Canopy by Hilton Downtown Louisville to feature new restaurant from Kevin Grangier. Here's what we know

The Canopy by Hilton Downtown Louisville, a $75 million, 168-room hotel, plans to open by the end of 2024 and will feature a new steakhouse concept from luxury restaurateur Kevin Grangier.

Grangier, the mastermind behind concepts including Grassa Gramma, Le Moo, and the soon-to-open Sake A Go Go restaurant, will open Bourré Bonne Steakhouse in the Canopy by Hilton Downtown Louisville, as well as a new rooftop restaurant.

For Grangier’s latest project, he was inspired by the rise of Louisville’s bourbon scene, he told the Courier Journal. 

“When developing Bourré Bonne, I asked myself how do we elevate the bourbon experience without presenting the same story,” Grangier said. “Success for Bourré Bonne will be the escalation of Louisville's bourbon experience with less emphasis on the familiar, what we might come to expect in one of Louisville’s traditional bourbon-inspired restaurants.” 

The name hints at that goal. In French, Bourré Bonne translates to “good stuff.” 

Plans are still underway for the open-concept restaurant, but it is expected to be filled with light colors and pops of ocean-inspired blues and greens. It will include a small bourbon bar, an open-kitchen area and a circular grill where patrons can see how chefs build each dish.

“My mission is to move food, drinks, environment and service to a new level that creates an escalated experience for the customer, both visitors and locals,” Grangier said. “I want Bourré Bonne to be the sequel to Kentucky’s current bourbon experience.” 

The menu will showcase both “mild and extravagant culinary offerings,” he added.

The restaurant and hotel at 143 W. Market St., just steps from Whiskey Row, the KFC Yum! Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center, will be managed by Driftwood Hospitality Management — its first property in Kentucky.

New York-based Zyyo, which acquired the site in 2020, and Minnesota-based TruVine Companies, are developing the property, the Courier Journal previously reported. Louisville-based Bellé Noble Entertainment Group, run by Grangier, will serve as the hotel’s food and beverage operator.

“We always strive to take a local approach for every hotel we manage, and this holds true especially when it comes to food and beverage options,” Bryan Postema, chief operating officer of Driftwood Hospitality Management, said in the release. “Whether it’s a poolside cocktail, a scenic rooftop view with carefully curated bites, or luxurious dining from one of the nation’s premier restauranteurs, our mission is to provide an unmatched experience that goes beyond the average hotel stay.”

Onsite amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness center with a press juice bar, more than 5,100 square feet of meeting space, and a rooftop ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows offering expansive views of downtown Louisville, among others, according to the release.

The addition of the Canopy by Hilton will bring downtown's hotel room count to about 7,000, according to Louisville Tourism.

The six-story hotel replaces a loan agency and two restaurants, which were demolished three years after Zyyo founder and CEO Nick Campisano and partners took control of the site.

"It puts that corner totally back into play," said Doug Bennett, executive vice president of Louisville Tourism. "It’s another reason for somebody to get out of their living room in the suburbs and come downtown and have a good experience. We need more of that, for sure.”

Zyyo has previously developed the mixed-use Gateway to Nulu, 552 E. Market St., and also purchased the former Joe Ley Antiques building on East Market Street before selling the property in 2023 to a Chicago-based company.

It has a number of projects in the works in the Nulu area, including the massive NuLu Crossing mixed-use development at 700 E. Main St. and an expansion and bourbon-focused re-purposing of 629 E. Market St., among others.

It also has early-stage plans to build a 27-story tower at 140 W. Market St., called One Forty West, across the street from the forthcoming Canopy by Hilton. The new development would include a hotel, upscale apartments, and amenities, including a rooftop bar.

Growth & development reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo.