December restaurant news roundup

We've got a classic restaurant news update on this week's Access Louisville podcast.We start things off by talking about Mashup Food Hall, which opened its doors at 750 E. Jefferson St. recently. Part of the $115 million NuLu Yard development from Weyland Ventures, Mashup Food Hall is home to six local vendors, including Dipped & Drizzled and Mable’s Southern Kitchen, Barcelona Bistro Bar, 721 Mint It! Herb & Juice Bar, Nexus Bar Bites (formerly Happy Belly Bistro), Wiltshire Pantry Bakery & Café and Cold Stone Bagels.We also talk about a couple of recent closures around town, including Fizz District in Crescent Hill and OutCast Fish & Oyster Bar in New Albany. We also hear about a new location for Maya Bagel Express, a New York-style bagel restaurant, which opened at 2513 Preston Highway on the edge of Germantown. The more than 3,000-square-foot space was previously occupied by a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant that closed in August.Following a break, LBF Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett gives us a break down on the state of Downtown office space. CBRE’s November Downtown Louisville SkyView report shows there is more than 1.8 million square feet of vacant space inside Downtown towers, representing a 40.2% direct vacancy rate, up from 35% one year ago.After that, Reporter Olivia Estright tells us about Actors Theatre's plan to bring back its classic, "A Christmas Carol" this year. And Reporter Michael L. Jones tells us about the newly renovated Portland Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.