Access Louisville Live: Our next live podcast is 4 p.m. Oct. 29. Join us as we talk money and college sports with University of Louisville A.D. Josh Heird and University of Kentucky Deputy A.D. Marc Hill. Details and registration here.

We've got a roundup of recent restaurant news on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

We start with Ramen House’s relocation. Reporter Michael L. Jones details how the popular eatery moved from its original spot in MidCity Mall to a new, larger location at 204 South Spring Street, previously home to Gary’s on Spring. The move was prompted by the expiration of the Ramen House’s lease and the owner’s desire for a long-term arrangement, which was complicated by the MidCity Mall's potential sale.

The owner, Jonathan Ham, took on the role of general contractor for the new space, facing numerous challenges including a flooded basement, the need to replace major appliances, and even a break-in that resulted in stolen tools.

Despite these setbacks, the new location offers expanded kitchen space, a parking lot, and plans for a cocktail menu once the liquor license is secured, Jones said.

After that, we chat about By Golly’s Bar & Grill, an Ohio-based pub-style restaurant chain, in Clarksville, Indiana, which opened at the site of a former Hooters. Jones explains that By Golly's is using the Louisville area as a launchpad for regional expansion

We also highlighted the growth of Parlor, a successful local pizza chain, which recently moved its New Albany, Indiana location to a more visible spot on West Market Street.

In other pizza news, we note that Louisville Pizza King recently opened a third location on West Oak Street.

Late in the show we discuss a new season of “Wrestlers,” a show that previously aired on Netflix and showcased Louisville’s Ohio Valley Wrestling organization.

And lastly Jones shares a story about Groundhog Archeology, in which Patrick Donley, a local artist, discovered valuable historical artifacts beneath his Germantown studio after a groundhog unearthed china and bottles dating back to the post-Civil War era.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. It's available on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Have you ever talked up the taste of Louisville's water to someone visiting the area? If so you wouldn't be alone.

On this week's Access Louisville podcast, Editor-in-Chief Shea Van Hoy speaks with Spencer Bruce about the reasons behind that — including the marketing effort that aims to make Louisvillians feel proud of the water. Bruce shares a story about a time that he overheard a restaurant waiter bragging about the taste of the water to a tourist — music to his ears, of course.

"It's important that the community, that our customers trust us," Bruce said on the show. He added that there's an educational effort underway as well, rather than just pure marketing.

"We like to say we want to raise next the generation of children to understand the value of water."

Bruce also shares some updates on a few milestones from the Louisville Water Co., including a bond it just took out to fund some new infrastructure projects.

In August, Louisville Water announced it sold $233 million in bonds, the largest sale in the company’s 165-year history. This bond sale was the first issuance since 2022 and more than 75% of the funding supports four projects: upgrades to the Crescent Hill Water Treatment Plant (the largest treatment plant in Kentucky), installing new residual lines for water treatment, supporting regional growth along the Interstate 65 corridor and relining the Crescent Hill Reservoir.

"Like every utility it's critical that we reinvest in ourselves," he said.

Louisville Water supplies drinking water to nearly one million people in Louisville Metro and surrounding communities. On average, the company produces 131 million gallons each day.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. It's available on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Louisville's fall music festivals are bigger than ever — but is that a good thing or not?

We discuss that question this week on the Access Louisville podcast.

Danny Wimmer Presents’ two annual festivals at the Kentucky Exposition Center — Bourbon & Beyond (Sept. 11-14) and Louder Than Life (Sept. 18-21) — look a lot different this year. The festivals now have 2.4 million square feet of space. They also utilize some indoor space at the Expo Center for merchandise sales, cooling off and bathrooms.

Going in, we admit we had our worries.

The Expo Center is massive and there's a lot of concrete that can hold in heat. On the show we give our takes on how the first leg of the two consecutive festivals went. We recorded this show on Thursday, Sept. 18, just hours before Louder Than Life was to start, so we couldn't weigh in on that one just yet. We also talk about how the festival experience was — everything from the sound mix to the artists we watched.

Later in the show we shift from music to bourbon with Reporter Stephen P. Schmidt telling us about his recent visit to Bardstown, Kentucky for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. He talked about how a change in the footprint of that festival changed the experience. While he was in Bardstown, Schmidt also visited a new tasting room for Old SteelHouse Distillery. And, around the same time, he visited Heaven Hill Distilleries brand new office.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. It's available on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.