Conserva Tapas Bar
Photography by Sybilka Storie
Ludlow, Kentucky Discovering a place like Conserva is one of the pleasures of playing tourist in your own backyard. Partly because of its off-the-beaten-path location along the appealing little business district in Ludlow, KY. Partly because it’s like stepping into a neighborhood spot with really great food in another part of the world.
Walk in the front door and you’re transported to a tapas bar in Spain: the aroma of pimentón, the swath of decorative painted tiles, the sound of conversation. “I wanted to bring together cuisine and culture,” says chef Challis Hodge, who co-owns the spot with his wife, Lauren. “We’ve always been passionate about building community around food and wine. When I thought about who does that better than anyone else in the world, it was a no-brainer that it was tapas culture in Spain.”
The Hodges make an effort to source ingredients from one of two places: Spain/Portugal, and local providers. They import tinned seafood of all types—a staple of traditional tapas dining and the namesake of the restaurant—along with delicious little smoked sausages, Iberico and Serrano hams, canned piquillo peppers. Local produce, eggs, and microgreens come from purveyors like ETC Produce & Provisions and Dark Wood Farm. The couple aim to have one of the region’s best Spanish wine lists, and they sell many of the same ingredients and prepared items in their Taste on Elm market next door.
While many ingredients come from far away, they’re as specific to their place of origin as the local stuff. “Everything worth putting in your body has a story behind it, it comes from a place,” Hodge says. “We love to discover things and share, to learn things and teach. That’s what this is.”
After our recent visit to Conserva, my husband, Rob, and I drove home down KY8 toward the river, catching glimpses of the city skyline at dusk. He said, “We’re so lucky to have places like that here.”
Challis and Lauren Hodge ©2023, Sybilka Storie