Athenian Grill getting second location, plus kiosk in Euclid Kroger

Athenian Grill is expanding. The Greek restaurant, which started as a food truck, is opening a second location at 115 Locust Hill Drive, just off Richmond Road, in late February. The current location at 313 S. Ashland Avenue is staying open, said owner and chef Ilias Pappas.

The new restaurant, designed by Alt32 Architecture | Design, will have an expanded menu with similar pricing, as well as upscale specials like lamb chops, he said.

"We're bringing in a wonderful Greek wine list to introduce to customers here in Lexington," Pappas said. "It's going to be a mix of a fast casual concept and a service approach ... with Greek wine, ouzo and Metaxa.

Athenian Grill also is partnering with Kroger to set up a kiosk inside the new Euclid Avenue store, which is opening Thursday. The cart will serve sandwiches, spanikopita, and other items, including Athenian Grill's tasty dips. And the dips will also be available on the store shelves.

"We're trying a couple of different things," Pappas said. "We're taking careful steps, and we're very excited about the venture."

Athenian Grill's food truck will still be out and about, more so in the spring. To find out where they plan to be, go to their Facebook page.

■ Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles has raised the culinary bar with a revamped cafe in the visitors center created for them by Chef Ouita Michel, executive chef and owner of the Holly Hill Inn in Midway.

Glenn's Creek Café, 7855 McCracken Pike, serves a daily menu of sandwiches, salads and soups. The Kentucky Proud-certified cafe also serves sweets from Michel's Midway School Bakery and an espresso menu with items like the Bluegrass Mocha with bourbon-scented fudge sauce or Bourbon Ball Latte.

The cafe will be closed Sundays in January and February. Box lunches available. Winter hours: Open Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open seven days a week beginning March 1.

■ J. Render's BBQ Food Truck, Big Red, will be at UK Healthcare on Wednesday, Southcreek on Thursday and Bingham McCutchen on Friday.

■ Need an excuse to eat out? The next Nourish Your Neighborhood Give Back Day is Thursday. Participating restaurants are: Marcos Pizza, Good Food Co-Op Cafe, Sunrise Bakery, A Cup of Common Wealth, Athenian Grill and Lexington Diner. Each restaurant has pledged to donate a portion of its proceeds to Nourish Your Neighborhood. The funds will go toward purchasing restaurant gift cards for families in need and also to the partner charity this month, Seedleaf.

■ Speaking of Seedleaf, the non-profit is offering a new class, Compost 101, on Jan. 31 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Plantory, 501 W. Sixth St. Learn the basics and hear about Seedleaf's city-wide composting program. Cost is $10; RSVP to laurel@seedleaf.org. In 2014 the program moved 24,000 gallons of kitchen waste and processed 51,000 gallons of organic waste.

■ Students in the culinary arts program at the The Learning Center at Linlee (a Fayette County Public Schools alternative program) have launched World Café and Bistro. They prepare wholesome, fresh foods daily for breakfast and lunch for fellow students. The program must be financially self-sustaining. They need donations to purchase pots, pans, and other cooking equipment. Contact Mojgan Martin at mojgan.martin@fayette.kyschools.us to help.

■ Here's a chance to do something really sweet: Sweet Blessings is celebrating its fourth anniversary with an all-day bake-a-thon Feb. 24. Volunteers will bake, make and decorate 100 birthday cakes in one day for children in need. The bake-a-thon is at Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church, 180 E. Maxwell St., beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until the last cake is done, which could take up to 24 hours.

Sweet Blessings creates specialty birthday cakes for children ages 4 to 17 who are dealing with a life-threatening illness or poverty. In 2014, Sweet Blessings served 1,100 children in Central Kentucky.

No experience is necessary. Volunteers are needed to bake and decorate the birthday cakes, as well as wash dishes, help out with organizing supplies and ingredients in the kitchen, box up the cakes, transport cakes by car, and provide moral support.

Sign up at sweetblessingscakes.org or contact Ashley Gann at ashley@sweetblessingscakes.org. You can also sponsor a Sweet Blessings cake any time of the year with a $50 donation.

■ If the average restaurant dinner is too tame for you, try the annual Appalachian Heritage Wild Game Feast at Natural Bridge State Resort Park in Slade on Jan. 24, from 4-8 p.m. Includes roasted top round of bison carved to order, Ale-8-One country ham, tender barbecue buffalo ribs, buffalo meatloaf and buffalo burgers, venison and rabbit burgoo and snapping turtle soup. The buffet is $18.95 for adults, $8.95 for children ages 6-12 and children under 6 eat free. Call (800) 325-1710 or go to parks.ky.gov/findparks/resortparks/nb.

■ Stave & Thief Society, a new bourbon certification program, will teach restaurant, bar, hotel and retail employees to become certified bourbon stewards through a standardized training program coordinated by the Distilled Spirits Epicenter, 801 S. Eighth St. in Louisville. First year membership dues are $1,000. The program was initiated in Louisville in preparation for Kentucky Derby season and Lexington hospitality businesses are invited to enroll in advance of Breeders' Cup. The first day-long course is Feb. 16. More info at Staveandthief.com.

■ For those ready to break their New Year's resolutions and indulge, Proof on Main, 702 West Main Street, is serving up an Indulgence Sunday Supper Dinner on Sunday. The over-the-top menu will be packed with sinfully indulgent and delicious dishes, all served family-style and a la carte. The dinner will take place from 5:30 to 10 p.m. For reservations, call (502) 217-6360.

This story was originally published January 20, 2015 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Athenian Grill getting second location, plus kiosk in Euclid Kroger."