A free, family-friendly event will be held at Bristol Bar & Grille, Highlands, 1321 Bardstown Rd., tomorrow, Sept. 9, in honor of four decades serving the Louisville area. The event will feature a celebrity green chili wonton eating contest, live music from Heidi Howe, Rusty Dimes and the Good Times, the Whiskey Bent Valley Boys and DJ Matt Simons. Local breweries, Goodwood and New Albanian Brewing Company will serve beer while the Frazier Museum and Squallis puppeteers will provide additional entertainment.

A local cooking demonstration is also on the agenda. In addition, the winner of the free green chili wontons for a year will be announced.

“After 40 years of serving the community, it is our pleasure to invite the entire city of Louisville to celebrate with us,” said Bristol Bar & Grille owner Doug Grossman in a press release. “When we opened our doors Sept. 27, 1977, it was our intent to create a restaurant that would become a part of the neighborhood and with the help of our loyal customers, we have achieved that goal.”

Since its opening on Bardstown Rd., the Bristol has been a staple in the Louisville food scene. As well as being a trendsetter for beginning the birth of the Highlands Restaurant Row, the restaurant quickly became first a neighborhood, and then a city-wide tradition, with the opening of four locations in Louisville and Southern Indiana.