Shelbyville, Kentucky Where Food, Horses, and Bourbon Mix

Story and photos
by Kathleen Walls

Bourbon and horses rule in Kentucky, but Shelbyville has some great foodie spots as well. Plus, there's lots of interesting things to see and do.

Dining

The Bell House Restaurant opened in 2007 and quickly became a local favorite. Chef Brent Evans, a Kentucky native, balances traditional dishes with Italian inspiration. He appeared on Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs to tell why his food is unique. Of course, I had his Hot Brown, the traditional Kentucky dish. Being housed in a 1902 home that was once a doctor's office with the former firehouse bell on the lawn adds to the charm.

After dining at Bell House, we walked down Main St. to Spotz Gelato, the perfect place for dessert. This family-owned gelato shop, in downtown Shelbyville, serves award-winning, handcrafted gelato and sorbet made from local, Kentucky-Proud ingredients.

The Farm Kitchen serves fresh home-style, classic country cooking from their own farm. You chose your meal cafeteria style. I had breakfast and couldn't resist their fresh, flaky biscuits and tasty gravy. They're only open for breakfast and lunch.

McKinley's Cafe is another option for breakfast or lunch. They fed me a delicious homemade chicken salad sandwich for lunch. The fact that it has served the Shelbyville community for nearly 30 years speaks for its quality.

The Paddock, located in an 1890s building, is one more breakfast or lunch spot. They are part of Main Street Historic District. Besides serving great breakfasts, it aids those recovering from "the hurts, habits, and hangups of life."

If you venture a little out of town, Dos Mundos in Simpsonville offers a mix of Asian and Peruvian dishes. During the week, it's dinner only. But on Friday and Saturday, they also do lunch.

Bourbon

We can't forget bourbon here. I loved my Bulleit Distillery Frontier Whiskey Tour and Tasting. Bulleit is a huge distillery with an interesting history. Augustus Bulliet was a miller who used spare grain and corn to make bourbon. In 1860, when he was traveling by boat with his whiskey to sell in New Orleans, he and the whiskey disappeared, and the Bulleit brand died. Augustus's great-great-grandson Tom resurrected it in 1987. Bulleit Distilling Company, which opened in 2019 has 11-barrel warehouses where you'll take a tour to see each step of the bourbon distilling. In the tasting room in the visitor's center/gift shop, you sample three bourbons and 1 rye whiskey, complimented by small shakers containing different scents with each sample to complement the tasting.

Jeptha Creed Distillery is a smaller distillery, but unique among Kentucky's distilleries. It's one of the few distilleries that are woman-owned and family-operated. Their master distiller, Joyce Nethern, uses Bloody Butcher Corn, an heirloom non-GMO developed in the early 1800s by Native Americans, to make the bourbon. I tasted bourbon differently here as well. Her daughter, Autumn, the VP of Operations, came up with the idea to let people come into one of the former tobacco barns used to age the bourbon, and draw it straight out of the barrel for their tasting. Her husband, Bruce, a fifth-generation Kentucky farmer, grows the corn and grains, much of it right there, so it is really farm to glass.

Horses

Lettleiki Icelandics

In-between dining and drinking, don't miss seeing some of the horse related things to do in Shelbyville. Maggie Brandt will take you on a tour of Lettleiki Icelandics, her horse farm dedicated to Icelandic horses. She told me that the smaller horses were first transported to North America over a thousand years ago by the seafaring Vikings. They have some unique traits, including eating 80% of their calories in summer when they grow fat that they used to survive the long Iceland winters. They grow a heavy coat in winter and shed it in the spring. Since the horses had few predators in Iceland, they are people-friendly.

West Meadow Farm

 Melanie de Fler owns West Meadow Farm , where she breeds and trains Thoroughbreds. She also provides a forever-home for retired racehorses and rescues. I toured the farm and got to pet and feed a mother and colt that she had recently rescued. You can take a riding lesson here if you want to enjoy horses more.

Downtown

Shelbyville has a historic downtown with lots to see there. Shelbyville History Museum, telling the history of Shelby County, is in the 1872 Italianate Presbyterian Manse building. Marques de Lafayette was here on his "Farewell Tour" to Shelby County in 1825. There's a marker on the lawn that tells about that.

Another historic building is the red brick Centenary Methodist Church, the second oldest brick church built in Kentucky. Be sure to see its beautiful stained-glass windows.

The Beaux arts Shelby County Courthouse dates to 1912. Just across the street, you can see Shelby County War Memorial in a small park. There's a virtual experience in the park as well. lets you scan the code here to take a virtual tour and meet Elijah P. Marrs. This is a unique immersive experience that tells the stories of several influential Black Kentuckians.

Chatham Gardens is a mix of nature and history. Four columns surround a vibrant garden on Main Street. The columns are all that remain of an antebellum home that once stood here but was destroyed by a fire.

Shelbyville is filled with art. Start your Art Walk at Shelbyville Fountain at Sixth Street Plaza with its mosaic made from individual tiles showing a beautiful dogwood tree painted by a Shelbyville resident. You'll see many sculptures and murals around Main Street. One of my favorite murals, also in Sixth Street Plaza, is of the historic places in Shelbyville. It was painted by local high school students.
 

Lodging

You will love staying at the brand-new  Candlewood Suites which opened in May 2025. It's 45 miles from downtown Louisville. It has all the usual amenities plus some unusual ones. The suites have fully equipped kitchens with a full-size fridge with an ice maker, a stovetop, a microwave, plenty of counter space and cookware. There's even a dishwasher. You have free Wi-Fi, a 24-hour fitness center and an outdoor grill in a gazebo. My favorite amenity is the complimentary guest laundry. Candlewood is next to Weissinger Hills Golf Course and just about seven minutes from downtown.

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