As the race horses of the Kentucky Derby took off in Louisville on May 3, Local Flavors, a new restaurant and whiskey and bourbon bar, also hit the ground running with a Derby-style grand opening on the South Hill.
By 3 pm, the restaurant served 150 sandwiches and over 250 mint juleps in an ode to its grand opening's overlap with Derby Day.
The restaurant shares the same building at 5611 S. Perry St. as Egger's Specialty Market, a longstanding family liquor store owned by Steven Egger, who also co-owns Local Flavors with Armand Van Pelt. Behind the building stands Egger's Better Meats and Seafood, founded in 1962 by Egger's grandfather and now co-owned by Egger's father and uncle.
"I chose this location simply because I wanted to be on this property," Egger says. "My family bought this property to try and develop it and continue our legacy and kind of make it into something we're really, really proud of even more than what we have already done."
The meat shop moved to the back property building a decade ago, leaving the space next to the liquor store empty. "We filled it with shelving and just stored boxes of liquor cases," Egger says.
Egger grew up working for the family business before pursuing a career in engineering. After his mother was diagnosed with cancer, Egger purchased the liquor store four years ago to allow her to retire. He renamed it Egger's Specialty Market.
Combining Egger's passion for spirits with Van Pelt's love of food, the idea for Local Flavors came to life.
"Armand and I have been friends for the last almost decade now, and we just always found our conversations surrounding food, hospitality, and just good times and smiles and laughing," Egger says.
Throughout their friendship, Egger and Van Pelt spent many weekends together in the kitchen whipping up beef Wellingtons and experimenting with other recipes. However, coming up with the recipes and menu for the restaurant was no easy task.
"Every time you feel like you come up with a good idea, you want to change it or tweak it a little bit more," Egger says.
The current menu features club ($16), Reuben ($17) and grilled cheese ($14) sandwiches alongside salad ($14), a kids menu and finger foods like charcuterie that are perfect for snacking while sipping on craft spirits.
"As far as food goes, I've had a passion for charcuterie, dry aging meats, my family [has] Austrian heritage and [brought] a lot of those sausage-making techniques over to here," Egger says. "That's kind of where it all stemmed from."
Local Flavors' food selections may still be simple, but they are classics done right. The club sandwich features triple-decked layers of slow-roasted turkey, ham, crispy bacon, iceberg lettuce, tomato and mayo on sourdough bread.
Egger's personal favorite is the Reuben, which sandwiches slow-smoked corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on marbled rye bread.
"The corned beef in the Reuben has been the family recipe of ours that we've made for years. The sauerkraut is made in house," he says.
The menu is set to expand and change with the implementation of a smokehouse, adding items like smoked sandwiches.
As for Egger's go-to drink, he finds himself drinking an old fashioned cocktail ($13) if he's not hankering for a neat glass of whiskey.
Egger's love of spirits started when he took over the liquor store, prompting him to take a deep dive into its historical importance in America.
"I fell in love more with the history of the families, the stories and everything behind the juice in the bottle and the spirits, and that really drove my want to become educated in the industry," he says.
From the array of spirits behind the bar you'll likely find something to suit your fancy, as well as highly sought after bottles like Blanton's Bourbon. There are also rotating draft beer selections ($7-$8) and wines ($10), many of which are from local breweries and wineries like Lumberbeard Brewing Co. and Barrister Winery.
If a customer can't find a bottle they want, that's the benefit of owning the liquor store next door: Patrons can shop at the store, have the bottle opened (for a small corkage fee) for their enjoyment at Local Flavors and take the rest home.
In addition, Local Flavors will have a wine and beer club starting this summer — members can enjoy exclusive discounts, parties, tastings and more.
O pening the same day as the Kentucky Derby was something the owners decided to embrace.
"Derby Day was the same day that Buffalo Trace was opened in Kentucky," says Egger about the historic distillery.
Remnants of the Derby-themed party are found throughout the restaurant, including a gold Kentucky Derby trophy replica and a wooden model of one of the Churchill Downs twin spires.
Depending on future events, however, the decor will change and could include things like faux vines for wine-related tastings.
The restaurant's rustic theme extends to the light fixtures, with some bulbs encased in metal shades or pieces of a barrel. The wood on the ceiling is recycled from wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, and the cedar wainscoting was from wood found on Mount Spokane that had been stored for years in a friend's grandpa's shed.
"The whole entire place has truly been built in the eyes of the Pacific Northwest and really wanting to keep it rustic, keep it true, keep it natural," Egger says.
Rooted in community, generational customers of the Egger family have come out in full support of Local Flavors.
"To me, it's wild that we could have so many loyal customers and so many families still shopping with us for so long," Egger says. "It's really, really humbling to now be a part of building something that is adding to that same legacy."
Local Flavors • 5611 S. Perry St. • Open Mon-Tues noon-8 pm; Weds-Sat noon-10 pm • 509-825-1003
