Hip-Hop Sweet Shop makes its return in Louisville after fire

A RUSSELL NEIGHBORHOOD DESSERT BAR IS BACK OPEN AFTER A DEVASTATING SETBACK. SAM CARTER DISCOVERED IT TOOK GRIT AND DETERMINATION NOT ONLY OF THE OWNERS OF THE HIP HOP SWEET SHOP, BUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THEY SERVE. THE HIP HOP SWEET SHOP HAS HAD A LONG JOURNEY GETTING TO THEIR NEW HOME, BUT THE TWO WOMEN RUNNING IT ARE READY FOR ANYTHING. THREE DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2022, CO-OWNER OF THE HIP HOP SWEET SHOP, LOUISA JOHNSON, HARDISON WOKE UP TO A NIGHTMARE. THREE IN THE MORNING, WE GET THE CALL THAT WE NEED TO GET DOWN TO THE SHOP, AND WE GET DOWN THERE AND THE WHOLE BUILDING IS ABLAZE. IT WAS DEVASTATING. THAT FIRE DESTROYED A RUSSELL NEIGHBORHOOD STRIP MALL, INCLUDING THE HIP HOP SWEET SHOP. MAKING SURE EVERYTHING IS UP TO PAR IN BOTH LIFE AND BUSINESS IS HER WIFE, JESSIE. WHILE THE PHYSICAL LOSS WAS TOTAL, THE PAIR REMAINED RESOLUTE. I KNEW THAT I HAVE A WIFE THAT IS STRONG WILLED. WE’RE BOTH STRONG WILLED AND DETERMINED, AND WE WERE NEVER GOING TO GIVE UP. SO EVEN IF IT TOOK A LITTLE TIME, WE WERE STILL GOING TO GET BACK TO IT. THOUGH THE DESIRE TO REOPEN WAS NEVER IN QUESTION, MONEY OR LACK THEREOF WAS AN UNDENIABLE HURDLE. BUT ALONG THE WAY, SOMETHING INTERESTING HAPPENED. THE RUSSELL NEIGHBORHOOD, WHERE THE PAIR GREW UP, STEPPED UP, CONTRIBUTING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THROUGH A CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN TO BRING THE SWEET SHOP BACK. SOMETHING THAT GAVE JESSE AND LOUISA NOT ONLY THE ABILITY TO REOPEN, BUT THE FUEL TO KEEP GOING. IT GAVE US HOPE. IT SHOWED US THAT WE WERE ON THE RIGHT PATH. WE ALREADY KNEW WE WERE COMING BACK. WE WERE COMING BACK TO RUSSELL, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. AT THEIR OLD SPOT, THE HIP HOP SWEET SHOP WAS KNOWN FOR KARAOKE FRIDAYS, AND WHILE THERE’S NO OFFICIAL RETURN DATE YET, THE OWNERS SAY IT’S COMIN

Hip-Hop Sweet Shop makes its ‘sweet’ return in Louisville after fiery setback

Updated: 5:53 PM EDT May 14, 2025

On December 22, 2022, co-owner of the dessert bar Hip-Hop Sweet Shop, Lafesa Johnson-Hardison, woke up to a nightmare.”At three in the morning, we got the call that we needed to go to the shop,” Lafesa Johnson-Hardison said. “We got down there, and the whole building was ablaze. It was devastating.”The fire destroyed the Russell Neighborhood strip mall that housed the Hip-Hop Sweet Shop. While things may have looked bleak, Lafesa’s wife and business partner, Jessie Johnson-Hardison, always knew they would bounce back.”I knew that I had a wife who is strong-willed,” Jessie Johnson-Hardison said. “That we were never going to give up. So, even if it took some time, I knew we would get back to it.”While the pair had the drive to return, money was a hurdle. Lafesa and Jessie reached out to the community, and people responded by donating thousands of dollars through a GoFundMe campaign.In December, two years after the original shop burned down, the new Hip-Hop Sweet Shop opened just down the street. According to Lafesa, the support of the community she serves made the decision to stay in the Russell Neighborhood an easy one.”It gave us hope,” Lafesa said. “It showed us that we were on the right path. We already knew we were coming back to Russell—no doubt about it.”Hip-Hop Sweet Shop is open Wednesday through Sunday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

On December 22, 2022, co-owner of the dessert bar Hip-Hop Sweet Shop, Lafesa Johnson-Hardison, woke up to a nightmare.

“At three in the morning, we got the call that we needed to go to the shop,” Lafesa Johnson-Hardison said. “We got down there, and the whole building was ablaze. It was devastating.”

The fire destroyed the Russell Neighborhood strip mall that housed the Hip-Hop Sweet Shop. While things may have looked bleak, Lafesa’s wife and business partner, Jessie Johnson-Hardison, always knew they would bounce back.

“I knew that I had a wife who is strong-willed,” Jessie Johnson-Hardison said. “That we were never going to give up. So, even if it took some time, I knew we would get back to it.”

While the pair had the drive to return, money was a hurdle. Lafesa and Jessie reached out to the community, and people responded by donating thousands of dollars through a GoFundMe campaign.

In December, two years after the original shop burned down, the new Hip-Hop Sweet Shop opened just down the street. According to Lafesa, the support of the community she serves made the decision to stay in the Russell Neighborhood an easy one.

“It gave us hope,” Lafesa said. “It showed us that we were on the right path. We already knew we were coming back to Russell—no doubt about it.”

Hip-Hop Sweet Shop is open Wednesday through Sunday.

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