Hardin Local S2026E08: A Neighbor's NYT Story & New Restaurants

What We Covered This Week

S2026E08 was a milestone show — the original four hosts back together for the first time since Episode 1, forty weeks ago. With Rachel Brantingham out recovering her voice and the Experienced Eaters off building their own business, Phil Taul stepped back into the host chair alongside Scott Lucas, Jon O'Brien, and Nate Bryan. The crew kept the energy loose where it could, but the heart of the episode was a serious and deeply local story.

That story belonged to Sandie Yarborough, a Hardin County resident and former BlueOval SK worker who was featured in a New York Times article — published the day before — about the battery plant shutdown that ended roughly 1,600 jobs in our community. Sandie joined Phil to share her experience in her own words, from the hope of a brand-new startup job to the abrupt December announcement that closed the plant, to the long commute and career rebuild that followed. Throughout, she chose resilience over bitterness.

Around that centerpiece, the crew flipped the usual run of show and led with Nate Bryan's Business Buzz — a food-packed rundown of new restaurants and a confirmed Kilwins — before Jon O'Brien closed out with a full week of Hardin County events.

Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqPO4_grH9U

In This Episode

Hardin County Business Buzz — New Restaurants & a Kilwins Confirmation

Nate's Business Buzz — with Nate Bryan

Nate Bryan opened the show with a food-forward Business Buzz. General Pho's, a Vietnamese sit-down restaurant, is coming to Radcliff at 944 N. Dixie, across from Showtime Cinema. El Guadalajara is taking over the old Tequila House at Lincoln Center, and Fuel Fortress is moving into the former JoAnn building near Malibu Jack's. After some persistent digging, Nate confirmed by email that Kilwins chocolate and ice cream is coming to Elizabethtown, though the exact location is unannounced. He also shared that the Sorting Spoon food truck has put its launch — and its planned "butter beer" drink — on hold.

A Hardin County Story: Sandie Yarborough on the BlueOval SK Shutdown

Sandie Yarborough on Hardin Local

The episode's centerpiece was Phil's conversation with Sandie Yarborough, a former BlueOval SK worker featured in the New York Times. Sandie walked through the full arc — the excitement of a fresh startup job and the workers' UAW vote, the December video from the CEO that announced the closure just months after production began, and the difficult job search that followed. She corrected the record on language, noting she was "terminated," not laid off, and described a new data center construction job in Indiana that turned a 20-minute drive into an hour-and-a-half commute. Even so, she's pursuing an electrician apprenticeship and has started her own wellness tea business, closing with a message for anyone in the same boat: build a career, and "if you can't find a job, you've got to make a job."

Hardin County Events: February 18–21, 2026

Hardin County This Week — with Jon O'Brien

Jon O'Brien closed the show with about 13 events across four days. The week leans seasonal: a Mardi Gras Party at The Haycraft on Friday (during Fat Tuesday week), a Hardin County History Museum Black History Month talk on the African American history of Mammoth Cave, and a stacked Saturday that ranges from a Spring Fling Craft Fair and a beekeeping Bee School to a Mac n Cheese Cookoff. The day's biggest draws are live pro wrestling at the Upton Civic Club and the Radcliff Small Business Alliance Hall of Fame Gala. Phil added a family note, too: the North Hardin High School choir performs Seussical Jr. at The PAC, with Scott Lucas's son in the cast.

Episode Highlights

"I liken it to a divorce. Everyone was sad, angry and confused. Some people kind of knew what was going to happen, but nobody expected us to be done." — Sandie Yarborough, Special Guest, on learning of the BlueOval SK shutdown

"Take this time to figure yourself out, so that you don't have a job — you have a career. Something long lasting that will propel you into your future." — Sandie Yarborough, Special Guest, on advice for others who were let go

"I contacted every single group on that list. One of their higher-ups emailed me personally and said, yes, we're coming to E-Town." — Nate, Business Buzz Host, on confirming Kilwins is coming to Elizabethtown

"The wrestling probably is getting in there. You know, that's a fun time." — Jon, Events Host, naming his favorite event of the week