Donatos plans to greatly expand Bluegrass pizza presence

Donatos Pizza plans to greatly expand its presence in Lexington and throughout Central Kentucky.

The pizza chain now has five Lexington locations and one in Somerset. It plans to add five or six locations in the area around Lexington, and five in Lexington.

Pizza is becoming competitive in Lexington, where MOD Pizza and Blaze Pizza have both opened numerous restaurants in the last two years, and downtown mainstay Goodfellas has added a sit-down restaurant, Goodfellas Distillery off Manchester Street, to its express offerings.

Tom Santor, a University of Kentucky graduate who works for Donatos, said that the chain has done well in Lexington. It opened its first Lexington restaurant, at 728 East Main Street, in 1995.

Donatos recently rolled out a “hot chicken” pizza, which includes crispy hot chicken, dill pickles, jalapeño peppers and a drizzle of ranch dressing.

But, Santor added, “Day in and day out, we sell a whole lot of pepperoni pizzas.”

Although Santor graduated from UK in the 1970s, he said, “I remain True Blue, and I’m a fixture in the Blue lot for every football game.”

▪  The magazine Garden & Gun is hosting a Lexington dinner on Friday in association with Kentucky Tourism to celebrate Kentucky’s 225th anniversary.

The event is at Gainesway Farm and features a dinner from chef Ouita Michel, Woodford Reserve bourbon and entertainment from The Watson Twins, featuring performances by Ben Sollee and Freakwater.

Tickets are $200 and can be purchased at Ggfieldreport.com/ky225.

▪  Ted’s Montana Grill will open at The Summit at Fritz Farm at 4 p.m. Monday.

Ted’s serves the largest bison menu in the world. Bison is higher in iron than any other meat and is lean, with just 2.4 grams of fat per 3.5 ounces of meat.

For the first week, the restaurant will be open for dinner only, then proceed with regular hours starting June 12.

For a chance to win free Ted’s for a year, go to Facebook.com/tedslexington and follow the May 9 link.

▪  Nate’s Coffee and La Petite Délicat, a French macaron baker previously on South Ashland Avenue, have partnered and will have their grand opening from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Nate’s Coffee is in its fifth year of roasting for coffee shops and restaurants, most notably at both locations of North Lime Coffee and Donuts. La Petite Délicat opened on South Ashland selling French macarons in December 2015, but had to close there because of the Euclid Avenue Kroger parking lot expansion.

The new location at 722 National Avenue will offer French-style pastries, including croissants, muffins and scones baked daily, as well as a wide selection of macarons. Nate’s Coffee has a full espresso bar menu as well as a “slow bar,” including French press, pour over and Chemex.

The shop is currently in its soft open phase, open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The phone numbers are 859-740-2368 or 859-266-0041.

▪  Reed Valley Orchard at 239 Lail Lane in Paris will open for the season on June 10.

On June 17, 24 and July 1, Reed Valley will host the Berry Trail and blueberry pancake breakfast. The menu will include blueberry pancakes, sausage, coffee, juice or milk. The cost is from $4.95 to $6.95 per meal. The pancake meal will be served from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Live music performers are The Matildas, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 17; Tore DeRolf Bagpipes, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 24 and Argo Lynn, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m; and The Compass Roses, 10 a.m. to noon July 1.

▪  Greentree Tea Room, 521 West Short Street, has posted its June offerings.

The menu includes chilled cucumber soup; strawberry scone with strawberry jam and Fayette cream; tropical chicken salad; tomato aspics, white pimento cheese and cucumber tea sandwiches; amaretto wedding cupcakes, chocolate tea cookies and mango panna cotta; and Ceylon tea.

For reservations, call 859-455-9660.

▪  Girlsgirlsgirls Burritos at the Best Friend Bar, 500 Euclid Avenue, is celebrating its first birthday with a party on Saturday.

The all-day event will introduce the Saturday brunch from 1 to 5 p.m. with a coffee and cereal bar, breakfast burritos, tacos and nachos. The regular menu will be available from 5 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Music will be by Dr. Paul, Chino Vadgi, Rose Hotel, Swamphawk, Non Compliant and Johnny Conqueroo.

▪  Blaze Pizza has opened a third location at The Summit at Fritz Farm. The restaurant is located at 4049 Finn Way, near CycleBar.

Blaze Pizza has two other locations in the Lexington area — one near the University of Kentucky campus at 341 South Limestone Street, and another in Hamburg at 2305 Sir Barton Way.

The new Summit Blaze Pizza will offer a selection of wine and craft beers, including two local craft beers on tap: West Sixth IPA and Country Boy Cougar Bait. Hours of operation will be from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

▪  The Ginkgo Tree Café at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, is now open at 7 a.m.

Coffee, biscuits and pastries are available from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

▪ The Simple Greek has opened at 4101 Tates Creek Centre Drive. Customers can start with a white or wheat pita or a salad bowl and customize their meal in the fast-casual restaurant.

The phone number is 859-273-4976.

▪  Dudley’s On Short Wine Down Wednesday — Rooftop Rosé edition will be offered on Wednesday. Chef Mark Richardson has created a “Rooftop Rosé” menu that pairs with the blush wine. Guests can enjoy special pricing on rosé by the glass ($7) and bottle ($25), and the special menu on the roof from 5 to 7 p.m., then continue the evening in Dudley’s bar until 10 p.m.

The restaurant, at 259 West Short Street, can be reached at 859-252-1010.

This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Donatos plans to greatly expand Bluegrass pizza presence."