MADISONVILLE

If visiting Madisonville in the dead of January cold is promising, you can bet it’ll be even more so in nice weather. It’s centrally located in the city limits – close to the highways, and close to the varied array of retail shops, funky coffee places and businesses that make a town feel like home.

Speaking of home, the explosion of incoming apartments near the intersection of Whetsel and Madison is really exciting. The existing housing stock is charming and the infill of complexes complements the character of the neighborhood. It doesn’t hurt that it’s located amidst a stretch of walkable shops.

A visit to the Cheesecakery Cafe is a great way to start an amble through this part of Madisonville – and don’t worry, the other enclaves will get a shout-out, too. Boasting more than 100 kinds of cheesecake, this shop looks small from the outside but the high ceilings inside make it feel spacious. Grab an iced or hot coffee to fuel your trek through the rest of Madisonville.

There’s a quaint little patch of greenery that was decked out with Christmas ornaments and decorations, even after the holiday had passed, that livened up an otherwise nondescript street corner. Those kinds of touches abound on this stretch of Madisonville. From yarn bombings adorning lampposts and street signs to colorful metal benches, checkerboard tables, and bike racks with delightful carvings of musical instruments, whimsy is making its way down Whetsel.

Oh, and just down the street is the Olive & Ivy Salon. And sure, you can’t really just stop into a salon, but the vibes are mega promising and if you’re looking for a new stylist, why not give a local shop a try? You could also pop into Gina’s Touch of Class, at the other end of Whetsel and Madison.

Near Gina’s is ArtsVille, an arts and event space with a huge, beautiful ArtWorks mural, The Scribe, the Fish and the Sea. It has the quality of being almost mosaic-like, with swirls of colors mimicking eddies of water, and vibrant oranges and rusts and blues. Take a few minutes to gaze at its charm, but when it gets too cold, duck across the street into Bad Tom Smith’s Brewing.

A helpful bartender said Bad Tom Smith’s used to be located near Terry’s Turf Club on Eastern Avenue, and moved locales to Madisonville two years ago. The brewery and distillery – we’ll get to that in a minute – inhabits a beautiful old building that was formerly the Fifth Third Union Trust Co. Madisonville Office, according to the inscription in the stone above the door. The brewery’s namesake was the first man hanged in Breathitt County, Kentucky, but the morbid origin story doesn’t influence the vibes inside.

The brewery wants guests to consume “bad ass in a glass” and it’s true, the beer is pretty dang good. The flight is recommended to get a taste for the in-house beers as well as the more eclectic selection on draft. It’s nice when a brewery branches out, and there are tons of beers to choose from. The distillery offers bourbons also inspired by the criminal legend himself. Grab a pretzel with beer cheese to fight off any hunger that’s taken over, because you’ll want a healthy appetite when you pop down the street to Mazunte Taqueria.

With two dine-in locations in the city and a catering and carryout/delivery location, Mazunte has a well-established presence on the local taco scene.

If at the end of your Madisonville jaunt, you find you need more caffeine to fuel you, stop by Mad LLama. This cafe has such a fun name, it’s impossible to not be charmed from the moment you walk in the door. Plenty of hot beverages, snacks and llama puns abound.

There are a surprising number of auto shops in Madisonville (DubWerx, , a few other coffee shops (including the Madison Place) and restaurants (Overlook Kitchen + Bar, Kleen Kitchen and Bee’s Barbecue), a stretch of businesses close to the busy 75/71 exchange, a cool gift shop (French Rendezvous) and plenty of other stops that you should explore for yourself in this expanding neighborhood.

THESE  BUSINESS DISTRICTS ARE COMING TO THE FOREFRONT