The Whirling Tiger, a bar and performance venue in Butchertown, closed suddenly this week.
The owners announced the closure on Tuesday night in a social media post. The post read:
“Well, we tried our hardest and put our best foot forward. Unfortunately, The Whirling Tiger is closing its doors. We believe in the concept, we believe in the community and we believe in the artists. But sometimes believing is not enough. It’s always a knee jerk reaction to blame someone else or something else, but at the end of the day, we have to own it and we do.
“The space is iconic, the drinks that our Tiger team brought to the bar were next-level, and the talented artists that performed on our stage were most memorable. We are forever grateful for the good times.
“As always, we will continue to support our community and team, as well as look forward to what endeavors we can pursue to be members of the great community of Louisville.”
The Whirling Tiger opened to the public on Halloween weekend last year and celebrated its grand opening on Nov. 19, 2021. It replaced what had formerly been Odeon, another bar and music venue.
The Whirling Tiger took its name from an 1890 Courier Journal article about a deadly tornado that demolished scores of local buildings — except the one that The Whirling Tiger itself occupied (1135 Story Ave.)
During its operation, it hosted a variety of performing arts events — DJ nights, dance parties, drag shows, concerts, stand-up comedy shows and more. In late July, the venue co-hosted this year’s Louisville Fringe Festival with an even newer venue, the Old Louisville Coffee Co-op.
The Whirling Tiger’s ownership team also owns two other businesses in Louisville: Against The Grain Brewery & Smokehouse and Public House.
Two of their other businesses have closed this year: The Flamingo Lounge, a small downtown bar and performance space on the lower floor of ATG Sandwich Emporium, closed as a public event venue but became a rental space; ATG Sandwich Emporium itself also closed this week. Both opened in July 2021, replacing what was once the joint location of Another Place Sandwich Shop and Jimmy Can’t Dance.
As of this writing, the owners of The Whirling Tiger have not yet responded to a request for comment.
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