Adelita Mexican Restaurant
The Mellwood Avenue dining room has been dark since February. The family taking it over has been feeding Clifton out of 765 square feet, and plans to move in early October.
Chik’n & Mi closed at 1765 Mellwood Ave on Feb. 28, months after winning Best of Louisville for fried chicken in 2025. Owners Jason and Aenith McCollum pointed to rising food costs, operating expenses and lasting damage from the pandemic. Adelita is moving in because it needs more room. Alexander Gomez opened the Frankfort Avenue place with his mother and brother when he was 18, in 765 square feet. Butchertown gives them 4,300, with space for a bigger menu and cocktails. Early October is the target, and the original closes when the new one opens.
Chik’n & Mi left that building over costs. Adelita is moving in because the business outgrew its room.
Three tacos on handmade tortillas, with asada, al pastor or chicken. Ask about the mole too. WDRB reports it’s made in-house from a grandmother’s recipe.
If you want the original, go before October. It’s a small room, so you may end up ordering to go.
2359 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206 · Website →
$8 wings through Monday
Louisville Wing Week runs through Monday, Sept. 14: specialty wings for $8 to $10 at more than a dozen spots, including Four Pegs, 80/20 Kaelin’s and Country Boy Brewery. LEO Weekly has the full list, and there’s an app to map your route.
September 12
11am–10pm
Louisville Pride Festival
Kentucky’s largest LGBTQ+ event takes over Bardstown Road between Longest Avenue and Grinstead Drive for the eleventh year, and it’s free. If you’re eating in the Highlands on Saturday, go early or come in on the side streets.
@ Bardstown Road
September 12
11am–4pm
Fourth Annual Pawpaw Festival
Guided hikes, workshops, vendors and live music for the pawpaw, which is in season now. Hikes and workshops are pre-registration only. Parking is limited, so organizers are asking people to carpool; overflow lots are at Joe Creason Park and Holy Family Church, and neighborhood street parking is off-limits.
@ Louisville Nature Center, 3745 Illinois Ave
10am–7pm
and Sunday Sept 13
10am–5pm
Big Four Arts Festival
Two days of artists on the Big Four Bridge lawn, with food trucks and drinks inside the festival. Tickets are $5 at the gate.
@ Waterfront Park, Big Four Bridge Lawn
September 13
1–6pm
Beats, Bites & Burgundy at Nouvelle Bar & Bottle
Old-school hip-hop, French Burgundy and burgers on Nouvelle’s patio, Sunday from 1 to 6. No cover.
@ Nouvelle Bar & Bottle, 214 S. Clay St
See every Louisville food event this week, day by day →
- Carry this into Saturday: the world’s only full-time pawpaw research program is about an hour away in Frankfort. Kentucky State University started it in 1990 and now grows more than 2,000 trees on 12 acres, from material collected in 17 states. The pawpaw is the largest edible fruit native to the United States.
- Bean Coffee is collecting food for families in Gary, Indiana, who went weeks without power after August’s storms, Spectrum News 1 reported. Drop something off on your next coffee run.
- UofL lost its opener to Ole Miss 41-38 on a 48-yard field goal as time ran out, and plays its home opener tonight at 7 against Villanova. If you want dinner near the stadium first, book now.
Adelita is trading 765 square feet on Frankfort Avenue for 4,300 in Butchertown. Does a tiny restaurant survive getting big?