Two Two Keys? Rival UK campus bars opening on Limestone with similar names
Until recently, it looked like Two Keys Tavern, the longtime University of Kentucky campus area bar, was gone for good.
Now not one, but two businesses are laying to claim to the legendary “Two Keys” legacy: One announced Tuesday it was going to open at 385 S. Limestone but another is making plans at the original location where Two Keys Tavern was for 66 years at 333 S. Limestone.
On Tuesday, a revived “Two Keys Tavern” was announced to open in August next door to Clubhouse nightclub, apparently by the previous operator of Two Keys Tavern, Seth Bennett, who owns the building at 385 S. Limestone. The announcement said that the bar planned to add an underground “tap room” in the winter.
Bennett did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The release on Tuesday listed 380 S. Limestone as the new address for Two Keys Tavern but that’s where a UK dorm sits on the other side of Limestone. Social media posts showed the new location as part of the former Pazzo’s Pizza Pub, now the Clubhouse electronic dance music nightclub. Although the release said renovations are nearly complete, the city does not show any new permits for 385 S. Limestone.
But a block away, at the original 333 S. Limestone location of Two Keys Tavern, the state has issued a liquor license for a separate “Two Keys Taphouse.”
Aaron Hill is listed as the applicant for a certificate of occupancy for Two Keys Taphouse at 333 S. Limestone, according to the city. The request is pending.
Hill said in an email that a new bar and grill will be opening soon at 333 S. Limestone and that the establishment is different than Two Keys Tavern down the street.
Much of the interior of the original Two Keys Tavern was gutted after the bar closed in 2020; Sethco LLC, which was operating it at the time, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In 2012, Sethco trademarked the name “Two Keys Tavern” at the original address.
The bankruptcy court allowed Sethco to abandon the property, including the Two Keys Tavern sign, booths, tables, benches and a bar. Bennett said at the time he planned to reopen Two Keys Tavern, possibly at a new location.
Bennett and business partners opened Clubhouse in the former Pazzo’s Pizza Pub, in late 2021.
At one point, former UK football player Benny Snell expressed interest in helping to bring back the legendary college sports bar. It’s unclear if Snell has any involvement in either “Two Keys” entity.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 1:33 PM.
