COVID comeback: Two Keys Tavern to reopen at different location near UK campus

Wildcat fans, get ready to watch football and have drinks at Two Keys Tavern this fall. The longtime college bar is set to reopen in August after filing for bankruptcy and closing because of the COVID pandemic and loss of revenue in 2020.

But it will not be at the location most are familiar with, the one it operated near the University of Kentucky for 66 years at 333 S. Limestone.

According to an announcement sent to local media, the new location will be less than 900 feet away from the original location, up the street at 380 S. Limestone between CD Central and Clubhouse, a nightclub that took over the former space held by Pazzo’s Pizza Pub. The new Two Keys is expected to reopen in time for the school year.

The news release said customers can expect to see an improved campus-area bar with multiple patios, a rooftop feature and an underground tap room with a hidden entrance that will open this winter.

The managers of Two Keys Tavern did not respond to questions.

Three months after the sports bar closed, a federal bankruptcy court in Lexington approved an order allowing Sethco, LLC, the company that ran the Two Keys Tavern, to abandon the 333 South Limestone location.

This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 3:56 PM.