Every now and then something noteworthy jumps out from Facebook during an otherwise aimless scroll, as when Mike Wajda (VYE-da) revealed his new gig. Most recently Wajda, who Louisville diners will recall from his 2015-2019 tenure at Proof on Main at 21C Hotel, was executive chef at Everyday Kitchen in NuLu.
I had the opportunity to join some amazing talent recently with Weyland Ventures and every day since they have surpassed the previous day’s work with innovation, collaboration and humility. The fast paced growth on the horizon is overwhelmingly exciting and I can’t wait to share more projects with you all. First up will be our farm to table motor inn with a contemporary approach to the historical roots.
We are forming Common Bond Hotels Collection as a legacy project for the group. Stay tuned for more historical high energy projects to come from this amazing team. Toogie’s Table is coming soon!
Toogie’s Table is to be part of a Common Bond Hotels Collection project in Bardstown, a link to which ironically landed in the F&D inbox at about the same time as Wajda’s Fb post appeared.
Shuttered Historic Kentucky Bourbon Trail Roadside Motel & Restaurant to be Reborn with Complete Renovation (Distillery Trail, which receives the cover photo credit today)
There will soon be a new place to stay, play and dine along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. In December 2021 a long-time Bardstown staple, Kurtz Restaurant and Bardstown Parkview Motel closed its doors for the last time. The restaurant and motel have been owned and operated by the Kurtz family since its founding 1937 but that changed as 2021 came to a close and the family sold the business to Weyland Ventures…
Bardstown Motor Lodge is set to open its doors for hotel guests in the Fall of 2022, with Toogie’s Table opening in late August, just ahead of the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival. This property is the first of a series of boutique hotels in development by Weyland Ventures under its newly launched Common Bond Hotels Collection banner.
In 2021 we profiled Everyday Kitchen. Here’s an excerpt focusing on Wajda, who explained to me how his career arc prior to arriving in Louisville was instrumental in shaping his farm-to-table culinary outlook.
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“I grew up in Northeast Ohio near Youngstown,” Wajda recounts, “then went to culinary school in Pittsburgh at Le Cordon Bleu, left there...Read more
