A Taste of Kentucky
Karen Taylor always loved visiting A Taste of Kentucky and seeing all the beautiful products. That passion ran so strong, she and her husband, Rob, decided to purchase the store known for connecting its customers to the heart and soul of Kentucky. The Taylors bought A Taste of Kentucky from John and Sherry Hassman in 2023, with Karen now managing day-to-day operations.
“We knew the previous owners and I felt like we could do it,” Karen says. “I had worked for a company that kind of had the same structure. I’ve always loved the store. It has beautiful products and has always been great. They wanted someone who would take it and move it forward. It felt right, so we bought it.”
With more than 40 years of history, A Taste of Kentucky has built a reputation for sharing the best its home state has to offer. From handcrafted treasures made by local artisans to gourmet foods that capture the essence of Southern hospitality, each item in stock is carefully chosen to reflect the spirit of the community.
Products fall into a variety of categories and themes, including all things bourbon, home decor, gift baskets, Kentucky Derby, food, souvenirs, apparel and books. Since the Taylors have taken over, they have strived to give A Taste of Kentucky a more modern look without disrupting what it does best.
“I never wanted to change the core of who we are, but wanted to give it a little bit of a cleaner look, more like a boutique,” Karen says. “We have expanded the offerings. In addition to our local and online customers, we have a lot of companies across the United States that contact us for high-end corporate gifts. Featuring items with price points that meet everyone’s needs is really important to us.”
The physical store location is at 11800 Shelbyville Road in the heart of Middletown. Visitors come from all over the country, shopping for items to take back home, and Karen says locals also frequently stop in before traveling abroad to pick up special gifts so they can share “A Taste of Kentucky”.
“To my knowledge, the store has been in this location at least 30+ years,” Karen says. “It’s a fixture here in Middletown. When they walk in, they talk about how beautiful the store is. We hear that a lot. You can find something for everyone here, at any price point.
A Taste of Kentucky also has a thriving e-commerce business. While there is a lot of overlap with the items physically sold in the store, Karen says the website stands out on its own with a unique marketing strategy.
“On the website, you never know what someone is going to buy,” Karen says. “Our strategy has really grown. We do weekly and biweekly email blasts. We advertise and do a lot with Google. We’re strategizing our marketing dollars. Almost every product that leaves here has our tag on it that says A Taste of Kentucky. When we ship something out, we put a card inside with a thank you that has our information on it. If someone sends a gift, when the recipient gets it they know exactly where it came from. That has increased our e-commerce presence.”
The store works with many local and national companies that often want gift baskets or other items. A Taste of Kentucky coordinates with these groups to fit individual needs, including many requests during the holiday season and around the Kentucky Derby. These baskets are also popular for special events, such as weddings and other celebrations.
“Local and national companies will call and say they want to send gifts to their employees or partners,” Karen says. “Our gift baskets are a large part of who we are for Derby and Christmas. People will send gift baskets to friends and family. Businesses will send them to clients and suppliers. We work with places in all industries. It’s what really made A Taste of Kentucky grow over the years. That and our focus on customer service.”
While it’s helpful to have multiple avenues of revenue, Karen says it’s important for all phases of the business to be thriving for A Taste of Kentucky to continue having success.
“I didn’t realize how multidimensional the company is,” Karen says. “Each revenue segment is different but kind of the same. They each make up a third of the business and they’re all growing. All things have to be going the same direction to make it work. You can have the best product in the world, but if it accidently gets tagged with the wrong price, it’ll never move.”
No matter how a customer interacts with A Taste of Kentucky, Karen stresses customer service at every opportunity.
“They have always gone over and above with customer service and we have continued that,” Karen says. “We love happy customers, building personal connections and relationships. When we build that connection, they remember and will become a returning customer. Building that repeat business is big. Making a customer happy is our priority. We are so centric on customer service that it is second nature. If you take care of the customer, they will take care of you.”
While the store is at its busiest near Christmas and Derby, Karen’s goal is to keep the store relevant all year long with additional product offerings and customer service.
“We have grown the business in the months between,” Karen says. “The peaks are still the peaks. That’s the goal, to be self-sustaining all months and have two nice peaks. You are constantly looking for new products and new ideas for what is out there and what people are looking for. You have to listen to what people want. We never carried a lot of jewelry previously, but we had a lot of people ask for it. Little by little we started bringing more in, and it sold like crazy.”
Karen loves what she does at A Taste of Kentucky and hopes to continue giving that joy to all of her customers.
“The company is great,” Karen says. “We have great products and wonderful customers. We have a great staff of people who have been here for many years. We have a solid employee base that cares and loves it. It’s hard to work here and not love what we do. We are so grateful for our customers, our employees and our community.”
A Taste of Kentucky is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information on how to place an order, check out the website at atasteofkentucky.com or call (502) 244-3355.
