Guitarist opens horse racing, bourbon ‘oasis’ restaurant in grandparents country store

One Georgetown native has traded his telecaster for a new kind of adventure after 30 years as a chicken pickin’ session guitarist in Nashville with the likes of Joe Diffie, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Bellamy Brothers.

Musician Patrick Golden, 55, opened Golden’s Pub & Deli on Aug. 1, 2020. The joint has a full service bar and kitchen that fixes up everything from Kentucky hot browns to fried bologna sandwiches, sweet and sour wings, loaded tater tots, the occasional meatloaf melt and more for its menu.

It also features wall-to-wall memorabilia from the horse and bourbon industries, giving the building a unique Kentucky feel and personality all its own.

“During my time traveling around and playing music I noticed that most all bars have sports related themes with jerseys, banners and TVs lining the walls,” said Golden. “With this spot being in the heart of horse country and just up the road from the home of Secretariat I wanted to tie the bar’s theme heavily into equine culture, especially that of the greatest race horse to ever live.”

Pictures and other nods to the famed horse from Claiborne Farm cover every nook and cranny of Golden’s Pub. Top conversation pieces include photos signed by Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery, exercise riders Charlie Davis and Jim Gaffney, and rider Ron Turcotte, the last of whom jockeyed the steed on its storied Triple Crown run. There’s also a jockey statue painted in Turcotte’s iconic checkered blue and white that Golden keeps separate from the five others lining the pub’s front porch.

“Those colors are so special to Kentucky, Secretariat and Claiborne Farms that I didn’t want him to be lost in the shuffle out front with the other jockeys,” said Golden.

“I’m about 10 miles from Paris, four miles from Georgetown and 12 miles from Lexington,” Golden said. “So, I’ve got a little oasis here, kind of out of the way place where people can come and enjoy great food ... and great bourbon.”

Golden is full of stories of the horse industry and his musical exploits, all of which he’s happy to share over a drink, preferably bourbon. Much like the equine culture permeating through the space, bourbon’s touch can be felt in all parts of the pub, whether you know it or not.

All pub chairs and tables are built from discarded Wild Turkey bourbon barrels, light fixtures are contained inside varying Kentucky bourbon bottles and the drink selection is top shelf. In addition to Buffalo Trace Eagle Rare, Blanton’s Original Single Barrel and Old Forester 1920 Style Prohibition Whisky, the pub also features a barrel pick from Georgetown’s Bourbon 30. That special premium whiskey mixes distilled bourbons together to create a new blend, as its house bourbon for $15 a shot.

“I wanted to have a house bourbon that was 100 proof and smooth from top to bottom,” said Golden. “I’d put our house bourbon against the top shelf stuff, even Pappy.”

While the building now holds trinkets commemorating the local horse and bourbon sectors, the property also holds much more significance in Golden’s personal life, dating all the way back to his childhood.

Originally from Hazard, Golden’s grandparents moved to the area and bought the building in 1955, operating a country store for over 50 years out front and living in the back. Under its roof, Golden learned to play a guitar in 1973 at six-years-old. Then in 1976 his mother took him up to Cincinnati to see Elvis, transforming his life forever.

“When I saw Elvis, that lit the spark musically for me,” said Golden. “But it was actually his guitar player, James Burton, that I was most taken by. From then on I knew exactly what I wanted to be.”

Golden inherited the building from his grandmother Edith Duff in 2008, but didn’t move forward with renovations and plans for the pub until November 2019 after Scott County residents voted to expand alcohol sales to the entire county. The “deli” part of the business’s name is both a misnomer and homage to his grandmother’s profound influence on his life.

“The cherry on top is being able to do this in a place that I already hold so many memories in, building on the memory and legacy of my grandmother who owned and operated the store here during those times,” said Golden. “I’m thankful for the community’s support, through good times and bad, and look forward to making memories with them for years to come.”

Golden’s Pub & Deli

Where: 5493 Paris Pike, Georgetown

Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-midnight, Sunday 2-8 p.m., closed Monday

Online: Facebook.com/GoldensPub

This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 6:00 AM.