Downtown Lexington restaurant, historic building up for auction ‘as is’
A downtown Lexington restaurant is going up for auction, building and all.
The bar and restaurant is in the heart one of Lexington’s prime dining districts, near the Lexington Opera House, Rupp Arena and Tandy Park, in a historic building graced with a giant mural.
Postmaster’s Pub at 307 W. Short St. will be auctioned on Dec. 10, according to a listing with AllenAuctionsKY.com.
The restaurant, which reopened in March 2021 after a closing during the early days of the COVID pandemic, is still open and is part of the “absolute auction,” with no reserve or minimum bid.
The property, contents and business are being sold “as is,” according to the listing. Potential bidders may arrange an inspection through Clay Angelucci of Block + Lot Real Estate before bidding.
Brian Behr, who opened the restaurant at that location originally as a gastropub called Village Idiot, said in an email that he is working on a new concept.
“We just had a great October with Keeneland and Breeders’ Cup and are rolling into basketball season downtown,” Behr said. “Having said that, we have decided to sell the business and building so that I can focus on a new venture that I’m very excited about.”
Village Idiot opened in 2012. Behr put the building, which is Lexington’s oldest surviving post office, up for sale in 2019 but when it didn’t sell Behr closed Village Idiot in January 2020. He was in the midst of revamping the menu and the restaurant when the pandemic hit. After sitting the business out for a year, he reopened under a new name in March 2021.
It’s the second restaurant building on the street to be listed for sale recently: The three-story building at 249 W Short St, a block away, where ELIXIR Bar and Grill is, was listed for $3.79 million with Bluegrass Sotheby’s.
This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 1:30 PM.
