Board of adjustments’ public hearing for craft distillery set for 7 p.m.

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Monday, March 7, 2016, 11:45 p.m. — The Bardstown Board of Adjustments will consider hold a public hearing on a request for a Conditional Use Permit needed to allow a craft distillery to locate at the Bluegrass Entertainment and Exposition Center on Sutherland Lane south of Bardstown.

Whiskeycraft Distillery site plan. Click to enlarge.

The meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday evening in the Fiscal Court Room on the second floor of the Old Courthouse Building on Court Square in downtown Bardstown.

NFL football legend Lou Palatella and his wife Marci Palatella are behind Whiskeycraft Distillery, the company that wants to bring the Bourbon Capital of the World its first craft distillery.

According to a company press release, the desire to bring a craft distillery to the community means the Palatella family is officially putting down roots in Bardstown and Nelson County.

Lou Palatella is no stranger to doing business in Kentucky. During his career, he has worked with many of Kentucky’s bourbon whiskey legends.

”When I started out in the whiskey business, big corporations for the most part had not arrived yet,” he said. “Distilleries here were owned by people, really wonderful families, and the brands back then were personal to us and our customers.

Palatella’s wife, Marci Palatella called Bardstown “a postcard for the perfect small town.”

“It was love at first sight the day I first set eyes on Bardstown, and it’s taken much longer than we ever wanted to plant ourselves in Bluegrass country,” she said.

The Palatellas are buying the Bluegrass Expo and Convention Center located right off the Bluegrass Parkway, which for years has been the site for local events, weddings and industry functions.

The Palatellas plan to upgrade the facility and will continue to make it available for weddings and other community events.

-30-