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Louisville lost a Cook Out vote by one percentage point and then drew a Cook Out filing anyway. In a 2022 poll the chain ran on social media, Tallahassee took 46% and Louisville 45%. Tallahassee opened in the fall of 2025. Louisville's first Cook Out is a planned renovation of a former Rally's at 2412 Preston Highway, and we found no confirmed opening date.
- 46% to 45%
- The 2022 city poll
- 12
- Kentucky Cook Outs open
- 1
- Planned Louisville site
- $7.83
- Regular Tray with tax
Tallahassee edged Louisville
None in Louisville yet
Former Rally's on Preston Highway
Kentucky charges 6%
Cook Out Preston Highway (planned)
Planned- Address
- 2412 Preston Hwy., Louisville, KY 40217
- Opened
- Not open; filings reported July 2024, renovation permit reported later
- Drive-thru
- Planned
What is Cook Out building on Preston Highway?
A drive-thru restaurant inside an existing building. Project records filed with Louisville Metro in July 2024 describe it as an eating establishment with drive-thru and associated utilities and parking, according to the Courier Journal and WDRB. A later WDRB report said Cook Out had filed a permit to renovate the former Rally's, without a construction start or an opening date.
April 26, 2022
The city poll
Cook Out asks its followers which of five places should get a restaurant. Tallahassee wins 46% to Louisville's 45%; the Outer Banks takes 5% and Ocean City, Maryland 2%.
July 23, 2024
Louisville filings surface
WAVE and WDRB report Cook Out's plans for 2412 Preston Highway.
Later
Renovation permit reported
WDRB says Cook Out plans to renovate the former Rally's; no timeline is given.
Fall 2025
Tallahassee, the poll winner, opens
See the <a href="/cookout-tallahassee-fl/">Tallahassee guide</a>.
Tallahassee won the vote and got its restaurant. Louisville's filings followed about two years after the vote, which makes the poll the closest public hint of why Cook Out looked at the city.
Where is the nearest Cook Out to Louisville?
Frankfort, at 1234 US Highway 127 South, which the Courier Journal named as the closest. Lexington's store on South Broadway is the other major option, and it is covered in our Lexington guide. Bowling Green, the late-night store near Western Kentucky University, is covered in the Bowling Green guide.
Where are all 12 Kentucky Cook Outs?
The Courier Journal listed them in July 2024. None is in Louisville, and none is in Northern Kentucky.
| City | Address |
|---|---|
| Bowling Green | 730 Campbell Ln. |
| Campbellsville | 615 E. Broadway St. |
| Columbia | 1001 Jamestown St. |
| Frankfort | 1234 US Highway 127 S. |
| Lexington | 855 S. Broadway |
| Morehead | 275 Stone St. |
| Mt. Sterling | 706 Northview Dr. |
| Murray | 205 N. 12th St. |
| Richmond | 120 Eastern Bypass |
| Somerset | 2561 S. Highway 27 |
| Williamsburg | 510 KY-92 |
| Winchester | 100 Hospital Dr. |
Murray sits in the far west, Morehead in the east, and Louisville is the gap on the map.
What will a Cook Out tray cost in Louisville?
Kentucky charges 6% on a prepared meal, and the Kentucky Department of Revenue treats a restaurant's hot food as taxable. Avalara lists no local Louisville add-on. Typical chain-wide prices, not a posted Louisville price, would put a Regular Tray at $7.83, a Jr. Tray at $6.77 and a milkshake at $4.23. That is lower than the $7.94 tray at the Florida stores. Our price guide covers the full board.
Should Louisville fans wait for the Preston Highway store?
Wait for confirmation, and check Louisville Metro's permit records and Cook Out's own location page before planning around a date. If you want a Kentucky Cook Out now, Frankfort is the closest.