Latest / Kentucky Business News / 9.3.26

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9.3.26 · Kentucky Business News

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  Speaker 1: Hello, today I'll be reading from business sources in Lexington
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  Speaker 1: and Louisville, including the Lane Report and others from around
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  Speaker 1: the Commonwealth. Your reader today is Julia Shane. As a reminder,
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  Speaker 1: Radio Eye is a reading service intended for people who
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  Speaker 1: are blind or who have other disabilities that make it
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  Speaker 1: difficult to read printed material. Our first article comes from
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  Speaker 1: the August 31st, 2026 edition of the Lane Report and
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  Speaker 1: is titled Unemployment Rates Fall in 87 Kentucky Counties. Unemployment
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  Speaker 1: rates declined in 87 of Kentucky's 120 counties in July,
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  Speaker 1: compared with the year earlier, according to new data from
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  Speaker 1: the Kentucky Center for Statistics. Jobless rates increased in 18
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  Speaker 1: counties from July of 2025 to July of 2026 and
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  Speaker 1: remained unchanged in 15 counties. Cumberland and Woodford counties posted
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  Speaker 1: the state's lowest unemployment rates in July at 4.1% each.
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  Speaker 1: Campbell County followed at 4.2%, while Boone, Fayette, Kenton, and
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  Speaker 1: Scott Counties each recorded rates at 4.3%. Franklin, Harrison, and
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  Speaker 1: Trimble Counties each had unemployment rates of 4.4%. At the
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  Speaker 1: other end of the spectrum, Martin County recorded Kentucky's highest
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  Speaker 1: unemployment rate at 10.1%, followed by Wolf County at 9.5%,
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  Speaker 1: Lewis County at 9%, Elliott County at 8.9%, and McLaughlin
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  Speaker 1: County at 8.4%. Jackson County's rate was 8.3%, followed by
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  Speaker 1: Carter County at 7.9%, Lawrence County at 7.8%, Pike County
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  Speaker 1: at 7.4%, and Knott County at 7.3%. The county figures
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  Speaker 1: are not seasonally adjusted because of small sample sizes. Kentucky
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  Speaker 1: Stats said county employment data can fluctuate because of seasonal
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  Speaker 1: factors including weather, harvests, holidays, and school schedules. The county
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  Speaker 1: numbers also differ from Kentucky's statewide unemployment rate, which is
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  Speaker 1: seasonally adjusted to remove those influences and provide a clearer
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  Speaker 1: picture of broader labor market trends. Unemployment statistics are estimates
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  Speaker 1: designed to measure employment trends rather than provide an actual
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  Speaker 1: count of people working. The labor force figures include unemployed
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  Speaker 1: Kentuckians who are actively seeking work but exclude those who
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  Speaker 1: have not looked for employment during the previous four weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky's seasonally adjusted July 2026 state unemployment rate was released
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  Speaker 1: on August 20, 2026. Kentucky's seasonally adjusted preliminary July 2026
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  Speaker 1: unemployment rate was 4.7%, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics. KYStats,
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  Speaker 1: an agency within the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. The
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  Speaker 1: preliminary July 2026 jobless rate was unchanged from June and
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  Speaker 1: up 0.1 percentage points from one year ago. Unemployment statistics
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  Speaker 1: are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends
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  Speaker 1: rather than actually count people working. Civilian labor force statistics
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  Speaker 1: include non-military workers and unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work.
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  Speaker 1: They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who have not looked
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  Speaker 1: for employment within the past four weeks. The data should
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  Speaker 1: only be compared to the same month in previous years.
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  Speaker 1: The next article from the Lane Report is titled United
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  Speaker 1: Airlines adds fourth daily Louisville-Newark flight amid growing travel demand.
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  Speaker 1: Expanded SDF service strengthens Louisville's connection to New York and
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  Speaker 1: provides access to more than 40 international destinations. United Airlines
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  Speaker 1: is expanding service at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, adding
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  Speaker 1: a fourth daily nonstop flight to the New York City
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  Speaker 1: region during peak travel periods as passenger demand continues to grow.
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  Speaker 1: Beginning September 8th, United will increase its schedule between Louisville
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  Speaker 1: Muhammad Ali International Airport, SDF, and Newark Liberty International Airport, EWR,
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  Speaker 1: from three to four daily departures. The additional flight will
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  Speaker 1: operate through November 30th before returning March 4th, 2027. The
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  Speaker 1: expansion strengthens an important air connection for Kentucky businesses and
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  Speaker 1: leisure travels. The New York City region ranks as Louisville's
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  Speaker 1: second largest passenger market with approximately 640 travelers flying between
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  Speaker 1: the two cities each day. This fourth daily flight to
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  Speaker 1: Newark continues to reflect the positive growth for our region's travelers.
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  Speaker 1: said Dan Mann, Executive Director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority,
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  Speaker 1: which owns and operates SDF. Newark is one of United's
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  Speaker 1: premier international gateways, and this additional flight means shorter, more
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  Speaker 1: convenient connections to dozens of destinations across Europe, in addition
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  Speaker 1: to serving one of our largest markets in New York City.
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  Speaker 1: The Newark Hub provides Louisville travelers with connections to more
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  Speaker 1: than 40 international destinations, expanding access to Europe and other
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  Speaker 1: global markets. For Louisville's business community, additional frequency also provides
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  Speaker 1: greater scheduling flexibility for travel to the nation's largest metropolitan economy,
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  Speaker 1: while strengthening international connectivity through one of United's major hubs.
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  Speaker 1: United's Louisville-Newark flights offer United First and United Economy Plus seatings.
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  Speaker 1: The additional Newark frequency is part of a broader expansion
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  Speaker 1: by United in the Louisville market. The airline will now
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  Speaker 1: offer as many as 18 departures on peak days from
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  Speaker 1: SDF to its hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Washington, D.C.,
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  Speaker 1: and Newark, New York. United has increased its capacity at
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  Speaker 1: Louisville's airport by 42% since 2019, according to the Louisville
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  Speaker 1: Regional Airport Authority. United's continued investment in Louisville is a
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  Speaker 1: vote of confidence in our community and our growing business
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  Speaker 1: and leisure travel demand, Mann said. Since 2019, United has
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  Speaker 1: grown its capacity at SDF by 42%, and we appreciate
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  Speaker 1: their dedication to expanding service that connects Louisville travelers to
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  Speaker 1: the world. The expansion comes as SDF continues to play
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  Speaker 1: an increasingly important role in Louisville's economic development efforts. Expanded
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  Speaker 1: nonstop service and access to major domestic and international hubs
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  Speaker 1: are significant considerations for companies with operations in Kentucky, particularly
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  Speaker 1: those requiring frequent connections to customers, corporate offices, and international markets.
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  Speaker 1: United's additional Newark flight also gives Louisville area travelers more
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  Speaker 1: flexibility when connecting to European destinations without first traveling to
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  Speaker 1: a more distant domestic hub. The fourth daily flight will
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  Speaker 1: operate seasonally during periods of higher demand rather than year-round.
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  Speaker 1: After ending November 30th, the service is scheduled to return
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  Speaker 1: on March 4th. Tickets for the expanded Louisville-Newark service are
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  Speaker 1: available through United Airlines. About Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, SDF,
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  Speaker 1: owned and operated by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, the
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  Speaker 1: Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, SDF, is the state's premier airport,
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  Speaker 1: serving more Kentuckians annually than any other airport in the Commonwealth.
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  Speaker 1: Seven commercial passenger airlines offer nonstop service to more than
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  Speaker 1: 40 nonstop destinations from Louisville. SDF is home to UPS Worldport,
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  Speaker 1: moving millions of tons of products each year, making it
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  Speaker 1: the number one busiest cargo airport in North America and
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  Speaker 1: top five in the world. Aviation is an economic powerhouse
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  Speaker 1: for the region that generates $ 12. 8 billion in economic impact
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  Speaker 1: every year. One in eight jobs is generated by SDF
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  Speaker 1: and Bowman Field and their aviation partners. The next article
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  Speaker 1: from the Lane Report is titled Chicken Salad Chick Tops
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  Speaker 1: National Emerging Restaurant Ranking as Kentucky Footprint Grows. A fast-growing
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  Speaker 1: restaurant brand with an expanding Kentucky presence has been named
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  Speaker 1: the nation's top emerging dining brand, providing another indication of
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  Speaker 1: the competitive strength of fast casual concepts gaining ground with
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  Speaker 1: American consumers. Chicken Salad Chick ranked number one in YouGov's
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  Speaker 1: 2026 U.S. Emerging Dining Brands Study, finishing ahead of Cookout,
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  Speaker 1: Just Salad, Nothing Bunt Cakes, and K-Pot Korean Barbecue and
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  Speaker 1: Hot Pot. The recognition has a direct Kentucky connection. Chicken
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  Speaker 1: Salad Chick entered the Commonwealth in 2018 when its 100th
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  Speaker 1: restaurant opened in Nicholasville, just outside of Lexington. The company
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  Speaker 1: has since expanded into markets across Kentucky, including Louisville, Lexington,
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  Speaker 1: Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah, and Hopkinsville. The brand opened its
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  Speaker 1: second Lexington-area restaurant in Hamburg in October of 2025. Chicken
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  Speaker 1: Salad Chick now operates more than 340 locations nationally across
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  Speaker 1: 25 states, according to the company's franchise development information, with
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  Speaker 1: more than 270 additional locations in development. The YouGov study
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  Speaker 1: examined emerging challenger regional-to-national, international, and specialty dining brands that
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  Speaker 1: are gaining traction among U.S. consumers. Unlike rankings based primarily
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  Speaker 1: on brand awareness, YouGov measured consumer momentum across five areas,
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  Speaker 1: net buzz, purchase consideration, net recommendation, perceptions that a brand
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  Speaker 1: is on the rise, and perceptions of innovation. Chicken Salad
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  Speaker 1: Chick outperformed the average of the other qualifying restaurant brands
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  Speaker 1: across all five categories. Awareness is only part of the
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  Speaker 1: story when it comes to building momentum for emerging restaurant brands,
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  Speaker 1: said Nora Howe, Senior Director at YouGov. The brands breaking
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  Speaker 1: through are the ones turning that awareness into consideration and
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  Speaker 1: positive recommendation, while also giving consumers a sense that they
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  Speaker 1: are bringing something distinctive to the market. Chicken salad chick
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  Speaker 1: leads in momentum and innovation. Chicken salad chick performed particularly
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  Speaker 1: well in consumers' perception of growth and innovation. Among consumers
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  Speaker 1: familiar with the brand, 54.1% said chicken salad chick was
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  Speaker 1: on the rise, the highest percentage in the study, and
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  Speaker 1: slightly ahead of K-Pot at 53.6%. Chicken salad chick also
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  Speaker 1: ranked first for innovation. with 54.4% of consumers aware of
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  Speaker 1: the company viewing it as innovative. K-Pot followed at 53.7%.
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  Speaker 1: The restaurant ranked third in positive buzz with a net
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  Speaker 1: buzz score of 10.3. Nothing But Cakes led the category
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  Speaker 1: at 12.9, followed by Jet's Pizza at 10.8. Cookout led
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  Speaker 1: the study in purchase consideration. Among consumers familiar with the
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  Speaker 1: Southern quick service chain, 63.6% said they would consider purchasing
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  Speaker 1: from it. Golden Chick ranked second at 61%. For Kentucky's
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  Speaker 1: restaurant and franchise market, Chicken Salad Chick's overall number one
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  Speaker 1: ranking is notable because the company has been steadily investing
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  Speaker 1: in the state as part of its broader national expansion.
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  Speaker 1: The company opened Kentucky's first Chicken Salad Chick in Nicholasville
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  Speaker 1: in November of 2018. By 2021, The brand had expanded
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  Speaker 1: into Hopkinsville and Louisville and added a Bowling Green restaurant
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  Speaker 1: in February of 2025. In October of 2025, franchisee Vicki
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  Speaker 1: Tranter expanded the brand into Lexington's Hamburg area with a
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  Speaker 1: restaurant on Bryant Road. Tranter had opened the original Nicholasville
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  Speaker 1: location seven years earlier. The Hamburg restaurant added a drive-thru
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  Speaker 1: and expanded the company's reach in the Lexington market. Chicken
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  Speaker 1: Salad Chick also currently lists three Louisville restaurants, including locations
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  Speaker 1: in Middletown, St. Matthews, and Fern Creek. Others in Kentucky
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  Speaker 1: include Owensboro, Paducah, Murray, and Crestview Hills in northern Kentucky.
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  Speaker 1: Restaurant Brand Coming Off Record Expansion Year The YouGov recognition
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  Speaker 1: follows a significant period of national growth for Chicken Salad Chick.
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  Speaker 1: The company said it awarded nearly 100 franchise agreements during
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  Speaker 1: 2025 and opened 42 restaurants across 14 states. 17 existing
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  Speaker 1: franchisees expanded into additional territories, while 12 new franchise partners
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  Speaker 1: joined the system. That growth provides additional context for YouGov's
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  Speaker 1: finding that consumers increasingly perceive the brand as being on
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  Speaker 1: the rise. Chicken Salad Chick's current franchise development information says
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  Speaker 1: it has sold territory rights across 32 states as it
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  Speaker 1: continues expanding beyond its traditional Southeast base. YouGov study was
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  Speaker 1: conducted July 15th through August 2nd among a nationally representative
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  Speaker 1: sample of U.S. adults. Researchers began with 70 emerging and
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  Speaker 1: specialty dining brands, with 34 brands achieving national awareness above 10%,
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  Speaker 1: and advancing to the final ranking. The final emerging momentum
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  Speaker 1: score equally weighted the five consumer measures. Brand awareness was
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  Speaker 1: used only to determine which companies qualified and was not
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  Speaker 1: included in the final score. For Kentucky, Chicken Salad Chick's
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  Speaker 1: top ranking highlights a broader restaurant development trend. Regional concepts
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  Speaker 1: are increasingly using franchise expansion to move into new markets
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  Speaker 1: while competing with established national chains. Chicken Salad Chick's Kentucky
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  Speaker 1: experience mirrors that strategy. What began with a single Nicholasville
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  Speaker 1: restaurant in 2018 has developed into a broader statewide presence
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  Speaker 1: as the company simultaneously builds its national footprint. And according
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  Speaker 1: to YouGov's latest consumer research, the brand is doing more
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  Speaker 1: than simply adding locations. Consumers are noticing. Methodology YouGov's 2026 U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Emerging Dining Brands Study was conducted July 15th to August
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  Speaker 1: 2nd among U.S. adults in a nationally representative survey. The
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  Speaker 1: study began with 70 emerging challenger regional to national, international,
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  Speaker 1: and specialty dining brands. The 34 brands with national awareness
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  Speaker 1: above 10% advanced to the final ranking. The Emerging Momentum
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  Speaker 1: Score is an equal-weighted composite of five measures. Net buzz,
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  Speaker 1: consideration among consumers, net recommendation among current and former customers,
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  Speaker 1: on the rise among aware consumers, and innovation among aware consumers.
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  Speaker 1: Each measure was indexed from 0 to 100 across the
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  Speaker 1: qualifying brands before being combined into a final score. Awareness
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  Speaker 1: was used only to qualify brands for the ranking and
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  Speaker 1: does not contribute to the final score. About YouGov. YouGov
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  Speaker 1: is a global research data and analytics group. Our mission
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  Speaker 1: is to offer unparalleled insight into what the world really
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  Speaker 1: thinks and does. With operations in the U.S., the Americas, Europe,
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  Speaker 1: and the Middle East, India, and Asia Pacific, we have
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  Speaker 1: one of the world's largest research networks. Above all, YouGov
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  Speaker 1: is powered by reality. That stems from a unique panel
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  Speaker 1: of millions of registered members across 64 markets. encapsulating some
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  Speaker 1: 18 million shopping trips and millions of interconnected data points.
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  Speaker 1: Our unique approach to recruiting and engaging with our panel
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  Speaker 1: combined with our state-of-the-art technology platforms enables us to deliver real-world,
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  Speaker 1: real-time insights that lead to better decision-making and a competitive
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  Speaker 1: advantage for our clients. As innovators and pioneers of online
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  Speaker 1: market research, We have a strong reputation as a trusted
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  Speaker 1: source of accurate data and insights. Testament to this, YouGov
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  Speaker 1: data is regularly referenced by the global press, and we
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  Speaker 1: are consistently one of the most quoted market research sources
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  Speaker 1: in the world. Our next article comes from the August 27,
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  Speaker 1: 2026 edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal and is titled, Valvoline
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  Speaker 1: Global to Move Headquarters Out of Lexington, written by Keisha Rowe.
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  Speaker 1: Valvoline Global Operations will move its headquarters from Lexington to Cincinnati,
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  Speaker 1: company leaders announced on August 24th. According to a news release,
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  Speaker 1: the company will renovate a 50,000-square-foot space to house up
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  Speaker 1: to 120 employees in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, placing
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  Speaker 1: it near its largest production facility that operates on the
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  Speaker 1: west side of the city, with an expected opening date
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  Speaker 1: in spring of 2027. In a separate news release, Ohio
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  Speaker 1: Governor Mike DeWine said 54 jobs will be created as
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  Speaker 1: part of the project. Company leaders said more than 400
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  Speaker 1: workers will remain in Lexington to focus on regional goals
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  Speaker 1: following the transition. Today marks an important moment for our company.
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  Speaker 1: Valvoline Global President and CEO Jamal Mushir said in the statement,
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  Speaker 1: Expanding our presence in Cincinnati and creating our America's Hub
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  Speaker 1: in Lexington provides the space for our teams to better collaborate, innovate,
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  Speaker 1: and operate more effectively, which will ensure we continue providing
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  Speaker 1: top-tier support for our customers worldwide. Valvoline Incorporated, a separate
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  Speaker 1: company which also operates out of the same building in Lexington,
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  Speaker 1: will remain in the city, officials said in the statement.
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  Speaker 1: Valvoline Incorporated will continue to operate its headquarters there, where
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  Speaker 1: our team remains focused on growing our business and continuing
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  Speaker 1: our longstanding commitment to Lexington and the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
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  Speaker 1: a spokesperson said. Cincinnati leaders welcomed the move as a
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  Speaker 1: major win for the city's downtown sector. The decision to
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  Speaker 1: relocate Valvoline Global's headquarters to our region reflects the strength
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  Speaker 1: of our business-friendly environment and our growing prominence as a $ 10. 6
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  Speaker 1: billion global hub for chemicals and materials manufacturing, said Kim Lauterbach,
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  Speaker 1: president and CEO of Ready Cincinnati. We're proud to become
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  Speaker 1: home to a company that has earned the trust of
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  Speaker 1: millions of drivers and supports industrial operations around the world.
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky will continue to be an important part of Valvoline's
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  Speaker 1: story moving forward. As we establish our global headquarters in Cincinnati,
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  Speaker 1: we are excited about the opportunities ahead and what this
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  Speaker 1: chapter will mean for our people and our business, building
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  Speaker 1: on our 160-year commitment to inventing the way forward, he said.
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  Speaker 1: The next article from the Courier-Journal is titled, Texas Roadhouse
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  Speaker 1: Says Racism, Food Tampering Allegations Are 100% Hoax. written by
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  Speaker 1: Salene Martin. Carmelo Anthony guilty in fatal stabbing at Texas
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  Speaker 1: track meet. A Texas jury convicted Carmelo Anthony of murder
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  Speaker 1: in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a 2025
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  Speaker 1: high school track meet. Texas Roadhouse is addressing online assertions
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  Speaker 1: that employees are tampering with Black Diner's food, calling the
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  Speaker 1: allegations a hoax, and saying it is hiring a third-party
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  Speaker 1: firm to investigate them. In a now-deleted social media post,
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  Speaker 1: allegedly shared on a Facebook group called White and Proud,
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  Speaker 1: a user named Nancy Smith said they worked at an
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  Speaker 1: unidentified Texas Roadhouse location and was in a pact with
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  Speaker 1: other white servers at the restaurant. While it's unclear whether
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  Speaker 1: the page that posted the message is a real or
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: parody account, the user said in the post that some
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  Speaker 1: servers at both Texas Roadhouse and Logan's Roadhouse plan to
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  Speaker 1: lick their fingers and touch food before serving it to
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  Speaker 1: Black diners. The user also purported in the post that
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  Speaker 1: this has been going on for a while, or at
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  Speaker 1: least since the April 2025 killing of 17-year-old white teenager
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  Speaker 1: Austin Metcalf. Carmelo Anthony, a Black teenager, was charged with
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  Speaker 1: murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for the
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  Speaker 1: fatal stabbing in a case that drew national attention. Once
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  Speaker 1: social media users discovered the Facebook group and the post,
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  Speaker 1: some diners vowed not to return to the Louisville, Kentucky-based
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  Speaker 1: restaurant chain. To mess with someone's food is the highest
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  Speaker 1: level of disrespect, a TikTok user said, while discussing the
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  Speaker 1: allegations in a video. While another user said, as a
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  Speaker 1: Black woman who loves Texas Roadhouse, I will never eat
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  Speaker 1: here again because I cannot be sure that my food
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  Speaker 1: is being handled safely. We believe this is 100% a hoax.
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  Speaker 1: Texas Roadhouse said in two TikTok posts on August 23rd
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  Speaker 1: that the allegations were unfounded. The company also vowed to
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  Speaker 1: launch an investigation. We remain committed to treating every guest
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  Speaker 1: with respect, dignity, and the legendary service they deserve, the
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  Speaker 1: company wrote on TikTok. Travis Doster, chief communications officer of
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  Speaker 1: Texas Roadhouse, told USA Today on August 25th that there
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  Speaker 1: is zero evidence these assertions are true and that the
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  Speaker 1: Facebook user who made the viral post likely doesn't exist.
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  Speaker 1: We believe this is 100% a hoax, he said. We
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  Speaker 1: don't know why somebody would do this or if it's
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  Speaker 1: to drive down stock prices, but there is zero evidence.
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  Speaker 1: The company also said in a statement that it has
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  Speaker 1: hired a third-party firm to find more information about the
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  Speaker 1: source and motives around these unfounded allegations. USA Today contacted
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  Speaker 1: Logan's and its parent company, SSCP Management, on August 25th
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  Speaker 1: for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. This
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  Speaker 1: did not happen in any of our restaurants. Doster said
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  Speaker 1: on August 25th that some social media users have since
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  Speaker 1: retracted their statements about Texas Roadhouse workers being racist. He
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  Speaker 1: again stressed that there is no proof anyone tampered with
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  Speaker 1: Black customers' food. There's no evidence of any of our servers,
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  Speaker 1: he said. There's no evidence of anybody saying they have evidence.
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  Speaker 1: It's very frustrating because it's not true. He also suggested
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  Speaker 1: the culprit behind the post could be bots or automated
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: programs that make posts mimicking human engagement online. There is
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  Speaker 1: zero credible evidence that this is true, he said. This
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  Speaker 1: did not happen in any of our restaurants. While speaking
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  Speaker 1: to USA Today on August 25th, Doster cautioned online users
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  Speaker 1: to be cautious of what they read and believe. Do research,
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  Speaker 1: he said. Our next article comes from the August 28,
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  Speaker 1: 2026 edition of Louisville Business First and is titled, Vending
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  Speaker 1: Machine Startup Adds Pokemon Cards. Ludeca has more than a
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  Speaker 1: dozen vending machines locally. Written by Stephen Schmidt. Zane Spittler
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: was 11 when the robbery took place, or at least
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: that's what it felt like. He had started liking and
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: collecting Pokemon when he was five, but one day his
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: father decided that they were cluttering up the house. They
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: ended up selling his collection to a nearby card store.
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  Speaker 1: He ended up with $ 42 for what might fetch $ 1, 000
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: or $ 2, 000 in today's market. At the time, Spittler knew
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: little about the card's value. I looked back at what
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: I had later down the line, and then I realized
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: it could have been worth some serious cash if I
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: had still had it. And so that kind of got
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: me back into it, said Spittler, who is a senior
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: at Louisville Collegiate School. Recently, Spittler joined the Ludega team
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: in a part-time role. His job is to oversee Ludega's
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: newest item for sale, Pokemon cards. Ludega began as a
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: venture of Dan Ross Lee, a man known to many
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: in the Louisville entrepreneurial ecosystem for his work with KYX Programming.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: the Cinderbach Venture Studio Space, and the Velocity Accelerator. When
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: I spoke with Ross Lee in February, he had hoped
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: to have 50 AI-powered vending machines open in the Louisville
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: metro area by the end of the year. As of
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: more than a week ago, the company has 13 vending machines,
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  Speaker 1: one of which is at 1020 Craft Brewery in Butchertown.
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  Speaker 1: That's where Ludega has been running beta tests for the
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: cards sold in packs. Eventually, there will be specific machines
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: there that only contain Pokemon cards. Maybe we'll end up
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: with 30. A couple of Pokemon machines, Ross Lee said
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: about his earlier end of 2026 prediction. As of two
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: weeks ago, the Butchertown machine had dispensed about 60 packs
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: of cards over a three-week time period. The packs of
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: 11 cards ranged from $ 6 to $ 35 per pack. Ross
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: Lee and Spittler shared a mutual contact at Collegiate, Holland Evans,
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  Speaker 1: who is the director of Makerspace there. He also happens
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: to be Spittler's uncle. Two weeks into an internship with Ludega,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: where he was stocking the machines with products from local companies,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Spittler approached Ross Lee with the idea of selling the
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: cards in the vending machine. Spittler said three years ago
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: he started getting back into buying packs, and just having
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: fun with it before he started realizing the monetary aspect
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: of some of his best cards. Much of his collection
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: is still in boxes, but he does have several hundred
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: raw cards as well. When he can, Spittler will travel
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: to local and regional trade shows to work out deals
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: to add to his collection, and ultimately the selection available
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: in the Ludega machines. I feel like a lot of
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: people are overlooking the Pokemon market, as an alternative investment,
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: he said. Over the past 30 years or so, you
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: would not believe the amount of cards that have outperformed
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: the stock market or traditional assets. Pokemon cards first hit
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: the market in 1996. Spittler said that a card worth
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: around $ 100 in 1999 would go for $ 40, 000 to $ 50, 000 today.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: Opening packs destroys their sealed value, which reduces the supply
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: of them and drives up prices. As a result, the
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: cards have become more deflationary assets. The machines stock current
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: booster packs, elite trainer boxes, and curated single cards. This
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: concludes the reading of the most recent business news in Lexington, Louisville,
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: and around the state. Your reader today has been Julia Shane.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: If you have any questions or comments about this program,
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: please give our Lexington studios a call at 859- 422-6390.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. And now, please stay tuned for readings
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: from the Kentucky series here on Radio Eye.