What we lost in 2024: Longtime Lexington restaurants, craft brewery, and both Big Boys
Lexington lost at least 20 restaurants this year, including a brewery, unique architecture and dining establishments that had been open since the 1970s.
The restaurant scene in Central Kentucky also lost some businesses that hadn’t been open very long.
Some of the changes were surprising; others not so much. Some were sad: Readers lamented the loss of childhood favorites like the Taco Tico on Boardwalk, open since 1978, and popular dining spots including Azur and CRU.
Higher food costs and rents and difficulty keeping staff were sometimes cited as factors; an expiring lease was sometimes the tipping point.
.png "Untitled design (1).png")
Here are the places we lost this past year.
What left us in 2024
▪ Old Vine Bistro, a downtown Lexington restaurant that seemed to thrive during the early days of the COVID pandemic, closed in January when Lexington restaurateur Larry Dean retired. The restaurant opened at 400 Old Vine St. in 2018 and operated under several different names over the next six years.
The restaurant originally opened as Walker’s in the former Wines on Vine location, where Dean had been the restaurant manager for years. In November, it closed briefly before reopening as Ranada’s Bistro + Bar.
The food, especially takeout, was popular during the pandemic, when Gov. Andy Beshear shuttered Kentucky restaurants and bars. But the partnership between chef Ranada Riley and business partner Dean ended abruptly in June of 2020, and Dean operated it solo as Old Vine Bistro afterward.
▪ The Social Vegan in Greyline Station, where “Big Bang Theory” actress Kaley Cuoco ate while in town is closing. The Social Vegan, one of the original tenants in the revamped Greyline Station bus garage turned market, announced on social media that the local restaurant closed in January.
The Social Vegan, which opened early in 2021, served an exclusively vegan menu and was owned and operated by a Black entrepreneur who regularly participated in SoulFeast Week and Lexington Vegan Week. Cuoco, a vegetarian, ate at The Social Vegan when in Lexington for events at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2021.
▪ Kismet at The Burl, which opened in June 2020, closed Jan. 21 after a run of just over three years. The unique burger spot in Lexington’s Distillery District was run by owners Tonya Mays-Cronin, one of Lexington’s best-known Black chefs, and her husband, Philip Cronin, who said they have decided “it is time for us to move on from that little red window.”
The restaurant’s small but eclectic menu included “the Basic B” double patty burger, kismet fries, charred broccoli grilled cheese, fried bologna, drunken udon noodles, hot donuts and more. “We’re leaving on a high note, positive all around,” Philip Cronin said. “It’s just time to move on.”
▪ Far Out Espresso, which opened in December 2021 at 496 E. High St., the original location of Ramsey’s Diner, closed at the end of February. The cafe opened as a gourmet coffee shop with an apothecary of “add-ins,” then added Italian desserts, and then finally entrees and sandwiches.
Owner Tyler Rogers previously operated Far Out Espresso as a pop-up trailer in Georgetown for 3 1/2 years.
Rogers said that the restaurant “just ran out of money.” He said maintenance over the summer that closed the road in front of the restaurant hurt sales.
▪ Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen closed its Townley Center location off Leestown Road, the first location, after 10 years in April. The restaurant chain was started in 2014 by Bryce Anderson, Jason Thompson, Evan Morris and Jeremiah Sizemore, who were also involved in the Orange Leaf Yogurt shop that was next door.
The menu of salads, soups, grain bowls, lemonades and teas, and icy treats was created with the help of chefs Ouita Michel and Sara Gibbs. It features distinctive dressings and customizable bowls.
There are now three locations in Lexington (one in Hamburg, one in The Square downtown and one in Palomar) and three in Louisville.
▪ Saul Good Restaurant & Pub, which opened at 3901 Mall Rd. in 2008, closed in the spring. A sign appeared on the door in early April but the mall at first said the closure would be temporary. The restaurant was opened by Rob and Diane Perez, who sold it in 2022 to Lexington entrepreneur Saul Rubin.
The restaurant menu specialized in innovative pizzas and quickly developed a following in Lexington. The Perezes expanded to add a location at Hamburg and on Broadway in downtown Lexington, but both of those closed in recent years. They turned their attention to expanding their DV8 Kitchen and Bakery locations.
▪ Cattywampus Station at Lexington Green, known for over-the-top milkshakes and desserts, closed in May. owner Tia Chancellor opened three years ago at 161 Lexington Green Circle, in the part of the shopping center facing the lake, as part diner, part bakery.
It served hamburgers and hand-cut fries as well as specialty sandwiches and hot dogs. But the big draw: Over-the-top milkshakes that Chancellor began serving at her first shop in Georgetown.
▪ Whiskey Bear and Addie’s Pizza, 3195 Beaumont Center Circle Suite 100, closed permanently in May after seven years. Owners Daniel and Flo Marlowe started at The Summit at Fritz Farm, reopened in July 2022 in Beaumont, adding in Addie’s Pizza inside to provide food.
▪ Creaux, 310 Short St., closed in June after seven years serving gumbo and hurricanes and cool jazz. Owners Dougie and Ieasha Allen and Stehen Scaldaferri sold the building to Jonathan Lundy and TJ Cox, who recently opened a new restaurant in the cozy space.
▪ The long-empty Coba Cocina building at 2041 Richmond Rd. was finally torn down in July. The restaurant had been vacant since 2019 when Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse restaurant closed there. The colorful restaurant and building, which cost more than $4.5 million to build in 2012, opened in early 2013 with an 18-foot-tall tank with more than 300 jellyfish as the centerpiece of the golden-domed dining room.
▪ The oldest surviving location of Taco Tico at 1483 Boardwalk, just off New Circle Road on the city’s north side, closed permanently in August. Open since 1978, it was Lexington’s first taste of Mexican fast food; ads for the restaurant had to explain was a taco was.
▪ Last call at Pivot Brewing: The cider and beer maker at 1400 Delaware Ave. closed in August after eight years. Owner Kevin Compton put the business up for sale but when he didn’t find a buyer, he ended up closing it and selling off the equipment.
▪ Inebriated Baker, which opened in the mall in 2022, closed its doors in August. Inebriated Baker, which sold “edible cocktails” in cupcake form (alcohol soaked) that tasted like your favorite cocktails, started as a food stall in 2020 in Julietta Market in Greyline Station.
▪ Arby’s at by Fayette Mall closed its doors in August after serving roast beef for 44 years. The fast-food restaurant opened in 1980 at Nicholasville and Reynolds roads, before before Lexington Green even existed.
▪ El Cid on National Avenue was evicted in August for failing to pay rent for months and closed. This came after a mass shooting in which six people were shot, one fatally. Chad Walker, of Walker Properties, which owns the building at 701 National Ave., announced to the surrounding neighborhoods that they had taken possession of the Warehouse Block property from restaurant owner Jesus de la Fuente, who had been operating the restaurant secretly as a nightclub.
▪ Goodbye to fried banana peppers on the water: Jim’s Seafood & Steaks in Frankfort closed in October after the restaurant at 950 Wilkinson Blvd. was purchased by neighbor Buffalo Trace Distillery. For 50 years, Jim’s served fresh fish and Hot Browns from a spot overlooking the Kentucky River. What does a distillery want with a restaurant? Buffalo Trace isn’t saying yet.
▪ Koi Express, a Japanese hibachi and sushi restaurant on Richmond Road, closed abruptly in November. This was the second concept from restaurant owner Sinta Tjahjadi to close there: She opened Koi Express after The Saucy Crab closed at the end of 2023 after about two years. Both restaurants were in a former Texas Roadhouse location that closed when the restaurant moved across Richmond Road.
▪ Two locations of Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, both long closed, either were demolished or slated to be. The one on Versailles Road came down in the fall; the Boardwalk location, once one of the busiest in the entire international chain, could come down before the end of the year.
▪ CRÚ Food & Wine Bar, which opened in 2017 at the then-brand-new $153 million upscale mixed-use development The Summit at Fritz Farm at Nicholasville Road and Man o’ War Boulevard, closed less than a week before Thanksgiving. A sign on the door of the restaurant read: “Despite our best efforts to sustain the business, the ongoing market volatility and unforeseen economic circumstances have forced us to make this difficult decision. We want to extend our deepest appreciation for all our guests’ patronage throughout the years.”
This is at least the eighth major restaurant tenant to leave The Summit, and the second to close in a year. Buzzed Bull Creamery closed in December 2023.
Ted’s Montana Grill closed in February 2019. Babalu Tapas and Tacos closed in July 2019. The Summit’s food hall, called The Barn, closed in 2020 and the last food tenant, Whiskey Bear bar, left in October 2021. Steel City Pops closed in November 2021. World of Beer closed in July 2022.
.jpg "IMG_5966 (1).jpg")
▪ Azur Restaurant and Patio, 3070 Lakecrest Circle #550, will serve its last dinner on New Year’s Eve. The popular Beaumont restaurant announced on Dec. 2 that it would close after 20 years when its rent increased significantly. Chef and co-owner Jeremy Ashby said they hoped to “make this month and our 20-year finish the best we can for our staff.” The popular restaurant was known for woven shrimp, pimiento cheese fritters, Brussels sprouts, and bourbon fried chicken dishes, plus an enormous patio that on weekends hosted a local farmers’ market. Azur Restaurant Group also owns The Mane on Main dining and events venue, as well as Dupree Catering.
Frisch’s Big Boy, 1927 Harrodsburg Road and 1849 Alysheba Way, closed in December after their landlord ordered the restaurants to shut down. Known for hot fudge cake, signature tartar sauce and double-decker Big Boy burgers, the chain also closed several locations in Ohio as well as Winchester, Florence, Burlington, Shepherdsville, Independence, Erlanger, Fort Mitchell, Maysville and Cold Spring in Kentucky.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
