Reopen, resume, revamp, revert and reorganize; Friday, May 22 might as well be known as “R” Day* to honor the return to dine-in food service in Kentucky — or as the pop star once noted, restaurants are coming around again.
I know nothing stays the same
But if you’re willing to play the game
It’s coming around again
Highlands Hammerheads is an exception, having started anew at 2222 Dundee Road on Monday, May 18. However, Highlands Hammerhead is based on an established formula, and will be following the template honed over a decade by its big brother, the original Hammerheads at 921 Swan Street.
If you’re scratching your head at the familiarity of the address, it’s because two other restaurants from the Hammerheads team of Adam Burress and Chase Murcerino previously occupied the space. Here’s the chronology.
- 2010 Hammerheads (921 Swan Street) — the flagship eatery
- 2013 Game (2295 Lexington Road) — sold to new owners in March, 2020 and still in business
- 2014 Loop 22 (2222 Dundee Road) — it became Migo
- 2015 Migo (2222 Dundee Road) — now it’s Highlands Hammerheads
- 2018 Ostra (1758 Frankfort Avenue) — closed as of May 2020, although a definitive announcement hasn’t been made
- 2020 Highlands Hammerheads (2222 Dundee Road) — now open
Both Hammerheads locations are open for curbside pickup & carryout: Monday – Saturday, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (closed Sunday).
Highlands Hammerheads isn’t reinvention; it’s retrenching for difficult times, and you’ll be seeing more of it as the recovery begins.
As an example, there’s our Monday story about Chik’n & Mi and Hearth on Mellwood Eatery.
With Friday’s restaurant reopening date fast approaching, owners Jason and Aenith Sananikone McCollum are consolidating their businesses, with Hearth ceasing operations but Chik’n & Mi moving from Brownsboro Road into the 1765 Mellwood space and relaunching on May 22.
Food & Dining Magazine’s Jon Larmee subsequently spoke with Jason McCollom, who diagrammed the reasoning: fine dining (Hearth, the newer concept) will be hit the hardest in the coming months, but the customer base at the older of the two restaurants (Chik’n & Mi) has been very supportive — and with outdoor dining space now in demand, the patio area at Hearth’s footprint has shot up in value.
In short, hard-headed pragmatism. It’s likely to become the newest trend in Louisville area food and dining.
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* re- is a prefix, occurring originally in loanwords from Latin, used with the meaning “again” or “again and again” to indicate repetition, or with the meaning “back” or “backward” to indicate withdrawal or backward motion.
