Details on the ‘showstopper’ coming to the former Saul Good restaurant in The Square
Lexington’s taco takeover marches on: A restaurant specializing in inventive tacos is adding a location downtown.
Agave & Rye at The Square will be opening in the former spot occupied by Saul Good in The Square, on the corner of Broadway and Short Street.
Co-owner Yavonne Sarber said this week that she expects to open the restaurant in early summer. It will be Lexington’s second; Agave & Rye opened at Fayette Mall in June 2019.
Founded in Northern Kentucky, Agave & Rye is quickly becoming a regional chain focusing on made-from-scratch “epic tacos” and an extensive tequila and bourbon collection. Sarber said that they have opened three during the coronavirus pandemic, just opening another location in New Albany, Ind., and are opening two more before Lexington’s new one.
What makes Agave & Rye such a hit?
The restaurant’s menu features unusual tacos, including one made with kangaroo. And that will be on the menu downtown too.
“Oh yeah, they are there to stay, they do really well,” Sarber said. If kangaroo isn’t your thing, they also have lobster, barbecue chicken, Nashville hot chicken style and mac and cheese versions as well as vegetarian options.
The hot items , she said, including a Kung Pao chicken taco that’s selling big.
And of course, birria, the trendiest thing in tacos these days.
Agave & Rye has three versions: a classic take on the slow-roasted beef served with consomme for dipping, a chicken version, and a vegetarian version that comes with a spicy chipotle sauce for dipping.
Sarber said the new location won’t have much in the way of sidewalk seating, unfortunately, but the street-side windows do open so she plans to take advantage of that to get fresh air inside. Sarber, who also designs the look of each location, said she doesn’t have a plan for the design yet “but it will be a showstopper for sure.”
The new location was actually one she looked at when bringing the first Agave & Rye to town, she said. But it wasn’t available then. With the new convention center and live events returning to Rupp Arena, even with reduced capacity, Sarber said “now it’s a no-brainer.”
“When we got word, we felt terrible for Saul Good but the opportunity was something we couldn’t pass up,” she said.
