NuLu: The history behind one of Louisville's fastest growing neighborhoods, and a look at what's next
NuLu is one of Louisville’s fastest-growing and most popular neighborhoods. It’s known for its galleries, breweries, restaurants, festivals, and now, diversity.
WLKY sat down with the President of the NuLu Business Association, Rick Murphy, to talk about the history of what was formerly the East Market District and where it goes from here.
"I think we'll just continue to see growth," Murphy said. "I'd say the last 15 years is when the big investments started coming in." Murphy has been there much longer—he moved his advertising business to the area 26 years ago.
Since, under his leadership, it's really taken off. Murphy says in the 90s, the district saw tens of millions of dollars of investment, while today that number is in the hundreds of millions.
Now, the area just east of downtown Louisville, is home to what Murphy calls "a true entertainment zone." NuLu has five craft breweries, two distilleries, 15 restaurants, 25+ Airbnbs and a handful of hotels.
Amid unprecedented growth, came 2020. NuLu was not only faced with the pandemic, but unexpected criticism among black activists who demanded more diversity in the district.
The NuLu Business Association’s board of directors responded by creating the NuLu Diversity Empowerment Council and tapped Andre Wilson to lead it.
Wilson said it was a big and necessary undertaking, and it all started with conversation and education. "It's so important for us to take a step back and ask, ‘what does the makeup [of a business district] look like and does it reflect the area we serve?’ And if it doesn’t, then there needs to be change," Wilson said.
He says the efforts are paying off.
"We've seen people increase their brands, and the black entrepreneurship brands — and that means so much," Wilson said. "We've seen an increase of Black businesses coming into NuLu, but also the black population coming in and getting an experience."
Wilson also said they’ve worked to integrate black-led entertainment like the African dance troupe that performed at a NuLu festival, as well as a local DJ and who now has a regular gig at Garage bar.
The goal of the board, Wilson said, is to infuse culture and expose Black businesses to a new consumer base.
"I really think we’ve done a good job. I think so many beautiful things have happened, and not just from demands, but from conversation. It's a long fight, but it’s a fight to fix it," Wilson said.
As for surviving the pandemic, Murphy believes NuLu was one of the first neighborhoods to make a comeback.
"COVID really hurt us for two years," Murphy said. "But all of a sudden, we saw this rebound that I think was partly COVID-driven with all of these visitors coming in who wanted to travel but didn’t want to fly."
Murphy said, based on credit card receipts, they were able to determine a large amount of business came from people in surrounding cities like Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Nashville.
So, what’s next for NuLu? Murphy expects more growth, as at least six construction projects are underway in the neighborhood.
"I think it’s a really, really bright future. The neighborhood is getting better every day about taking care of it. We're able to do things for the whole community that we didn’t do before," Murphy said.
He said diversity and inclusion will remain top priorities.
The next big event in NuLu is NuLu Fest on Saturday, Sept. 24. The event is free. You can find more information here.