Expo opens tonight, will focus on sustainability, best practices and killer cocktails

Hello: Expo

@bar_expo

The new bar opening soon on Whiskey Row, Expo, has been in the works since early last year. But the name goes all the way back to something that took place in Louisville in the 1880s.

Expo co-owner Lindsay Johnson said the name “Expo” was inspired by a historical event called the Southern Exposition, which was a convention of technology, art, industry and more that was held in Louisville. The attention and wealth that convention brought is essentially the reason Old Louisville exists as it does, with one of the largest collection of Victorian-era mansions in the U.S.

Johnson said the light exhibition at the Southern Exposition, which was at the time the largest ever in America, basically changed night life in Louisville. Expo hopes to change Louisville night life in a different way when it officially opens tonight at 114 W. Main St., between Impellizzeri’s and Manny & Merle’s.

More than just a craft cocktail bar, Expo will focus on place ethical labor practices and sustainability, emphasizing advancements of better practices in the hospitality industry through “sensible food waste solutions, ethical and inclusive employment with a focus on wage policy and community education,” according to an announcement about the opening.

“Expo is a proof of concept,” Johnson said in the announcement. “I’ve had a front row seat to the cocktail renaissance, and I’m so excited to bring all of that experience to this project, which is a look forward at what bars can be.”

Co-owner Nickle Morris is in charge of the Expo cocktail menu, which will feature drinks like the Gentleman’s Agreement (a bourbon-based drink) and the gin-based Two Snakes. The bar itself will have a quirky and cozy bar dive vibe.

Morris previously worked at Pontiac in Hong Kong, which was included in on the World’s 50 Best Bars list and earned him widespread respect for his work in developing sustainability practices.

“We want to bring that energy and spirit of change to Expo through our ethical practices and by illuminating the parts of our industry that have been in the dark for too long,” Johnson said.

(Photos courtesy of Expo.)