By Michael L. Jones – Reporter, Louisville Business First
Sep 8, 2025
A Louisville-based pizza chain plans to open its ninth location in Middletown later this year.
Craft House Pizza will open a restaurant at 700 Landis Ridge Drive in November. The more than 6,000-square-foot space inside the Middletown Landing apartment complex was previously occupied by The Goat Middletown, an elevated pub that closed in 2023.
The new restaurant will be the second Craft House franchise location from Pizza Pair LLC, which is owned by Nicole Allender and Thad Vincent, two longtime Craft House executives who became franchisees in December.
Pizza Pair opened its first Craft House restaurant at 153 E. Lincoln Trail Blvd. in Radcliff, Kentucky, in January. At the time, the owners said they had plans to open up to 10 restaurants.
Allender said she and Vincent were just beginning to talk about opening a second location when they saw a listing for the former Goat space, which seats nearly 300 people indoors and has room for an additional 75 outside.
“Yeah, it happened a little quicker than what we thought, but we’re gonna roll with it,” Allender said. “We didn’t even think we’d find a place until toward the end of the year. Thad asked me if I wanted him to call, and I said, ‘I bet they already have somebody going in. There’s no way that place is going to be open.’”
Allender and Vincent worked with Phil Radcliff of TRIO Commercial Property Group to lease the space. Middletown Landing is owned by Stoneweg US, a real estate investment firm that purchased the 646-unit property in early 2022 for $230 million from Lifestyle Communities.
“I think they were looking for a specific type of concept for the residents, something everybody could enjoy — and pizza is kind of that,” Allender said. “The place is pretty stunning cosmetically. We’re going to do a little touch-up here and there, but there’s not a lot of renovation. It’s getting our equipment in and setting up.”
Craft House Pizza offers a menu of artisanal pizzas, wings, sandwiches, pastas and more. It also serves craft beers sourced from its affiliate, Hometown Brewing Co.
Thomas Brown, a former partner in Hometown Pizza, rebranded four Hometown Pizza locations under the Craft House name in 2022. The company now has eight locations. Brown also owns Hometown Brewing Co.
Allender said they hope to have the new Middletown location open by Thanksgiving. She added that it would be the largest Craft House restaurant and will employ about 55 people initially, but that number could change with the seasons.
“We’re going to open and there’s not going to be any outdoor seating because the pool from the complex and the volleyball courts will all be closed,” Allender said. “So, when spring and summer come, things are going to change. The trends change when the sun comes out — people tend to hibernate more in the winter.”
Allender and Vincent are the first franchisees to open stores, but Craft House has signed financial disclosure documents with at least six other potential franchisees, including people in Texas, Ohio and Florida.
