Troubled KY brewpub gone. Here’s what has taken over in Lexington, Frankfort
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- More Goodwood locations, including Lexington Green, are now closed, along with Louisville.
- Ted Bertuca Jr. agreed to take over the Lexington, Frankfort and Missouri leases.
- Goodwood faces lawsuits over unpaid rent, vendor debts and back taxes.
Troubled Kentucky brewpub Goodwood Brewing has closed, and another restaurant has taken over three of its locations.
The change comes after Goodwood permanently closed two locations in Louisville closed at the end of March amid worsening financial troubles involving lawsuits over unpaid rent, bills and taxes.
At the time, on March 31, owner Ted Mitzlaff said in email to the Herald-Leader, “Goodwood is going thru a major reorganization. The Whiskey Row and NuLu operations were closed. Lexington and Frankfort are full steam ahead, and we will have some exciting news to report in the very near future.”
Mitzlaff also said last month that plans were in the works to resolve rent issues for the Owensboro location. But on Monday Daviess Circuit Court Judge David Payne ordered Mitzlaff and a business partner to pay nearly $100,000 and entered an order restraining them from removing any assets from the property.
But now Goodwood’s website is offline, all the restaurants are listed as permanently closed on Google, and Mitzlaff isn’t responding to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, a new restaurant has opened at Goodwood’s former locations at 200 Lexington Green Circle Unit 100 in Lexington, 109 W. Main St. in Frankfort and 108 S. Main St. in O’Fallon, Missouri.
According to Ted Bertuca Jr., who owns Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse & Raw Bar in Louisville, he reached an agreement to take over the leases on those locations last week and began operations on April 22.
The restaurants also have retained staff at all three spots, he said.
Bertuca said the new concept will a slightly different version of his existing restaurant, and will be called Doc Crow’s Social.
“We’re excited to be in all three towns,” Bertuca said. “Lexington is a new area for me. Haven’t spent much time there.”
Doc Crow’s in Louisville is known for its barbecue as well as its premium and vintage bourbon collection, but the Doc Crow’s Social pubs won’t be that extensive, he said.
Doc Crow’s Social menu, bourbon
The menu will serve pub food, including a little barbecue, he said. He plans on introducing more bourbons to the bar, too.
“There will be burgers, wings, wraps, salads, a little bit of barbecue and some specialty bourbon, (but) not as many,” Bertuca said.
He said they will be switching out the signage on the building in Lexington Green by the end of the week.
Bertuca said Monday as he was driving to Lexington from his home base in Nashville, where he and his father Ted Sr. operated nearly two dozen McDonald’s franchises until a few years ago, he’d been negotiating with Mitzlaff’s attorney and landlord for 3 1/2 weeks without ever meeting Mitzlaff.
He said they managed to come to agreement on the three locations, but not on Owensboro. He also said Doc Crow’s is not taking over the Louisville locations or the planned Goodwood expansions into Somerset or Bowling Green.
Instead, he said, they will focus on the new concept in Lexington, Frankfort and Missouri, with plans to open another full-scale Doc Crow’s Smokehouse to Indianapolis in May.
What happened to Goodwood Brewing?
Goodwood is facing lawsuits by an investor, a landlord and multiple vendors.
It also is still paying off back taxes owed to the state.
Last year, the Lexington location was sued by its landlord, but that was dismissed in October.
According to a lawsuit filed on March 6 in Jefferson Circuit Court, Goodwood owes about $225,000 in unpaid rent for January, February and March, as well as unpaid property taxes for the Whiskey Row location. The case has been referred to the master commissioner for judgment.
A separate lawsuit filed in October in Jefferson Circuit Court alleges that the company owes more than $125,000 to Sysco Louisville; Sysco filed a motion for summary judgment in that case on March 11.
Creation Gardens, another vendor, also sued in Jefferson Circuit Court in January 2025, alleging Goodwood Brewing owes them $54,000. That case is pending.
In Daviess Circuit Court, Goodwood, Mitzlaff and Peter McDermott were sued March 11, 2026, by Entertainment at the Enclave, the landlord of the planned location at 101 Frederica St. in Owensboro. The lawsuit alleges the taproom and restaurant owes more than $120,000 in rent dating to November. It wasn’t immediately clear what McDermott’s role was at that location.
In Franklin Circuit Court, multiple Goodwood locations have been sued by the Finance and Administration Cabinet for back taxes. In 2023, the brewery reached an agreement to pay back more than $404,000 in installments. That case is ongoing.
