Tony’s Steak and Seafood (of Cincinnati) has announced plans to open a two-level fine dining restaurant in what was formerly known as Victorian Square.
West Virginia-based chain Pies and Pints will open an outlet in the former Victorian Square later this fall.
Sarah’s Corner Cafe has relocated from Winchester Road to the corner of Liberty and Henry Clay (the former Lunch Box location, and the former Pantry Fresh Market location).
A new Shakespeare & Co location has opened on Chinoe Road in the former Pacific Pearl and then former Rossi’s location. The new restaurant is serving the same menu as the original location on Broadway and Short St. Company controller Mark Chaffin says more expansions are under co nsideration, beginning with construction of a third location next summer in the Hamburg area near Malone’s.
Chatham’s will offer southern comfort food in the old Ramsey’s at the corner of High St and Woodland.
Dickey’s Barbeque Pit, a Dallas-based, Texas-style barbeque chain, has opened its second location in Kentucky in the Eastland shopping center on Winchester Road. The fast-casual restaurant slow smokes all of their meats onsite, serves them along homestyle sides and offers free kids meals on Sundays. This year Technomic named Dickey’s “Fastest- growing restaurant in the country.”
On Saturday August 9, more than 15 Kentucky wineries will be attending the 2014 Kentucky Vineyard Society Wine Festival. The event will be held at the Masterson Station Park pavilion and will feature music from Lisa Raymond and cooking with wine demos by Executive Chef Ranada West-Riley, Owner of Lexington Diner.
Enoteca, located on 2nd and Jefferson St., has completed their patio expansion and now offers a double-decker overlooking the ongoing Jefferson Street renaissance.
A new Firehouse Subs has opened in Lex, located at 101 Sand Lake Dr. and open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Local owners Brandon Greene and Matthew Ishmael own two other Firehouse Subs restaurants in Lexington.
Blue Stallion Brewing celebrated its one year anniversary in July. Located at 610 W. Third (near Newtown Pike), on Sundays and Mondays, you can fill your growlers with most Blue Stallion beers for $11 (some high gravity beers excluded).
West 6th Brewing has recently announced the fourth canned beer in their year-round lineup. The Pay ItForward Cocoa Porter is brewed with Organic, direct-tradecocoa nibs with a 7% ABV. The beer will be available for purchase in September and for every 6-pack bought, West 6th will donate .50 cents to a local non-profit. In addition to canning a new beer,West Sixth Breweryhas also introduced a crowler. This 32 oz, single-use can, invented by Ball Corporation and Oskar Blues Brewery, is filled with any beer available on draft, sealed and ready to be enjoyed anywhere. Like a growler, but in a can.
Newk’s Eatery broke ground on Tuesday, July 15th and plans to open its doors later this fall, according to owner- operator Jay Minner. The restaurant is on Richmond Road, in front of Southland Christian Church, as part of the redevelopment of the former Lexington Mall property. Newks offers California-style pizzas, hot speciality sandwiches, and tossed salads, and also offers wine and beer.
The Lexington Women Chefs Dinner Series is taking the month of August off, however, they have big things planned for the following month. On September 28th, the group will hold a Farm to Table Brunch on the land of Montessori Middle School of Kentucky. The meal will feature eggs and produce harvested by the farm.
The Friday Food Trucks for a Cause is in a bit of flux since the base camp property they were using near Main and Midland has sold. Stay tuned to aceweekly.com for updates.
The 8th Annual Kentucky Brew-Off, hosted by Alltech Brewing and Distilling company, named the Robust Porter, by husband and wife Chad and Mary Shive, as the first place winning brew. Alltech will make the limited edition brew available on draft throughout the region, while it lasts.
La Petite Crêperie received their liquor license and now serves French wines and speciality cocktails alongside their crepes.
Country Boy Brewing released the first ever KY Proud Hard Cider made by a microbrewery on July 24th. The first batch, made with apples from Evan’s Orchard, is the first of many that Country Boy plans to produce.
Robert Swan, owner and creator of Great Bagel, has purchased one of his neighboring businesses on Woodland: Lynagh’s Irish Pub.
Petro’s Chili and Chips is opening its first Kentucky location on Tates Creek Centre Drive in the former Pizza Hut site. The franchise, which serves upscale versions of “Frito Pies” along with hot dogs, nachos and loaded baked potatoes, is set to open in August and will have both indoor and outdoor seating as well as a drive-thru.
Construction is underway for Cook-Out Restaurant, a North Carolina fast-food hamburger chain, on South Broadway at the former site of Stanley Demos’ Coach House and most recently, Casanova Fine Italian Restaurant. The restaurant, serving char-grilled burgers, chicken, BBQ, hot dogs and more, will be a sit-down restaurant with a drive-thru.
The owners of Lexington Pasta, Reinaldo Gonzalez and Lesme Romero, are expanding their pasta making operation with a new facility on Delaware Ave., called Pasta Garage Café. The new location will be significantly larger than the shop’s current space on Limestone and will feature a new restaurant highlighting their pasta. The space will also serve as an expanded center for production. Lexington Pasta on Nor th Limestone will remain open as a retail location.
Jefferson Street is set to gain another significant resident as construction on The Apiary moves forward. To date, the location as served as the home to The Apiary Fine Catering & Events’ kitchen but will soon expand into a complex with gardens designed by Lexington’s Jon Carloftis.
The annual Tomato Fest is Sunday August 10 at the Arboretum. (Go early; last year the vendors who sampled food ran out immediately.) It gets more popular every year, and we’re hopeful it might grow into something like Nashville’s wildly successful Tomato Arts Festival (which draws about 35,000 attendees annually). It will also be held the weekend of August 8 and 9, if you’re up for a road trip.
Spindletop is hosting a brunch cooking class from 6 pm to 8 pm onAugust 13. Info, 263-0088.
Vinaigrette, now open on Leestown Road, meets the needs of the Big Salad crowd. The menu has been designed by bluegrass culinary empire builder, Ouita Michel, and will feature greens produced by Lexington’s Seedleaf, a community gardening non-profit.
Newcomer Red Bang Bang Chinese is already expanding with its second location, Red Bang Bang Sushi, soon to open in Lexington’s Fayette Mall. The West Maxwell location of Red Bang Bang, quickly became a favorite of UK students looking to eat on the cheap thanks to their budget pricing at $1 per scoop of food. The new Fayette Mall location hopes aims to make sushi a bit more accessible through a “Build Your Own Sushi Roll.” Red Bang Bang Sushi is scheduled to open mid-August.
This article also appears on page 16 of the August 7, 2014 print issue of Ace.
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