McDonald’s owner-operator John Salls joins us on the Access Louisville podcast this week.

Salls, who has more than 10 years of experience in the fast-food restaurant industry, talks about leading the restaurant group, having an impact on his young employees and carrying on his mother's legacy.

John Salls is the son of Ira Salls, who in 1991 became the first Black female McDonald's franchisee in Kentucky and Indiana. She passed away in 2024 at the age of 70 and John talked about how she inspired him.

“It's the reason why I do what I do," he tells LBF Editor-in-Chief Shea Van Hoy. "It's the reason why I'm so dedicated to the brand, just watching my mother — all the sacrifices and strides that she made as a trailblazer.

"I'm really proud to carry on her legacy and continue to be a staple in the community for everyone, and just try to exemplify some of the things that she believed in.”

He also spoke about the challenges of operating in a price-competitive market, including rising food costs — something that's plaguing many in the industry.

“Those pressures are definitely real," he said. "I think over the last year, we may have seen base food [cost] go up about a percent."

In order to counter that he talked about growing marketshare and reaching new customers — "whether it be through the delivery platforms or through the McDonald's mobile app, or just doing some local store marketing or community engagement.”

Salls holds a bachelor of science degree from The University of Kentucky. He's an Eagle Scout and a member of First Baptist Church of Jeffersontown.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

We cover a number of topics on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

First, we chat about the University of Louisville ending its long-running management of an early childhood center near campus and severing its ties with Family Scholar House due to budget constraints. Louisville Scholar House includes 56 apartments, the Owsley Brown Frazier Academic Services Center and an Early Learning Campus (ELC), which provides care and early learning for children ages six weeks to four years old through the College of Education and Human Development.

After that, we talk about the Louisville Kings, a United Football League franchise that will start playing in March at Lynn Family Stadium. Reporter Stephen P. Schmidt tells us about efforts to build local support for the new team — particularly among the business community. We also chat about what we think of the team's newly unveiled jerseys, which feature a forrest green meets lime green aesthetic.

Late in the show, we switch gears to go over the recently announced Bourbon & Beyond lineup.

The Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age and Goose take top billing on opening night, which is Friday, Sept. 24, while Mumford & Sons and Kacey Musgraves headline on Sept. 25. Chris Stapleton, The Red Clay Strays, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit play on Sept. 26. And Dave Matthews Band, Hootie & the Blowfish, Counting Crows round out the main stage Sunday, Sept. 27

The festival, now in its eighth year, is promoted by Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents, the same company that puts on Louder Than Life.

We wrap up this week's podcast with a chat about a new documentary coming to HBO called "Murder in Glitterball City." Reporter Michael L. Jones recently spoke with author David Dominé about the 2-part series, which is based on Dominé's book "A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City: Murder, Secrets, and Scandal in Old Louisville."

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A new pizza joint is coming to NuLu and a new place for steak burgers is coming to the South End. We talk about both — and more — on this week's Access Louisville podcast.

We start out around Dixie Highway. Reporter Michael L. Jones recently covered a press conference from Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. During the Feb. 10 conference, the mayor announced the first four restaurants to receive grants from the city’s $1 million Dixie Highway Corridor Fund:

• LongHorn Steakhouse will open a full-service restaurant at 7401 Dixie Highway;
• Crumbl Cookies, one of the nation’s fastest-growing dessert chains, will open its first South End store at 10970 Dixie Highway;
• Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers will build a new restaurant at 8700 Dixie Hwy; and
• Derby City Pizza will expand its location at 12900 Dixie Hwy to include an event space and outdoor game yard.

We also chat about the first Southern Indiana chef to be considered by the James Beard Foundation. Red Yeti’s Chef Michael Bowe was selected as a semifinalist for the 2026 James Beard Awards as Best Chef: Great Lakes Region, as reporter Olivia Estright explains. She met with him at the Downtown Jeffersonville restaurant recently to talk about the honor.

We also chat about Greenside Pizzeria, a new spot from the owner of Gravely Brewing, coming to NuLu.

And editor-in-Chief Shea Van Hoy tells us about a couple of chain restaurant moves — the closure of Bravo near Oxmoor Center and the opening of a new Skyline Chili in Springhurst. After that we chat about the return of soul food restaurant Daddy Vic's, which is back in a new location after it's original space was damaged in a severe thunderstorm last year.

Following a break we talk about the retirement of longtime Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore. Moore was a guest on Access Louisville just last summer and gave us updates on a number of projects in Jeffersonville, which is the second largest city in the Louisville Metro Area.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.