Upscale steak, wine restaurant to open on 4th Street

An upscale steak restaurant named Eddie Merlot’s Prime-Aged Beef & Seafood will open in an 11,500-square-foot space on the ground floor of the Hertz Starks Building probably around September. 

The restaurant will be next door to 4th Street Live, but The Cordish Co., the developer and operator of the entertainment complex, is not involved in the Merlot’s deal, said Mendel Hertz, who heads the group that owns the 15-floor former Starks Building at Fourth and Muhammad Ali Boulevard. Hertz said Merlot’s will lease prime street-level space that has been vacant since the Rodes men’s clothing store closed several years ago.

Eddie Merlot’s is an affiliate of Humphries Development Group, which has headquarters in Fort Wayne, Ind. Merlot’s restaurants are located in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, with plans to also open stores this year in Denver and in Minneapolis.

Bruce Kraus, Eddie Merlot’s director of operations, said the Louisville restaurant intends to compete with Morton’s the Steakhouse and with Jeff Ruby’s for upscale diners. He said the average customer dinner bill is about $72, including drinks. He said menu entrees are priced up to nearly $40.

Kraus said more than $3 million is expected to be invested in the Louisville project, which will employ 70 to 80 people.

This will be the first non-suburban location for Eddie Merlot’s, Kraus said, adding that the current and planned downtown activity, including the expected fall opening of the new downtown arena, were all positive considerations in committing to developing the Louisville restaurant, Kraus said.

Hertz said he has visited the Merlot’s restaurant in Indianapolis and “it is really designed different from any other type of streak restaurant. Its colors are brighter, and its chairs more comfortable.” He said the restaurant will have an extensive selection of wines.

Although Eddie Merlot’s is not a Cordish property, Kraus said his company is excited about benefiting from the traffic that 4th Street Live will bring.