Births, Deaths, News, and Moves in Lexington Restaurants:
Dunkin’ Donuts is moving out of downtown Lexington. The store on 333 East Main Street closed after seven years at the location. The store will reopen at Richmond Road and Mount Tabor Road in a few weeks. A new tenant for the spot in the Main + Rose building vacated by Dunkin’ Donuts has not yet been announced.
The Jax has closed in the space at the corner of Short and Limestone, formerly occupied by Mia’s (and briefly occupied by Rosetta, for less than a year).
On Tuesday, September 23, a ribbon cutting ceremony unveiled the new Rising Roll Gourmet Café on UK’s campus. The Café, located in the Ralph G. Anderson Building, is the first Rising Roll in the commonwealth and was a part of the 15-year, $250 million partnership between UK and Aramark.
Lexington Women Chefs hosted a farm-to-table brunch on September 28 at Montessori Middle School on Stone Road. The next event in the series will be October 21 at Lexington Diner at the corner of Short and Upper. (The November series will be held at Wild Thyme on Chinoe.)
A Garden Cafe is on the Way. It might feel like Fall outside, but Michler’s Florist is preparing for Spring 2015, and the addition of an outdoor cafe at their nursery on Maxwell. It will be called Kentucky Native Cafe and will incorporate local fruits and vegetables into the menu. An outdoor kitchen is being designed by UK architecture professors David Biagi and David Mohney.
Newk’s is coming soon to Richmond Road (in front of Southland Christian Church), and is currently hiring.
The Cheesecake Factory is scheduled to open in late October at Fayette Mall, and is currently hiring.
Blue Stallion Brewing’s Oktoberfest celebration continues through October 4, with Triceratops Jackson performing live. The celebration features locally made Oktoberfest beer, Bavarian pretzels, beer cheese, live music, corn hole, and some of Lexington’s most popular food trucks. Lederhosen or dirndl are strongly encouraged but not required.
Incredible Food Show
The Kentucky Heritage Kitchen Stage will feature cooking demonstrations on the hour such as:
· Country Ham, Hogs, Salt, Smoke, presented by Chef Jeremy Ashby of Azur Restaurant and author/travel writer Steve Coomes
· Southern Breads: Taste, Tips and History, presented by Chef Liz Denham, Pastry Chef at Historic Boone Tavern Restaurant in Berea
· Hickory Nuts & Such, presented by Chef Ouita Michel of Holly Hill Inn of Midway, Kentucky and Jim Nance of Scott County, Kentucky
· Traditional Cakes and Pies, presented by Ann Evans, executive director, Governor’s Mansion of Kentucky and David Larson of Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill
Culinary Seminars:
· Stack Cake: The History & Making of an Appalachian Tradition, presented by Fiona Young-Brown, author of A Culinary History of Kentucky
· Small Business, Big Dreams: Getting Started in the Food Business, presented by Rachel DesRochers of Grateful Grahams
· Simple Cooking Techniques: How Whole Foods are the Foundation of a Healthy Lifestyle, presented by Kate Horning, certified holistic coach and chef and author of Healthy Living Redefined: Live it. Share it.
· Growing Mushrooms, presented by Billy Webb of Sheltowee Farm
· Native Nuts of Kentucky, presented by John Strang of the University of Kentucky Department of Horticulture and director of the Kentucky Nut Grower’s Association.
Ree Drummond (“Pioneer Woman”) will sign copies of her book from 1:30-2:30 p.m. for the first 150 people who purchase a book at the show.
The Lafayette Seminar on Local Food
Local food is the focus of the Lafayette Seminar presented by the University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities.
The panel discussion, “Thinking Big: Local Food and Large Institutions,” will be at the William T. Young Library Auditorium and Gallery at 5:30 pm Thursday, October 9. A reception featuring local foods will follow the discussion. Conversation will center on large institutions and how they can become involved in local food provisions. The panel will discuss, in particular, UK’s new contract with Aramark, which stipulates that the university purchase local and Kentucky Proud agricultural products. This discussion will look at the opportunities and challenges of local-food provision on the large scale – both at UK and nationally.
For more info about the series, contact the Gaines Center at 859-257-1537.
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This article also appears on page 16 of the October 2, 2014 print issue of Ace.
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