COVID-19 casualty: Downturn claims caterer’s Lexington restaurant honoring father
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed another Central Kentucky restaurant. Hayden’s Stockyard Eatery announced that it will not reopen.
Hayden’s closed in mid-March when COVID-19 hit the state and all bars and restaurants were forced to shut down for dining in.
Owner DaRae Marcum focused instead on her DaRae & Friends Catering business, serving Bundle of Love family meals.
The restaurant reopened for about a month but the nearby Kentucky Horse Park shut down again almost immediately after it reopened, Marcum said, so there was nothing to drive daily business.
She announced in May that the restaurant would stay closed until the limits on seating capacity could be relaxed and “Hayden’s can be Hayden’s again.”
But on Sept. 25, Marcum posted on Facebook that that wouldn’t be happening.
Marcum said her catering business remains open .
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Hayden’s will not be reopening at the Bluegrass Regional Marketplace. Because of the pandemic, it is simply impossible for us to forge a way forward that makes economic sense,” Marcum wrote. “Thank you for your support and love of Hayden’s Stockyard Eatery, which was a labor of love for me in honor of my daddy. I rejoice in the fact that he was able to see this dream come to fruition and that we were able to serve so many friends. I also want to thank Jim Akers and the Board of the Blue Grass Stockyards for their support and friendship, we will always cherish your friendship.”
Marcum said that Akers is working to bring another restaurant into the space at the stockyards at 4561 Ironworks Pike, across from the Kentucky Horse Park.
Marcum opened Hayden’s in September 2017 in the new Blue Grass Stockyards serving Southern-style made-from-scratch food.
The restaurant was named for Marcum’s father and “celebrates a solid, kind and gentle man. Hayden’s Stockyard Eatery lifts up my strong eastern Kentucky roots and is a place where we’ll serve you traditional Southern cooking, prepared with love, using only the finest and freshest ingredients,” according to the restaurant’s site.
The restaurant quickly drew a following from Lexington and Georgetown for a menu that included brunch on weekends and a fish fry on Friday.
Kentucky’s restaurant industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn. Restaurants and bars are limited to 50 percent of indoor capacity with seating spread apart. Many have said they will not be able to survive the winter, when outdoor seating likely will have to close, without government assistance or increased capacity.
Several restaurants already have closed, including Shakespeare & Co.’s last Lexington location; the Georgetown Josie’s; HopCat; Denny’s on Nicholasville and on Newtown Pike; Gather on Main; TGI Friday’s last location in Hamburg; Locals’ on National Avenue; Nick Ryan’s on Jefferson Street; A&W on Main; Best Friend Bar on Euclid; Two Keys Tavern; Save-A-Lot on Southland; and Edley’s BBQ and The Barn at The Summit at Fritz Farm.
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 1:32 PM.
