Downtown Lexington restaurant closes; new concept coming in the spring
A downtown Lexington restaurant has closed after seven and a half years. But the owner is already planning a comeback.
The Village Idiot, which touted itself as Lexington’s first gastropub when it opened in 2012 in the historic building at 307 West Short St., closed on Jan. 4.
Owner Brian Behr listed the restaurant and building for sale in October for $2.495 million.
It was one of several restaurant locations in the hot downtown dining district that went on the market, along with the Parlay Social restaurant and building on Short, the former Atomic Cafe on Limestone and the Doodles building, also on Limestone.
Behr said that he’d hoped to find a potential buyer but a deal fell through. After the property was listed, the chef and some staff left.
The building still is listed for sale with Sotheby’s Bluegrass, now for the reduced price of $1,995,000.
But Behr said in the meantime he is revamping the restaurant and hopes to open a new concept this spring. He is still working on what that will be.
“My favorite part of the restaurant business is the excitement and challenge of a new concept,” Behr said in an email. “I want to continue to add to the Lexington restaurant and bar scene in a positive way and keep people interested in the growing downtown scene that I’ve been proud to be a part of.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 8:30 AM with the headline "Downtown Lexington restaurant closes; new concept coming in the spring."
