Toasty's Tavern to open second Louisville location

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Toasty's Tavern has served smash burgers from a single storefront at 1258 South Shelby Street in Shelby Park for six years. The owners now plan a second location at 2216 Dundee Road in Belknap, in the building that housed Good Belly Sandwich Shop. They say the original spot has gotten popular enough that they need more room.

The second site would cut wait times and give the restaurant a foothold in the Douglass Loop area. No opening date has been set. The owners said they will share more details, including timing, in the coming weeks.

Why it matters

A second location is a six-year-old restaurant's first test of whether its following travels beyond the neighborhood that built it.

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Key Indicators

Years at the Shelby Park flagship

The owners describe six years of service at 1258 South Shelby Street before the expansion.

Locations planned

The Belknap site would be the restaurant's second.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Organizations Involved

Toasty's Tavern

Restaurant

Planning a second location in Belknap

A smash-burger tavern that has operated for six years at 1258 South Shelby Street in Shelby Park.

Timeline

2020 November 2026

2 events Latest: Today

November 2026
Owners announce second location
Today Announcement

Toasty's plans a Belknap outpost at 2216 Dundee Road, the former Good Belly Sandwich Shop.
Today
2020
Toasty's Tavern opens in Shelby Park
Opening

The restaurant begins serving customers at 1258 South Shelby Street.
2020

Scenarios

Toasty's Tavern announces an opening date for Belknap

Likely Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Toasty's Tavern owners and WHAS11

The owners said they will share more details, including an opening date, in the coming weeks. A date announcement in the next few months would put the second location on track for a 2027 opening.

Belknap location opens in 2027

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: WHAS11

If permitting and build-out go smoothly, the second Toasty's could serve customers within about a year of the announcement. The building most recently held a sandwich shop, so the site has been used for food service before.

Belknap plan is scrapped or delayed past 2028

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: No public prediction; included as the downside case

Second locations sometimes fail to replicate a first site's following or run into build-out delays. If that happens here, the Belknap plan could be pushed back or dropped.

Historical Context

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

2001-2008

Shake Shack's first expansion (2001-2008)

Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group ran a hot dog cart in New York's Madison Square Park in 2001, then built a permanent kiosk in 2004. A second Shake Shack opened in 2008.

Then

The second site tested whether a single-park stand could replicate its following elsewhere in the city.

Now

Shake Shack grew into a public company, but it started by adding one location at a time.

Why this matters now

Toasty's is doing the same thing at a smaller scale: taking a restaurant with one storefront and testing whether it works in a second neighborhood.

1948-2000s

In-N-Out Burger's slow build (1948 onward)

Harry and Esther Snyder opened In-N-Out in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948. The chain stayed family-owned and added locations slowly within the West.

Then

It built a devoted regional following without franchising.

Now

It remains one of the few large U.S. chains that has never franchised, a contrast to fast-growing competitors.

Why this matters now

Shows that a single-location operation can set its own pace of growth. Toasty's has chosen a second site rather than a franchise push.