A long-time breakfast restaurant is gone but a BBQ favorite is returning to Lexington
One of Lexington’s Bob Evans Restaurants is gone for good. But it likely won’t be empty for much longer.
The location at 2341 Buena Vista Rd. closed last year during the coronavirus pandemic. The company would not comment on whether any other restaurant closures are planned. There has been a Bob Evans Restaurant on that site at least since the mid-1980s.
But a regional barbecue chain is eyeing the spot just off Winchester Road near I-75 and soon could be returning to Lexington.
Sonny’s BBQ is proposing to move in there this spring, after the site has a $485,000 renovation, according to paperwork filed with the city. There was a Sonny’s BBQ on Red Mile Road.
The Florida-based chain, which started in 1968, has almost 100 locations across the south, including four in Kentucky in Nicholasville, Corbin, Somerset and Richmond.
Susan Brady, spokeswoman for the franchisee,
confirmed that they expect to close on the property in March and hope to open the new location by late May. They are actively recruiting personnel already, she said.
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“That eastern side of Lexington has seen so much growth, we’re really excited to be expanding there,” Brady said. “We’ve been looking for quite a while, waiting for the right spot.”
Brady said that Sonny’s BBQ also is expanding into Frankfort this spring and Bowling Green later in the year.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
