More COVID casualties: Lexington’s first coffee house pouring its last cup; Panera gone
More changes are coming to the downtown Lexington dining scene: A locally owned coffee shop is closing its original location and a popular fast-casual chain won’t be reopening.
Common Grounds Coffee House, which opened at 343 E. High St. almost 29 years ago, is closing its current downtown location at the end of May.
“Our business was not so great during the pandemic,” said manager Colton Hooke. “We depend a lot on dine in and do very little takeout. So it was very difficult having limited seating.”
He said that business hasn’t really bounced back and the owners are hoping to find another location downtown in the Main and Limestone area with lower rent.
Restaurants without drive-thrus have been hurting during the pandemic as customers shifted to no-contact and delivery options. And places that used to rely on busy downtown workers or commuters who are now staying home suffered a double-whammy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Coffee fanciers Laurie and Andrew Bandy opened the coffee house in August 1992 after renovating a former corner market and glass shop. The business was purchased by David and Julia Robinson in 2017 after moving to the Bluegrass region from Seattle, according to the coffee house’s web site.
This was the first of Lexington’s coffee house cafes. It expanded to offer a breakfast and lunch menu as well as smoothies and desserts.
The shop also featured an open mic night for local performers before the coronavirus pandemic.
Kaufmann Properties confirmed 343 E. High St. will be available beginning in June.
Common Grounds’ other locations remain open at 2901 Richmond Rd. and at 4772 Hartland Parkway, where they have The Daily Grind drive-thru. Common Grounds also has four locations on the University of Kentucky campus.
Another restaurant has already pulled out its downtown spot. Panera Bread Co., which opened a Panera To You location in August 2015 on the ground floor of Park Plaza Apartments, closed in March 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Dallas Hodge of Anderson Communities said the restaurant never re-opened after original restrictions were lifted and with their lease expiring at the end of 2020, they began moving the last of the equipment out around November.
The location catered to downtown offices, business that dried up last year as COVID sent workers home after the pandemic. At least four other Panera locations in Louisville also closed during the pandemic.
Downtown workers have returned to some offices and restrictions on restaurants will be lifted when Kentucky reaches 2.5 million vaccinated adults.
The 6,000-square-foot spot next to Athenian Grill, near the main location of the Lexington Public Library, is now for lease through Anderson Communities.
Three Panera locations in Lexington remain open.
