About Louie's | Louie's Kitchen & Bar

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About Us

Welcome to Louie’s, your new go-to spot for scratch-made, Philly-inspired flavor!

Louie’s Kitchen & Bar is the second restaurant for Jim & Gracie, whose first concept—Gracie’s on West Main in Leola, PA, just outside of Lancaster—has become a perennial, award-winning destination for great food and genuine hospitality. After eight years of building Gracie’s into a local favorite, the opportunity arose to bring a new concept to Berks County.

For owner Jim, this location holds special meaning. As a Berks County native, he actually worked in this very building in the mid-1990s while still in high school. After spending more than a decade in the restaurant and pizza business throughout Berks County, returning to this space felt like coming home.

Louie’s offers something different from Gracie’s. Located on the public Flying Hills Golf Course in the rolling hills of southern Berks County, the Flying Hills community has a relaxed, tucked-away feel that makes it seem like a small getaway—while still being just a short 15-minute drive from most of the area. The setting on the golf course, overlooking the pool, is both picturesque and welcoming. The outdoor deck is perfect for relaxing and enjoying the view. The bar area has a “where everyone knows your name” feel, and with Jim’s love of Philly sports, it’s a great place to catch a game. The family-friendly dining room, with its floor-to-ceiling glass windows and large selection of TVs, offers the perfect balance of comfort and energy.

As Jim & Gracie’s first venture into a more bar-focused concept, they wanted to create a menu and beverage program that blends everyone’s favorites with both local and craft options. Our 14 taps feature a rotating selection of local beers, stouts, and ciders, while our bartenders are always shaking up creative, handcrafted cocktails for you to enjoy.

The food at Louie’s has evolved over its first couple of years. From the beginning, the goal has been to bring the same award-winning food and commitment to customer service that guests know from Gracie’s. At the same time, both the restaurant and the surrounding area have changed significantly since Jim first worked here as a young cook. Then known as Bistro on the Green, it was the first restaurant in Berks County to serve sushi. Today, the vision is to create a welcoming place for the Flying Hills community—and beyond—to gather, unwind, and enjoy great meals together.

We’re excited to welcome you on your next visit.

Meet

Jim, Gracie & Louie.

Louie “Levy” Rutolo

This is Jim’s Great Grand Father, he’s the one playing the accordion!
He played in a band called Three Crumbs and a Cracker. We hope that Louie’s is the kind of place he would have loved to hang out and play!

Jim grew up in Berks County, and the cooking bug bit him at a young age. He was pulling a chair over to the stove and cracking eggs for his dad at age 5. He was helping his mom run the concessions stand at the local community pool when he was 11. By 16 he was running the outdoor kitchen at a popular bar and grill. 17 was graduation from Berks County Career and Technology Center’s culinary arts program and running a local restaurant. Then Jim turned towards the pizza business, being a part-owner of two pizza shops in his twenties. With years of experience in everything from pizza to fine dining, Jim still spends his free time learning new techniques and studying new trends. It’s his constant desire to keep finding better ways of doing things that has helped Gracie’s menu become the wonderfully creative and award-winning centerpiece of the restaurant.

Gracie grew up in Lancaster and always loved food and hosting people. Some of her earliest memories are of her parents' ice cream shop on the west end. More than anything, she loved being creative- music, art, theater. In college, she studied Latin and History, with the intention of going into museum work. As fate would have it, as a young newlywed with few museum job prospects, she found herself entering the food service industry just to get a job. She was the shop manager and baker for a small cafe in Strasburg, where she quickly fell in love with the pace, the people, and of course the food. After several years of hard work, that business more than doubled and moved to a larger location. It was that experience and success that led Jim & Gracie to take a leap of faith and open Gracie's, and now Louie's!

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