What we lost in 2025: How many Lexington restaurants closed this year?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Lexington lost nearly two dozen restaurants in 2025, from fast food to fine dining.
- Closures stemmed from visibility, ownership changes, safety issues and market shifts.
- Several closed sites found new tenants or concepts, while some owners plan comebacks.
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Lexington’s dining scene is always changing with new restaurants opening and old favorites closing.
And 2025 was no different: Several places dear to diners across the Bluegrass closed for good. Some live on in other locations, some are still going as food trucks and others hope to come back in new spots one day.
Here’s a recap of more than two dozen of the local dining places we lost.
Tolly-Ho
Tolly-Ho, the venerable burger and breakfast joint, known for its cheap but tasty food, is closing permanently on Dec. 31. They will serve one last round of Ho Burgers, shakes and fries. The restaurant opened in 1971 near the University of Kentucky campus and served generations of UK students and faculty.
Bad Wolf Burgers
The popular burger spot closed New Year’s Eve after more than 15 years serving some of the most eclectic offerings around. Owner Rachelle Collins didn’t want to give a reason for deciding to close the popular local burger restaurant. Bad Wolf’s burger menu included the spicy Cajun Burger, a pineapple teriyaki and of course the namesake burger, The Bad Wolf, a Cajun seasoned patty topped with bacon, house-made beer cheese and onion straws.
Zim’s Cafe and The Thirsty Fox
In December, Kentucky restaurateur Ouita Michel announced that her restaurant in the Old Courthouse in downtown Lexington would close after seven years. Zim’s Cafe and The Thirsty Fox were the anchor tenants of the newly renovated historic building when it reopened in 2018 with a menu of breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch favorites for tourists and locals alike. The cafe and bar are closing after New Year’s Eve.
The Woodford Inn
The owners of The Woodford Inn announced in late December that they had abruptly lost their lease on the Versailles property and the bed and breakfast with its restaurant and bar would close before the end of the year. They were looking for a new spot to reopen. They were known for holiday buffets as well as weekend brunch as well as lunch and dinner.
L8Nite Fast Food
L8NITE Fast Food, a student-operated burger restaurant on the University of Kentucky campus, closed in February. The owner of the restaurant inside the UK Cornerstone building on South Limestone said the university wouldn’t allow more visible exterior signs to show customers and DoorDash pickup drivers where to find them and lost business.
Cup of Common Wealth in Cornerstone
Another original food and beverage tenant left The Cornerstone in December. A Cup of Common Wealth announced on its social media that the coffee shop would close its location there at the end of the year. The coffee shop has been inside the building at 401 South Limestone across from the UK campus since late 2020. “This is bittersweet. New year our lease is up at Cornerstone, and we’ll be moving on,” Cup of Common Wealth said Dec. 8. “We’ve loved being a part of campus, loved meeting some people on that side of campus, and appreciated landlords that worked with us through COVID and other tough times.”
Damiano Pizza
Damiano, a wood-fired pizza and pasta restaurant on South Upper closed after a little over a year. Restaurant owner Carlo Vaccarrezza decided at the beginning of the year to pivot to rotisserie chicken, relaunching as Pollo Azul.
Jean Farris Winery & Bistro
Jean Farris Winery & Bistro, a Lexington winery and restaurant once in the running for James Beard awards, closed in March after more than two decades. Owner Jeanie O’Daniel, who founded it with her late husband Ben Farris O’Daniel in 2004, announced that the winery was being sold. “It’s been a good run,” she said.
CoreLife Eatery
CoreLife Eatery, at 4040 Finn Way in The Summit at Fritz Farm, closed in April after almost eight years. Known for nutrient-dense meals centered on greens, grains and broth, CoreLife was the ninth in a string of restaurant losses at the upscale shopping center. But the spot didn’t stay empty for long: Before the end of the year, Indiana-based Cafe Patachou opened up with breakfast and lunch options.
Bandido Taqueria Mexicana
Known for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Street Corn, Bandido Taqueria Mexicana at 535 S. Upper St. in the CenterCourt complex near the UK campus closed in February after five years. Bandido Taqueria Mexicana was also known for its Wildcat Burrito — a huge forearm-sized burrito made from two overlapping flour tortillas stuffed with beans, rice, salsa fresca, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, cheese and French fries.
Spark Community Cafe
Pay-what-you can Spark Community Cafe in Versailles closed in June after six years. The restaurant had a mission to fight food insecurity in Woodford County with farm-to-table goodness that recognition from locals, tourists and the James Beard Foundation: Former chef Isaiah Screetch was named a semifinalist in the 2023 James Beard Awards. Now chef Cole Arimes is opening a new breakfast and lunch restaurant called Black Squirrel there.
Vallozzi’s
Vallozzi’s, an upscale bourbon bar and Italian restaurant, opened in Versailles in September 2023 but closed after less than two years. It’s now Amsden Station Restaurant & Bar, 108 Court St., serving burgers, pizza, and modern comfort food.
The Press Juice Bar
The Press Juice Bar at 191 Kentucky Ave. apparently closed in August. Although they posted online that the closure was temporary for minor renovations, the business remained shuttered at the end of the year, its sign gone and no indication of renovations or an impending return.
Serafini
Serafini, a cornerstone of dining in the state’s capital known for its Italian food and extensive bourbon collection, opened a second location at 115 S. Main St. in Lawrenceburg in June. But the restaurant closed permanently after less than five months.
Chuck E Cheese
Chuck E Cheese, scene of many a birthday party and almost as many meltdowns, closed in August after 40 years. The restaurant at 1555 E. New Circle Road in the Woodhill Circle Plaza was known for its kids’ birthday parties that featured games, prizes and a mouse-led animatronic band. It opened as ShowBiz Pizza in 1983 and became Chuck E. Cheese in 1991. In 2024, the restaurant was closed briefly by the health department: More than 15 people became ill after eating there at a birthday party, resulting in a family member being hospitalized for sepsis.
Tuk Tuk Snack Shop
Acclaimed Lexington chef Samantha Fore closed her Tuk Tuk Snack Shop, located at 124 Malabu Drive Suite 110, in November after just over two years. It was her first brick-and-mortar restaurant but Fore’s Sri Lankan/Southern cuisine had drawn widespread attention, including from the James Beard awards, which named her a nominee for Best Chef Southeast in 2023.
Bubba Grub
Bubba Grub, known for its burgers and chicken wings, closed in November just off U.S. 27 in Nicholasville. Bubba Grub opened in Oct. 2023 in a shared a building with an Amoco gas station and Jordy’s Family Restaurant, across the street from Toyota on Nicholasville, about five miles from the Fayette County line. Owner Landon Marsh said he hopes to reopen in Lexington.
Maple Street Biscuit Company
Gourmet biscuit chain Maple Street Biscuit Company at 2270 Nicholasville Rd. closed in September after 2 1/2 years. The chain, which was purchased by Cracker Barrel, is known for fresh-made biscuit sandwiches like the Squawking Goat, with battered chicken strips, toasted goat cheese and scratch-made pepper jelly.
Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen
Lexington-based soup and salad chain Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen closed its location in The Square on North Broadway in September after nearly 10 years. Two locations in Lexington are still open, in Hamburg and in Palomar, as well as a location in Louisville on Bardstown Road.
The Wok
Lexington Chinese food staple The Wok at 537 Waller Ave. closed in August but was replaced by another Chinese restaurant. China Hut, which had recently closed on Lane Allen Road, moved in and rebranded as New China Hut.
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken at 321 E Vine St. closed in August. Franchise owner and operator Gus Oyler is serving the spicy Southern fried chicken chain’s offerings from a custom-built food truck while he looks for a new brick-and-mortar location. Meanwhile, Carson’s Food & Drink signed a lease to take over the space at the back of the building, facing Water and East Vine streets, for a new restaurant. Carson’s Back Porch is expected to open in Spring 2026.
Josanne’s Homestyle Cooking
Josanne’s Homestyle Cooking, known for Southern-style soul food, closed in April after nearly seven years. The restaurant, in the Buckhorn Plaza shopping center on Buckhorn Drive, offered up favorites including pork chops, chicken and waffles, fried catfish, fried chicken and more.
Frozen in Time
Locally owned dessert shop Frozen in Time ice cream shop at 189 E. Brannon Road in the Brannon Crossing shopping center closed in July. Frozen in Time opened in April 2022 with vanilla and chocolate custard and premium soft-serve ice cream in homemade waffle cones, cake cones, sundaes, shakes and “tornadoes” blended with toppings. They also had two flavors of the popular Dole whip, which many found light and refreshing on warm days.
Biscuit Belly
Biscuit Belly in Masterson Station closed in October. The brunch restaurant, off Leestown Road at 112 Lucille Drive #150, opened in December 2023. Lexington’s other Biscuit Belly at 652 E. Main St. remains open.
Thea’s Bass & Biddy Kitchen
Thea’s Bass & Biddy Kitchen left Lexington’s Greyline Station at Loudon Avenue and North Limestone Street in April. Restaurant owner Thea Mason said she plans to continue operations elsewhere.
MOD Pizza
MOD Pizza in Tates Creek Centre closed in October. The build-your-own pizza chain’s two other locations in Hamburg and in Georgetown are still open.
Puccini’s
Family-friendly pizza and pasta chain Puccini’s Pizza Pasta, at 3801 Dylan Place, just off Boston Road and Man o’ War Boulevard on the south side of town, closed in October. The restaurant, which has served a variety of pizzas, calzones, pastas and salads in Lexington for decades, still has one location open in Chevy Chase Place.
This story was originally published December 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
