Pasta Garage Opens Fresh, Hand-Cut Pasta Concept in Louisville's NuLu

The 552 E. Market St. address in NuLu sat empty after Everyday Kitchen closed in 2023, but Pasta Garage has since taken over that space and brought a fast-casual pasta concept rooted in Lexington to Louisville's most restaurant-dense corridor.

The business traces back to Lexington Pasta, a fresh pasta producer that college friends Lesme Romero and Reinaldo Gonzalez launched 16 years ago, selling at farmers' markets and supplying local restaurants. Customers who loved the pasta kept asking the same question: where can we actually eat good Italian food around here? Jordan Noel, director of operations, recalled the feedback that eventually reshaped the company. "We would name off a few local Italian restaurants," Noel said, "but customers would say (they) were too expensive or really not that good. So (after) doing market research and talking to our customers, we felt that there was a need for a value-conscious concept."

That research led to the first Pasta Garage in Lexington about a decade ago, and the Louisville location at 552 E. Market St. became the second, opening in November 2025.

Every dish is made in-house using fresh, locally sourced ingredients and Pasta Garage's signature small-batch pasta from Lexington Pasta. The menu covers classic territory: chicken alfredo, baked ravioli, cacio e pepe. You can also build your own bowl, and the grab-and-go market section stocks packaged pastas and sauces for cooking at home. Pricing runs roughly $7 to $16, which lines up directly with the value-conscious positioning Romero and Gonzalez built the whole concept around.

The service model is counter-order, numbered ticket, food runner delivery. Noel described the intended experience plainly: "It's a fast-casual concept where you can get in, get your food, eat, enjoy the bar, have a glass of wine, and stay as long as you want — or come in for just a quick bite at lunch." The restaurant's own website frames it as blending "the heart of Italian street food with the speed of casual dining."

For anyone who has been walking past that corner on East Market Street since Everyday Kitchen went dark, the wait is over.