Lexington restaurants: Openings and closings announced this week
Several Lexington-area restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops are opening, closing or reopening with new concepts. The changes include a beloved bakery’s comeback, a popular downtown closure and a first-of-its-kind coffee house.
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- Magee’s Bakery is reopening this fall at 726 E. Main St. after closing in May 2023, with owner Greg Higgins planning an October return featuring scaled-back hours and a rotating menu. The new Magee’s model will offer doughnuts mainly on weekends and add a daily lunch menu with salads, sandwiches and new hoagies on a fresh bread product Higgins has been developing for a year.
- Nat’s Thai restaurant at 111 S. Upper St. has closed in downtown Lexington after owner and chef Nat Yuttayong moved back to Thailand, ending a one-man operation that opened in the early 2010s.
- Bourbon n’ Toulouse is closing its Leestown Road location on June 26, with co-owners Kevin and Cameron Heathcoat citing rising food costs that made the west-side spot unprofitable. The Cajun restaurant’s Chevy Chase location on Euclid Avenue will remain open, and the owners are asking local businesses to help find new jobs for displaced Leestown staff.
- Shibam Coffee, Lexington’s first Yemeni-style coffee house, opens at noon June 14 at 535 S. Upper St. in the CenterCourt complex, a block from the University of Kentucky campus. The two-story, 2,240-square-foot Shibam features gold-plated interiors and late-night hours, staying open until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday to serve Arab and Muslim customers seeking alcohol-free nightlife.
- A Winchester Rally’s reopened June 5 at 1478 W. Lexington Ave. after more than a year closed for building repairs, with late hours running until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and midnight other nights.
The summary points above are based on the reporting of Herald-Leader journalists. The roundup was produced with the assistance of AI. Herald-Leader reporters and an editor reviewed this story for accuracy. You can read more about our AI policy here.
