Owner Prasad Kaza with GM Chris Cunningham
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS Moya’s American Kitchen Prides Itself on Classic Fare
Writer / Julie Engelhardt Photography / Armando Garza - IMG Photography
happened and it wiped out my business,” Kaza explains.
The city of Louisville has an extensive range of dining options, ranging from pizza joints to some of the top restaurants in the commonwealth, and even the country. Although we love patronizing our regular hangouts and culinary mainstays, it’s always a tasty treat when restaurateurs take the plunge and open a new establishment.
He had been the owner of a Thrifty Car Rental for eight years, and says that in August of 2001 he’d actually had his best month with rentals. After the attack on the World Trade Center, he had to shut down.
as a Steak and Ale, and then it became an Annabelle’s,” says Moya’s General Manager Chris Cunningham. “But the most known tenant here was Tumbleweed’s. Any time someone asks, ‘Now, where are you located?’ I’ll say, ‘Do you know where Tumbleweed’s used to be in Plainview?’ and they’ll say, ‘Oh yeah!’”
“I had to close that business and find something else to do,” he says.
Putting the restaurant together for its grand opening took a great deal of work.
This past June, after waiting several months for the governor to allow restaurants to reopen, a new place kicked into gear, offering patrons meals that taste as if they were cooked at home by your dear mother. This is Moya’s American Kitchen, and the proud owner is 67-year-old Prasad Kaza who is originally from India.
An opportunity opened up and he was offered a job at Back Yard Burgers on Blankenbaker Road, and he’s currently part owner of that location. This opportunity fit in well with his past work experience, as he’d been part owner of an Arby’s restaurant and owner of a Dairy Queen, so he knew the restaurant industry quite well.
Kaza has quite an interesting story as his path from India to Louisville had a few twists along the way. He’s lived in the midwestern, eastern and southern parts of the country, making his home in places such as Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and New York. He’s been in Louisville for 15 years, and it was an unfortunate turn of events that actually brought him to this state.
It was about two and a half years ago when Kaza had the idea to open his own fullservice restaurant. He was familiar with the building where Moya’s is now located, and it had been sitting empty for nearly a decade. He also knew the owner of the building, so he contacted him to express interest in purchasing the property.
“We had to redo the inside completely because the restaurant had been vacant for so long,” Kaza explains. “It’s really unique inside. It has a lot of woodwork all over, and there’s a grand staircase that splits into two different directions that leads to the upper floor. We had to re-sand every part of the wood and put on a fresh coat of varnish. The light fixtures have been changed. The kitchen had to be redone, and we had to replace the carpets and tile, and work on the bathrooms.”
“I had been in New York when 9/11
“From people who’ve come in here, we’ve learned that this place opened in the ’70s 20 / MARCH 2021
They also had to repave the parking lot and refurbish the outdoor wooden deck. “We get a lot of compliments about the look of the restaurant from our guests,” Cunningham says.
