New name, look and menu: Here’s the latest on a downtown restaurant making a comeback
The former Village Idiot gastropub on Short Street is getting a facelift and a new name to go with the new look.
Owner Brian Behr plans to reopen his restaurant as “Alter Ego” in March in time for Keeneland.
Behr said the new restaurant will have an upstairs lounge, “where people will be able to comfortably enjoy a cocktail.”
Behr is working with local interior designer Isabel Ladd to revamp the interior. “We are really excited with what she has come up with and think that our customers will love hanging out there,” Behr said in an email.
Seating in the downstairs restaurant also will be reconfigured, with more large TVs for game watchers, he said.
He hopes to reopen by March 23 with a menu similar to that of The Village Idiot’s gastropub fare with more shareable items and hand-held foods. The streamlined menu will feature fewer entrees for quicker service.
“The goal is to be able to serve people quicker and more consistently while offering items that people can share while enjoying a drink,” Behr said. “We think this will result in a more efficient kitchen that can handle our crowds better.”
Favorites like The Idiot Burger, Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich, Mussels and house-cut fries will return, he said.
“We’ve expanded our cocktail program and are still committed to offering an extensive beer list,” he said. They will have 20 on tap, mostly craft and local beers. Behr also plans to have a strong bourbon list as well.
The Village Idiot opened in 2012 as Lexington’s first gastropub. Behr initially planned to sell the business and historic building so he could open a new concept in another location. Instead, he decided to close The Village Idiot on Jan. 4 and rework the existing location at 307 West Short St.
The corner of Mill and Short is in the midst of a surging downtown Lexington dining district, with a new Irish gastropub The Horse and Jockey opening in the old Cheapside building, and a new upscale Italian restaurant called Frank & Dino’s coming across the street next to Dudley’s on Short. Down the street, the new Cajun-creole restaurant Roulay just opened, joining School Sushi and Corto Lima on that block.
Earlier this month, Parlay Social at Short and Market closed and sold, with a new concept coming there as well, apparently.
