Of the proliferation of Feast and a micro-distilling famine.

There wasn't much left of my meal Saturday at Feast.

Efforts to wade through "business news" typically compel a crazed search for knitting needles to plunge into my eyes. Having said that, I often skim the Monday business briefing at Insider Louisville, which this morning disgorged two chunks of local interest.

The Confidentials dined at Feast BBQ (with a liquid prelude at Habana Blues) on Saturday evening in the company of visiting Mainers we were showing around town (sorry, but I kept forgetting to fulfill my civic obligation to give credit to Develop New Albany for the revitalization), and as such, this IL item stands out:

During the NuLu Business Association meeting last week, insiders told us there are big plans at the Hunt Property. But no one would give us the details, saying the deal’s not done. But those sources assured us the news would be much better received than the Family Dollar store.

What we do know is, there was an “official” announcement that Feast BBQ, the New Albany barbecue restaurant and saloon, would be moving into the former Cake Flour space at 909 E. Market St. after Cake Flour bolted to the Brownsboro Road area. Oddly, Feast owner Ryan Rogers was at the meeting. And was surprised his “move” was announced when it wasn’t true. Ryan told IL while he likes the property, he hasn’t even seen a lease. That, and the Cake Flour space would take significant updating to be a real restaurant.

A second location for Feast strikes me as reasonable, and the thought of New Albany invading NuLu has a pleasing resonance. Scrumptious smoked meat, an array of bourbons ... and an official NABC taproom? Maybe Ryan's people can talk to our people. The sky's the limit.

Then, the following passage serves as a jump ball of sorts.

Peerless Distillery just west on Main at 10th Street also appears to be happening. The operations manager told our insider he’d just received the permit to build last Monday, with plans to be distilling by the end of the year.

Apparently the city of New Albany has been encouraging the establishment of a distillery downtown by chatting with potential investors.

Apparently the city doesn't entirely grasp the simplest way for a Hoosier distillery to come into existence, i.e., through the Artisan Distilling law approved last year, which allows existing breweries and wineries to initiate distilling through a permit process far less burdensome than the norm.

So: Talk to the money, then connect the money to the easiest existing paths. It's more efficient that way. Talking to the money alone, without identifying the most expeditious route for investment being identified and realized, constitutes only part of the deal.

I should've been a business writer or an economic development director. Maybe in the next life, if I ever make a few bucks during this one.

Meanwhile: Where do I sign to give DNA credit for the insights recorded here?