Can Lexington’s new market rival Cincinnati’s Findlay, Seattle’s Pike? We’re about to see
After more than two years of renovations, the Greyline Station dining and entertainment destination is ready to launch on the North side of Lexington.
Developer Chad Needham bought the derelict former bus station in 2018 and began an ambitious adaptive reuse project that will give the North Limestone neighborhood a new hub.
He envisioned Greyline as a food hall, with North Lime Coffee & Donuts, a sandwich counter from Wilson’s Market, a new bakery, a cafe and a walk-up bar, all around shared spaces that surround a climate-controlled permanent vendor marketplace along the lines of Cincinnati’s Findlay Market, Capitol Hill’s Eastern Market, Seattle’s Pike Place Market and Charleston’s City Market.
It is a dream that has been a long time coming for a section of Lexington that could use an economic boost.
“This old bus station that sat here for many many years is finally getting redone,” Needham said.
The neighborhood had a glimpse of the 65,000-square-foot space at a Winter Market last year and got an idea of what the building would become, he said.
“We’ve just built upon that, over the last year, and now we’re about to open,” he said.
The whole goal, he said, was to give Lexington the kind of great market that cities like Seattle and Washington D.C. have. To create “something like that in here, year-round, in an old historic building and provide food, provide ability for young entrepreneurs and start-ups, and an incubator with the kiosks in the market. And provide another step for retailers who are a little bit beyond a kiosk.”
With the capacity for several thousand people inside, Greyline Station will give retailers a place to reach a lot of customers safely, even during the coronavirus pandemic.
A variety of interests have leased areas around the building for different enterprises.
Greyline Station will begin opening to the public in late October/early November with a grand opening to coincide on the first Saturday in December with the Winter Market, a pre-holiday shopping festival put on by the North Limestone Community Development Corp.
The $5 million-plus project involved a complete restoration of the building, including installing more than 3,500 windows, much of the roof, all new plumbing and more, including a greywater capture system that will be used for the building’s restrooms.
Julietta Market
Inside, where buses used to idle, light will stream down onto the Julietta Market, the North Limestone Community Development Corp. community market, where entrepreneurs can rent stalls for special events like the monthly Night Market.
The 23,000-square-foot Julietta Market, named for Julia Etta Lewis, a Lexington woman who fought for racial justice, is designed to be a stepping stone for local creators and entrepreneurs who are looking for a way to move toward a brick-and-mortar business, said Leannia Haywood, director of small business development for NoLiCDC.
“Vendors can participate from a once-a-month-to-month basis, to full-time, so it feels more like a business and less like a hobby,” Haywood said. They have 22 vendors signed up already for the 75 stalls and 25 pop-up spaces inside. The application for space is online at nolicdc.org/julietta-market.
The market also will have a commercial kitchen, opening early next year, that up to a dozen different operators can use at a time, she said.
Other Greyline tenants
Around the outside, with windows and doors facing Loudon and Limestone will be locally owned retail shops and food purveyors.
▪ The corner will be anchored by North Lime Coffee and Donuts, which will be moving from a smaller building — its original location — at 575 North Lime. The larger space inside the shop as well as in the common areas inside and out will give patrons a place to sit and eat again, something that the coronavirus pandemic has made difficult.
“The room for people is probably the biggest factor,” said Aaron Kersey, North Lime general manager. “People come in, they have a backpack on, want to sit and stay a while, which we want, but there’s five people, so it seems super full. And this will also open up the chance for events, like nighttime trivia, once the world calms down a bit.”
▪ Across the shared space will be Old North Bar, which will have a walk-up window for service. Owner Wes Hogan, who has a background in hospitality, wants to create a warm neighborly feel for locals to enjoy. The entire market will have a “sip and stroll” liquor license, so patrons can get a cocktail or a beer and walk from vendor to vendor.
“We’re opening to be the entertainment part of Greyline Station,” Hogan said. “We are going to be working to serve the Greyline community ... we’re going to be a neighborhood bar, open all day.”
▪ Inside the Old North space will be two more food providers: Laura Lou Patisserie, featuring baked goods by Laura Clay, and a sandwich counter from Wilson’s Market.
Nourished Folks, a cafe, will be open for breakfast and lunch to provide sustaining wholesome made-from-scratch food, said owner Riah Durick, a Lexington birth doula. The cafe also will be available for private events in the evening, she said.
▪ Other tenants inside the Greyline Station will include The Koko Shop, which specializes in sustainable living products; Poppy & Pomelo, a socially conscious home & lifestyle boutique; and Forage, a plant shop, which is moving from across the street.
▪ Lexington Community Radio, which has been housed in the Fayette County Public Schools’ STEAM Academy, will move in as well, with new studios and offices.
The radio station, which features a wide variety of community-based programming in English, Spanish and French, also will help to book an outdoor venue with live music and other events.
▪ The former bus station also has a spiffy new venue, Clerestory, operated by events planner Shelly Fortune for parties, complete with catering kitchen and a separate entrance and driveway. Fortune said already three weddings have booked for 2021.
“It just seemed like as we were running across clients for event planning there was a lack of one big open space … Clerestory can fill that need,” Fortune said. The room can accommodate more than 400, but during the pandemic the limit is set at 200, she said.
▪ Outside the main Greyline building, the former bus wash that was redeveloped as the Cosmic Charlie’s music venue has been repurposed again as the home for Black Soil, which focuses on rural and urban black farmers and producers in Kentucky.
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Can Lexington’s new market rival Cincinnati’s Findlay, Seattle’s Pike? We’re about to see."
