A new spirit infuses a once-neglected Louisville neighborhood about five miles from Churchill Downs, home to the annual Kentucky Derby, this year on May 5 . The New Louisville district (NuLu for short) is a five-block stretch of East Market Street, just past the Interstate 65 Overpass. Lined with eclectic Victorian-era buildings, the upbeat district is buzzing lately with cool eateries, shops and thriving local businesses. Two new additions are bolstering NuLu’s renaissance, just in time for Derby season. With its launch on May 5, Rabbit Hole Distilling, the latest in Louisville’s urban distillery revival, joins dozens of establishments along the city’s Urban Bourbon Trail bar and restaurant circuit, and the 152-room AC Hotel by Marriott is set to open May 2. ZeroBuses — free, all-electric public transit buses — and LouVelo shareable bikes connect the lively zone to Louisville’s downtown core less than two miles away.

Feast BBQ

On weekdays, this former truck repair shop serves as a meeting place for local entrepreneurs and construction workers who gather around picnic tables to nosh on hearty Southern comfort food elevated by locally sourced ingredients. Offerings at the three-year-old hot spot include juicy pulled pork cakes, creamy hand-cut slaw, tater tots and spicy collard greens drizzled with sweet Kentucky sorghum. On weekends, the quick service joint draws a long line of fans from across the city, thirsty for a Country Boy Brewing Cougar Bait ale, one of many local brews on tap, or a bourbon slushy.

909 East Market Street; feastbbq.com