Welcome to Mayan

A Message For Our City

I am writing today to let you all know that we are re-opening our doors on June 22^nd.

On March 16, when we shut down our dining room, I would have imagined that writing this note to you all would have been an energizing task. While cautious about implementing new health and safety protocols, it would have otherwise been an exciting message to compose. Today, the realities that have always been a part of life for our Black staff members, Black customers and Black neighbors have come to the surface in a way that we cannot and will not ignore. Our message is different now.

Late in 2019, after 13 years of renting our building, we were finally given the chance to purchase it. For years, Bruce has said, “I have felt left out as this neighborhood has gentrified around me.” Like so many Black Americans in this country, Bruce, who is Native American, has owned nothing and has had no wealth, so finally being able to purchase this property meant a lot to us, and particularly to him.

This same building was the potential target and still may be, of damage associated with protests and demonstrations. All three of us, Bruce, Christina (his wife/my sister), and I believe firmly that though the building may be damaged, it can be fixed. It may be burned, but it can be rebuilt. Black people who have been killed in this country cannot be brought back.

So, yes, this building matters to us. But, Black lives matter much, much more.

We are in the middle of this struggle, of all the injustices happening in Louisville and around the country. We are close enough to downtown that you can’t pretend here. We want to keep it that way. Before, you may have thought of your time with us as a respite from your busy life. We still want to be that for you, but we also want you to use our space to engage. To look around you and really see. To go deeper. To strategize and have conversations that lead to action. Action that will create justice for Black people in this country.

Our sincere thank you to all of you who supported us during COVID-19 with our initial packaged meal offering and the carryout options we are now providing. That support has buoyed us and kept us afloat – in all the ways you might imagine it would.

We thank you, and we welcome you back inside our (socially distanced) building and onto our (constantly sanitized) patio. Join us for dinner Monday-Saturday from 5-10pm.