August 30, 2023
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —A popular Northern Kentucky Mexican restaurant with unique taco ingredients, like kangaroo meat, is opening in Louisville.
Agave & Rye Tequila and Bourbon Hall at 426 Baxter Ave. is the third Kentucky location to open since 2018.
Advertisement
Yavonne and Wade Sarber founded the first location in Covington with the popular "epic tacos."
The Sarbers have since opened restaurants in Liberty Township, Ohio, Lexington and now the fourth location in Louisville.
"When you think Louisville, you think of a few things and one of the biggest things that you do think of is Muhammad Ali," said Matthew Buetow, general manager of Agave & Rye Louisville.
It turns out Ali and Agave & Rye have something other than Louisville in common, bees.
"Here at Agave & Rye, we love bees. They're everywhere in this restaurant, so the tag line 'floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee' is something that we also really love," Buetow sai
That led to a mural of Ali covered in honey and bees in the dining room of the new Louisville restaurant.
It's the focal point of the hand-painted art throughout the building.
Buetow describes it as "urban grunge" decor, a theme for all Agave & Rye restaurants.
"This is the kind of place that you walk in the door and you immediately pull your phone out and you want to take selfies around this whole place and share them with your friends and family," said Buetow.
The 6,300 square-foot space includes a bar and dining area overlooking Baxter Avenue in the front, and new to the Louisville location is a full arcade.
"We have a large room in the back of the restaurant with some community style seating and about 15 arcade games, retro arcade games all free to play," Buetow said.
While the free arcade and unique decor will create buzz, Buetow said the restaurant's twist on the everyday taco is what truly sets his restaurant apart from others.
The menu includes 14 different tacos, including the "Big Thumper" with kangaroo meat and "The Mac Daddy" with pork butt, bacon and corn pudding.
The Bang Bang" includes cauliflower and corn fritters and "The Snitch" is filled with mahi mahi and pineapple.
"We get fresh produce in multiple times a week. We don't have a freezer. You know, we're not serving things frozen out of a bag," Buetow said.
The menu also includes appetizers called "Munchies," sides and "Not A Taco" items such as chicken legs, short ribs, French toast, chipped salad, chili and a chicken burrito.
The bar offers cocktails, tequila, bourbon, beer and wine.
WLKY Digital Team
Not only will you be joining the ranks of the coolest kids on the block, but you'll also be privy to exclusive content, special promotions, and the occasional dad joke (we apologize in advance). So what are you waiting for? Sign up now and we'll throw in a free Unicorn (not really)!
