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Bae's Baekery leaves Frankfort Ave shop, signals Bardstown Road move

Bae's Baekery leaves Frankfort Ave shop, signals Bardstown Road move

Money Moves Louisville, KY local

The Clifton bakery operated at 1804 Frankfort Ave since May 2023; signs for a new Highlands location appeared in April.

September 3rd, 2026: License gone from four straight readings

Overview

Updated Sep 4

Bae's Baekery, the Louisville shop known for jumbo stuffed cookies and custom cakes, has disappeared from the city's active food establishment license list. Its license for 1804 Frankfort Ave was last listed on Aug. 30, and it has been absent from four straight readings since.

A lapsed license can mean many things short of closure, and this one carries a wrinkle. In April, signs appeared on the former Oddbird Bakery space at 1021 Bardstown Road, suggesting founders Abigail Mattingly and Griffin McGreevy planned a move to the Highlands rather than a shutdown.

Why it matters

If Bae's Baekery doesn't reopen elsewhere, Louisville loses a beloved local bakery that built its reputation one custom cake and stuffed cookie at a time.

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Key Indicators

4
Consecutive missing license readings
Bae's Baekery has been absent from the active license list for four straight readings as of Sept. 3.
40
Months operating at 1804 Frankfort Ave
The license was issued May 17, 2023, roughly 40 months before it lapsed.

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People Involved

AM
Abigail Mattingly
Founder and owner of Bae's Baekery
Appears to be relocating the bakery to Bardstown Road
 Griffin McGreevy
Griffin McGreevy
Co-founder and co-owner
Co-manages the business alongside Mattingly

Organizations Involved

Bae's Baekery LLC
Bae's Baekery LLC
Bakery and pastry shop
Frankfort Ave license lapsed; future location unconfirmed

A Louisville bakery offering custom cakes, wedding cakes, stuffed cookies, and pastries.
Louisville Metro Government Open Data
Louisville Metro Government Open Data
Municipal data portal
Maintains the food establishment license list used to track the lapse

The city's public data platform, which publishes active food establishment licenses.

Timeline

January 2019 September 2026

5 events Latest: September 3rd, 2026 · 2 months ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. License gone from four straight readings

    Latest Licensing

    The Frankfort Ave address is absent from four consecutive active license lists.

  2. Last license list appearance

    Licensing

    Bae's Baekery appears on the active license list for the final time.

  3. Signs point to Bardstown Road move

    Report

    Courier Journal reports signs for Bae's at the former Oddbird Bakery space.

  4. Opens Frankfort Ave storefront

    Expansion

    The bakery moves to 1804 Frankfort Ave in Clifton after stops at Chef Space and Old Louisville.

  5. Bae's Baekery founded

    Founding

    Abigail Mattingly starts baking and selling from her apartment.

Scenarios

1

Bae's Baekery reopens on Bardstown Road

Likely Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Courier Journal reporting in April, which noted signs for Bae's at the former Oddbird space

The April window signs at 1021 Bardstown Road were the clearest signal yet. If the bakery completes that move, its Frankfort Ave license lapse is simply the closing of an old chapter. A reopening at the Bardstown location would confirm the relocation and bring the business to a larger, busier Highlands storefront.

2

Bae's Baekery closes permanently

Possible Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: The default reading of any lapsed food license, especially with no public statement

If the move fell through and the business did not renew its license, the lapse becomes a permanent closure. The bakery would join a string of Louisville food businesses that shut their doors without notice, leaving regulars to find cakes and cookies elsewhere.

3

Bae's renews its Frankfort Ave license

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: City officials noting a license can lapse for paperwork, inspection, or pause reasons

A license lapse doesn't always mean a shutdown. If the Bardstown plan stalled, the bakery could renew its Frankfort Ave license and resume serving at 1804 Frankfort Ave with no net change in location.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

November 2024 - April 2025

Oddbird Bakery at 1021 Bardstown Road (2024-2025)

Quills Coffee launched Oddbird Bakery at 1021 Bardstown Road in November 2024. It closed about six months later, leaving the Highlands space vacant since April 2025.

Then

The address sat empty for months while Quills Coffee absorbed the closure.

Now

The space's short tenure as a bakery shows how hard that specific storefront is to sustain.

Why this matters now

It's the exact address Bae's may move into, and it recently failed a bakery tenant.

January 2019 - May 2023

Bae's own expansion path (2019-2023)

Bae's grew from an apartment kitchen to Chef Space, then to an Old Louisville storefront at 1164 S. Brook St, then to the larger Clifton location at 1804 Frankfort Ave.

Then

Each move let the bakery handle more orders and hire more staff.

Now

Relocation is the established pattern whenever the business outgrows a space.

Why this matters now

A move to Bardstown Road would fit that history, making the license lapse look more like a relocation than a closure.

Sources

(5)
+1
Louisville Metro Government Courier Journal WDRB Bae's Baekery Bae's Baekery