Kicking ass downtown.

Verily, there were hordes afoot in downtown New Albany yesterday for the various holiday kickoff activities, which generally were being referred to as the Jingle Walk.

Frankly, it was amazing.

I took no photos, because they all would turn out the same: Lots and lots of people milling around eateries and shops, few of which existed five years ago. One man lunching at Bank Street prior to setting off for the wine tastings with his wife asked me, “How has this happened? I grew up here and there wasn’t anything downtown, but now … ”

There are lengthy explanations, of course, but perhaps the most interesting single aspect of New Albany’s downtown regeneration is that it has occurred in spite of recession and international economic chaos, and it is proceeding apace during the transportation dislocations of the Sherman Minton Bridge closing.

A few days ago, The Keg Liquors officially opened its second location on Pearl Street. Early glimpses at the selection confirm that it will be a high-end kind of place, specializing in niche beverages.

That's the whole point of The Keg being there.

I’ve known the store’s owner, Todd Antz, for a while, and he is a promotional whirlwind whose presence in downtown’s epicenter stands to draw many people who wouldn’t ordinarily patronize the historic business district.

Just around the corner, the ongoing renovations at the former Fair Store have yielded spectacular results. Quill’s is about to open its coffee shop, with beans roasted on-site. A few feet away, an upscale cigar emporium called Billow also will be debuting within days. It includes a walk-in humidor and a fully ventilated smoking lounge. The sleek interior redesign accommodating both these new entities is jaw-dropping; Jenna and Thomas deserve plaudits for seeing the changes through.

All these collective investments and improvements, all these newcomers, and all this progress – and all of it mysteriously achieved without the presence of a single big box chain store and without the massive governmental subsidies that make the big-box exurb possible.

It has happened downtown, and it is working, precisely because the preferred ethos is different -- by design.

We must continue to find the ones who get it, reinforce their experience, and gradually wean them off the standard contemporary cookie-cutter fare. The process is difficult, and it takes time. It’s also rewarding as hell, and reminds me of why I love what I do. Yesterday was just such an affirming experience, and I’m feeling renewed enthusiasm. I hope you are, too.

Quill's Coffee follow-up: "New Albany will be opening in a matter of days."

Good news from Quill's, coming soon to space in the former Fair Store on Market Street in downtown New Albany.

QUILLS MULTIPLIED

We so appreciate your patience as we deal with the red tape and other colors of tape and unexpected delays and all sorts of irritating hurdles we are glad to jump over for the sake of coming closer to you.

And the finish line is well in sight! New Albany will be opening in a matter of days and U of L's Cardinal Towne will not be too far behind.

Three downtown NA business interiors under construction.

I'm tall enough to elevate cameras over window coverings.

Quill's, the coffee shop coming soon to the old Fair Store Building on Market (adjacent to Thorpe and Toast).

Louis Le Francais, perhaps already open, in the Bergman Building on the same block as Quill's.

The forthcoming New Albany location of Keg Liquors on Pearl Street.

“I think the bridge is doing me a favor."

I think so, too. One of the most revealing aspects of the bridge closure has been watching the media watching us, don't you think? As business people, we express optimism ... and too often, they just want something to attach -geddon to.

Restaurant owners hopeful ahead of New Albany openings, by Harold J. Adams (Courier-Journal)

Walking along East Market Street in New Albany you can’t miss the bright yellow and blue colors painted outside Louis Le Francais, the French restaurant adding the latest international touch to the city’s recent downtown restaurant renaissance.

“Louie the Frenchman” is directly across the street from La Bocca Italian restaurant which is only a few doors away from the Habana Blues Cuban restaurant around the corner from La Rosita Mexican establishment.

Owner Louis Retailleau says the bright hues are typical colors of his native southwest France. “They are happy color, the sun, the sky, the earth.”

This happy Frenchman has been preparing nonstop for a Friday night private preview opening at the restaurant at 133 East Market Street. It’s a party “to give an idea of what I’m creating here in New Albany...a French restaurant with a Frenchman at the helm,” Retailleau said during a brief pause Thursday.

The Armagnac native is trying to recreate a typical small French restaurant “with a lot of atmosphere, a lot of ambiance” at a reasonable price, he said.

The menu will include such staple dishes as duck l’orange, lamb with au jus and cassoulet. Thursday afternoon he lifted the lid on a giant kettle of simmering lamb stock that would be 18 hours in the making ahead of Friday night’s invitation-only party.

Louis Le Francais will open to the general public on a yet to be determined date in early November beginning with a dinner-only prix fixe menu for somewhere in the neighborhood of $25.

“That will be an appetizer, salad, the main course (and) dessert,” he said.

Retailleau said he’s not concerned that the closure of the nearby Sherman Minton Bridge might prevent some potential Louisville customers from crossing the Ohio River to sample his fare.

“I think the bridge is doing me a favor,” he said. “Because there is a flow of people from New Albany and the North that used to go to Louisville, and I hope they will come here, try it and love it and come back.”

There is similar optimism two doors away at Quills Coffee which is also slated to open sometime in November. The coffee shop is maintaining its original Baxter Avenue location in Louisville and adding another in U of L’s Cardinal Towne center but will centralize the operation in New Albany, wholesale account manager Philip Revell said.

“We’re going to roast all the coffee there and then distribute to the Baxter location and the U of L location, and to wholesale customer’s too,” Revell said. More than a few fellow New Albany merchants are hoping the confidence of Retailleau and Revell is well placed.