- Locals Food Hub & Pizza Pub, a pizzeria and market in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood, is asking for the community’s support during slower winter months.
- The restaurant sources 100% of its ingredients from over 200 Kentucky farmers and producers, aiming to support the local food system and combat food deserts.
- Locals offers a menu featuring wood-fired pizzas, chicken wings, salads, soups, and Kentucky beers, with an emphasis on approachable and affordable local cuisine.
Among rows of squares showing slices of pizza, pans of biscuits, and plates of chicken wings, a different kind of post appeared on a Louisville restaurant’s Instagram page.
For over three minutes, the camera pointed at Birch Bragg, co-owner of Locals Food Hub & Pizza Pub, as he talked about the pizzeria and market he opened in Smoketown at 822 E. Broadway in late 2024.
“This is a call to action,” he said in the video, accompanied by the caption: “Louisville! We need your help!”
Bragg then asked viewers to support Locals during the slower winter months.
“We are off the beaten path. We’re fully aware of that,” he said in the video. “But that’s the only way to truly fulfill our mission to create better food access in an underserved area.”
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Bragg’s mission began as a farmer in Bowling Green, where he helped start an indoor farmers market. That’s also where Bragg and his wife, Michelle, started serving woodfired pizzas out of a trailer.
Then, during the pandemic, an idea sparked to start a business that would support the local food system and create a community gathering space. In July 2021, the Braggs opened Locals in Frankfort, along with their business partner, Taylor Marshall.
About a year later, plans were in the works for a Louisville location. Bragg said he specifically wanted to open in the Smoketown neighborhood since it’s been deemed a food desert.
“That’s where, especially with our food hub, we can make the most impact,” he told the Courier Journal.
Since launching Locals, the business has spent more than $1.6 million with over 200 Kentucky farmers and producers across 57 counties.
The impact can be seen all around the 6,000-square-foot space on Broadway. Inside, you’ll see a map of Kentucky with signs showing where the stuff served at Locals comes from. The grocery area offers 100% Kentucky-sourced products, including meat, dairy items, greens, pasta, ice cream, and snacks such as beef jerky.
Bragg believes that if more people visit Locals — and get to know its mission — the business will thrive. That’s why he made that video in early February.
“Oftentimes we explain our concept and our mission and people are like, ‘We love what you’re doing. How can we support you?’” Bragg said in the post. “All we ask is that you come in and buy the food. It’s that simple.”
It helps, too, that part of their model is making really good pizza.
“One of our goals is we want to make this local food accessible, approachable,and non-pretentious,” Bragg told the Courier Journal. “We don’t want local food to only be accessible in a white tablecloth environment where it’s $60 for an entree.”
Along with chicken wings, salads, and soups, pizzas are the main menu item at Locals. Options include a Kentucky Hot Brown-style pie, one with seasonal mushrooms, and the “Bee Sting,” topped with pepperoni, pickled chilis, and house-made hot honey. Beer from Kentucky breweries is also on tap.
After posting the video, comments filled up in support of Locals, with people promising to visit the pizza place and market. When they visit, they’ll find plenty of tastes of Kentucky.
“In today’s world, where you spend your dollar really matters,” Bragg said. “So, please spend that dollar with companies who are doing good things for the community.”
Locals is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
We featured Locals in the latest installment of our video series, called the “Best Thing I Ate This Week.” You can follow along each week by visiting Instagram.com/courierjournal.
Reach food and dining reporter Amanda Hancock at[email protected].
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