One of Louisville’s most iconic popular restaurants, KingFish Inc. has closed its Blankenbaker Pkwy. location, with the intention of focusing the fish restaurants along both sides of the riverfront. The two river locations, near the Water Tower in Louisville and on Riverside Dr. in Jeffersonville, have been doing better business than the suburban location, which has been just holding its own.

Plans are in the works to remodel the River Rd. location early next year, including a redesigned kitchen and dining room, exterior renovations and parking lot upgrades.

With news that John Varanese plans to open a new restaurant called River House just about next door to the Louisville Kingfish, and the remaking of the old Tumbleweed into Doc’s Cantina, the need to spiff up the long-running family restaurant seemed necessary.

Earlier in the year, the Kingfish location in Jeffersonville added a lower river-level burger bar, On The Rocks. A new chef has also been revamping the menu. Kingfish first opened in 1948, making it one of the longest-lived restaurant businesses in the city.