Lockbox restaurant closing after 21c hotel sale. New concept from Mileta coming
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Decade-old Lockbox will close mid-May; hotel was sold in October.
- Hotel sold in October to Thoroughbred Hospitality Group for $14 million.
- Future of the restaurant space and hotel branding remains unclear.
A prominent Lexington hotel restaurant and bar is closing for a revamp after the hotel sold.
Lockbox, in the 21c Museum Hotel at 167 Main St., announced on social media April 2 that the restaurant will be closing in mid-May after a decade.
The restaurant will reopen later this year as a new concept from the team behind the Italian-ish Mileta restaurant in Fayette Mall, according to an April 3 statement from the Mileta team.
“We’re thrilled to announce that the team behind Mileta is opening a second restaurant, bringing a brand new concept to the space at 167 W Main St in downtown,” according to the statement. “The Lexington community has been incredibly supportive of Mileta, and the team is excited to partner with this iconic hotel to introduce something new and delicious to this historic and special space.”
Lockbox food and beverage director Brian Walters and executive chef Stephen Holden said Lockbox will be open through Mother’s Day on May 10 but did not give a specific closing date. The restaurant does not appear to be accepting reservations beyond that. Hotel manager Sarah Grindle did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The weeks of the Keeneland spring meet, the Kentucky Derby, UK’s graduation and Mother’s Day will be the last hurrah for Lockbox,” Walters said. “We would love to have you all come out for one more Lockbox experience.”
“Stay tuned, because big things are coming next,” Holden said in the video.
The restaurant and bar occupied the original bank lobby and featured a sculpture that changed colors with the weather pattern. The restaurant was named for the bank vault, which was a private dining space. The restaurant went through several chefs, but the menu remained focused on upscale Southern-style dishes made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The bar offered a wide variety of premium bourbons, wines and cocktails.
21c Museum Hotel Lexington sold
In October, Lexington’s 21c Museum Hotel sold to a partnership run by a family-owned business, Thoroughbred Hospitality Group for $14 million, according to the Fayette County Clerk’s office.
The same group also bought the 21c Museum Hotel in Cincinnati for $25 million at the same time, according to published reports.
Both prices are significantly below the costs to buy and outfit the unique hotels, which were opened by Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown, and, in some cases, outfitted with Wilson’s private art collection.
The Lexington hotel, which opened in February 2016, is in the historic First National Bank building that opened in 1914 as the city’s first skyscraper. Wilson purchased the property for $3.1 million; more than $43 million, including federal, state and local funds and tax credits, were invested in rehabilitating the building.
The two-year redevelopment of the bank building was hailed as part of downtown renaissance for Lexington, coming as the historic former courthouse next door was about to undergo its own massive renovation and the block across the street in the planning stages for what would become the City Center hotel and office complex.
The Cincinnati hotel at 609 Walnut St. was a $57.8 million project that opened in November 2012.
Wilson sold a majority stake in the 21c operations to French hotel group Accor in 2018 for $51 million but kept the real estate and has been gradually selling those off. The Louisville 21c hotel has not been sold.
The Lexington group that bought both also owns Raj Transport, a trucking company, and several other hotels around Kentucky.
Ken Patel, manager of Raj Transport, confirmed the involvement in the purchases of the hotels, which are now being operated by a management group, he said.
A widely circulated Reddit post said that the Lexington hotel would become a Marriott-operated property, but Raj Transport CEO Raj Patel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the hotel’s future branding or operations. It is unclear if the hotel also will be closing for rebranding and renovations.
