LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In Louisville, a new food hall concept will provide a different type of dining experience while addressing some issues like high prices and staffing shortages for small restaurant owners.

The Village Market will be a new destination food spot in Louisville’s Paristown neighborhood.

Currently, construction crews are working hard to get it ready in time for an end of summer opening, sometime in the middle of September.

Five restaurant concepts will be located inside of the food hall. Each one will have its own stall featuring food from chefs and restaurants that have already proven popular in the Louisville area.

“That’s one of the things we’re excited about is having local concepts, local chefs, local operators who have been doing this for a long time, with a lot of experience coming together under one roof,” said Paristown Food and Beverage Group Managing Director Wes Johnson.

Johnson said the unique setup will allow them to solely focus on what they do best.

“Most people get in the restaurant business not because they want to be in business, but because they love the food side of it,” Johnson explained. “So everything from hiring the bus staff and dealing with dish machine folks, trying to coordinate deliveries, calling the repair folks when things aren’t working right, dealing with roof leaks and, you know, scheduling hours and doing all kinds of other things from a big picture standpoint of the business, we’ll take care of.”

Besides taking care of all the operational details, Johnson said sharing a common prep space in the back will mean vendors will also be able to benefit from collective purchasing from suppliers, thereby lowering costs. They could also potentially share workers if they’re short staffed.

Johnson said it’s a win-win for the restaurateurs and customers, with a large bar toward the front of the food hall and a large outdoor area where people will enjoy everything from concerts to yoga to holiday festivals.

“Whether it’s a beautiful spring Tuesday, or it’s during Fête de Noël and ice skating is activated and anything in between, it’s people coming down, enjoying the outside, enjoying spending time together, enjoying food, enjoying the arts, enjoying the original neighborhood of Louisville,” he said.

Jeff’s Donuts was the first restaurant to announce it would open a stall in the Village Market.

“There’s going to be a bar there and stuff, and they play music right there,” said Jeff’s Donuts Operations Director Chris Stoner excitedly. “It’s going to be a whole different crowd. It’s going to be a lot more fun, you know, because donuts are fun, but to have some live music and stuff while you’re getting donuts is even better.”

In addition to Jeff’s Donuts, the Village Market also announced popular Louisville chef Emil David will also open two new food concepts in the market. One will be a taco spot and the other will feature all kinds of different fried chicken sandwiches.