LOUISVILLE — Moxie Bread Co., a Louisville bakery twice nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award, got the go-ahead from city leaders this week to move forward with plans to expand its kitchen and add a rooftop deck.

The Louisville City Council unanimously approved the 990-square-foot addition that “allows expansion of the interior kitchen and dining spaces on the first floor and includes a rooftop deck with a trellis for additional exterior dining space,” city planning documents show. “The proposal includes additional covered and uncovered patio space at ground level in front of the building, along with reconstructed retaining walls and new landscaping.”

Moxie opened up shop in 2015 in the heart of downtown Louisville and has since been operating out of roughly 2,300-square-foot building first built around 1880. This year, Moxie opened a second retail location and milling operation in North Boulder.

““We love our five years of being on the corner of Pine and Main in Louisville, and it’s been very busy, a tight space since day one,” Moxie founder Andy Clark told members of City Council this week. “We’re looking forward to giving my staff more breathing room and more customer seating during these challenging COVID times.”

City leaders also approved a special use for Moxie “to allow outdoor dining, including outdoor dining on the new roof-top deck and new porches” until 10 p.m. on weeknight and midnight on weekends, according to a city memo.

During the expansion approval process, some in the community expressed concerns about parking, traffic and noise, but Louisville leaders stressed the importance of Moxie to the downtown area.

“It only makes sense for the city to support him.” Louisville Downtown Business Association vice president and owner of nearby Tilt Pinball Mark Oberholzer said of Clark.

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