One of Louisville long-run dining insiders’ favorite spots, Barbara Lee’s Kitchen, 2410 Brownsboro Rd., has closed. The restaurant has been closed for about a month for repairs and renovations, but Mark and Barbara Lee McCullock, who had run the restaurant for around 20 years, recently decided that age and health issues would not enable them to reopen.
The restaurant was notable for being open 24 hours a day, every day, and for accepting only cash payment. It cultivated the ambiance of a typical American diner, with counter and booth seating and specializing in breakfasts and familiar moderately priced comfort food.
As with many such never-closed eating spots, Barbara Lee’s had cultivated both devoted customers and plenty of odd stories about patrons encountered at odd hours. For many, it was an institution, a relic of America’s dining past and its closing will create a loss for its regulars.
