What’s LOVE Got To Do With It?

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

February famously highlights the sugary, sentimental, affectionate, and friendliness of all things love! While we know you might embrace the romance of Valentine’s Day, celebrate gal pal friendships for Galentine’s Day, or dive headfirst into the cheeky Singles Awareness Day, we want to discuss another kind of love. The love that inspires pursuing a passion, realizing a dream, and the exuberance and trepidation when you flip the “open for business” sign on a locally owned small business. All the above require putting your heart on the line.

Opening your heart to your community with a small business is the riskiest kind of love; acceptance and success are never guaranteed. Owning and operating a small business is not for the faint of heart, as it means being responsible for, well, everything. You’re the boss of yourself, employees, operations, finances, marketing, and customer service, and it is often honing a personal and intuitive connection with your visitors as a key to success.

“What I love most about running Moutardier Marina in Edmonson County is the opportunity to connect with our community and visitors, helping them create lasting memories on the water. The natural beauty of Nolin Lake combined with the friendships formed through our business makes every day rewarding.” – Ronnie, Moutardier Marina Nolin Lake

We don’t take light the battle cry to support our small business friends and the “mom and pop” shops peppered throughout the community, as they are considered the heartbeat of your neighborhoods, the spine of the local economy, and the spirit of your town. Edmonson County is the proud home of numerous small businesses that cater to locals and visitors with personalized, friendly, and attentive service rarely found these days. It is refreshing to see the growing love for small town small businesses.

“I love our diverse group of customers and their choices of plants. I love planting and seeing just what all we can grow for our customers enjoyment. Their excitement makes it all worthwhile.” – Janet, Mammoth Cave Transplants

Maybe food is your love language? Most of Edmonson County’s dining establishments are locally owned, offering delicious culinary dishes that charm your tastebuds. A few even celebrate the culinary heritage of the business owner’s culture by offering family recipes and curated experiences that bring a flair of home to the heart of cave country.  

I love running my restaurant to bring great quality food and German cuisine into the Edmonson area and give the locals an opportunity to work. I love what I am doing and hope my customers love it too.” – Claudia, Blue Holler Café

To highlight a few that will make your heart pitter patter with their specialties, we’ll start with Blue Holler Café. This quirky German American restaurant offers an eclectic vibe with deeply authentic German recipes curated by the owner who traded living in the southern part of Germany for the southern part of Kentucky. Her signature German dishes will make you fall in love with flavor.

Tre Pizza is like ordering straight from Italy, but without the travel. The deliciousness of their homemade pizza is baked to bubbly perfection in a giant authentic pizza oven with recipes crafted by the co-owner whose heritage and culinary experience hails from extensive time in Italy. These entrepreneurs share their vision to serve the community with authentic Italian family recipes and a lively atmosphere.

In the heart of downtown is a nostalgic soda shoppe that offers a glimpse into days gone by all while bringing you delicious food and sweet treats, such as milkshakes, ice cream, coffee, and more. At Warnell’s Family Pharmacy and Soda Shoppe you can sit on classic soda fountain chairs or spin on the barstools at the service counter while indulging in classic dishes, homemade sweets, and locally sourced offerings. Your enjoyable vintage experience will be the cherry on top!

“What I love the most about owning a locally owned business in Edmonson County is the ability to make the community happy through our food. We have been blessed to have met some amazing customers who have become more like family!” – Kristin, Kristin’s Kitchen

Kristin’s Kitchen focuses on culinary delights and catering, but the true masterpieces are the intricately designed charcuterie boards spilling with flavor. How can you resist a beautiful charcuterie bouquet of meats, cheeses, and fruits? Granted this type of bouquet won’t last as long as a traditional bouquet of roses, but it’ll taste better!

“I absolutely love feeling like I am giving back to the place I call home. I love being able to contribute to fundraisers in our community and let people know that we are invested in our hometown and its people.” – Stacy, Stacy’s on Main Boutique

Fall in love with fashion at one of our small business boutiques and leave with heaping shopping bags and a grateful heart. All are woman-owned, locally owned, and bursting with the latest fashions to provide you with a charming retail experience.

Follow your heart to Creations by Tracy & Ashlee on the downtown square of Brownsville where you’ll discover a multi-vendor boutique. While immersed amongst the baubles and fashions, enjoy friendly, personalized service while supporting a bustling small business.

Stacy’s on Main and South Bound Boutique share a large retail space and serve up local county-pride clothing and trendy styles that give women of all sizes the confidence they deserve. Fall in love with yourself in something fabulously fashionable because you deserve it!

Watt About This boutique opened after the owner struggled to find comfortable, affordable, extended size clothing and vowed to carry styles that look and feel great, specializing in clothing from 1XL to 3XL. Treat yourself to something special with top quality products and personalized service.

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To learn more about falling in love with Edmonson County, Kentucky, please visit www.cavesandlakes.com.