Louisville's Spring Street Bar & Grill to reopen in Irish Hill after closing in 2020

One of the most painful restaurant closures of 2020 was Spring Street Bar and Grill, which shut down in the Irish Hill neighborhood after 33 years when its owner decided to retire.

Now, the restaurant is coming back. High Horse Bar, which opened in Butchertown in 2019, announced the reopening on Facebook on Friday.

"We are so happy and honored to announce that we will be reopening Spring Street Bar & Grill this Fall," the post read. "We are excited to serve you again."

Spring Street's Facebook page has been updated with a new photo and a "coming Fall 2022" sign, but nothing else at this time.

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High Horse Bar's ownership team includes Brian Goodwin, Dennie Humphrey, Marie Zahn, Calvin Philley, Ben West and James Wise, who also run the cocktail bar Darling's in the Highlands. Previously, the team operated Jimmy Can't Dance, which closed last March.

They are re-opening Spring Street in partnership with chef Roger Romines, who previously served as the chef de cuisine at Seviche.

It will be the same bar Louisvillians remember, not a new concept, Goodwin said. The team is aiming to reopen Spring Street by early September if everything goes well.

"We've been looking at Spring Street for a long time, like years, ever since it closed," Goodwin said. "We talked to the owner who was a friend of a friend and everyone was on board. The heart of the story is all of us just love that bar so much and we want it back."

Zahn said something the ownership group does well is nostalgic bars. High Horse and Darling's both have a vibe of "this was always here." It's one of the reasons they grabbed up Spring Street when it was available.

Humphrey said Spring Street will stay pretty much the same. The team plans to replace the carpet with hardwood, take out the drop ceiling and give the restaurant a fresh coat of paint, but that's about it.

Romines joining the team means they will have a head chef for the first time. When Lucky Leopard Pizza exits High Horse at the end of July, Romines will take over the High Horse kitchen to begin testing recipes for Spring Street.

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"The food will be similar to what it used to be, just elevated," Romines said. "My background in fine dining gives you a way to use different ingredients to make things pop."

Don't worry, Spring Street's popular wings, cheese balls and Rocket sandwich will remain on the menu, as well as some other favorites. They can't make Spring Street exactly like it was, the team said. It's impossible. But they're going to make something that feels quite similar.

"The biggest thing is we want a place you can bring your kids and watch a game," Humphrey said. "High Horse doesn't really offer that. If you go to any brewery now, there are strollers everywhere. This will be a true neighborhood place."

Features reporter Dahlia Ghabour covers food, dining trends and restaurants in the Louisville area. Send tips on new places or story ideas to dghabour@courier-journal.com or follow on Twitter @dghabour.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Spring Street Bar & Grill in Kentucky to reopen after closing in 2020