvo brings a wealth of restaurant experience, having owned the Willow Lake Tavern in Louisville, as well as most recently opening a Beef O'Brady's in Southern Indiana. Jon oversees the back of the house operations at the Bard's Town.
Scot Atkinson returned to Louisville from Abingdon, VA, where he worked professionally for the Barter Theatre. Scot works as Artistic Director for the theatre.
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