5 things to know about The Summit, Lexington’s new shopping destination

The Summit at Fritz Farm, a massive development that includes stores, restaurants, office space and apartments, is opening its store and restaurant complex at 10 a.m. Thursday with nine stores and one new restaurant. The rest are expected to open shortly. Here are five things you need to know about The Summit:

Thing One: What’s going to open?

The huge multi-use development The Summit at Fritz Farm on Nicholasville Road opens Thursday, although not all stores will open right away.

J. Alexander’s restaurant opened six weeks ago, but it required a special entrance.

The apartments at The Summit have been available for rental, and some have been occupied for months.

Among the retail tenants, on Thursday you can visit Arhaus furniture, Bonobos men’s clothier, Ariat equine wear, Brooks Brothers clothier, Marine Layer men’s and women’s clothing, Morton James men’s and women’s clothing, Scout & Molly’s women’s clothing, The Frye Co. boots and shoes, and Vineyard Vines men’s and women’s clothing.

Among restaurants, Edley’s Bar-B-Que opens Thursday.

Thing Two: What’s not going to open yet?

You won’t be able to visit some of the most anticipated tenants yet.

Whole Foods remains open at Lexington Green. Shake Shack is hiring employees with an online app and plans a May opening date. Pottery Barn, which had originally planned to open Thursday, has pushed its opening to May 11.

Among restaurants opening later are Athenian Grill, Atomic Ramen, Babalu Tapas & Tacos, Blaze Pizza, Blue Sushi Sake Grill, CoreLife Eatery, Crank & Boom Ice Cream Lounge, CRU Food & Wine Bar, Grimaldi’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, Honeywood, Pasture by Marksbury Farms, Starbucks, Steel City Pops, Ted’s Montana Grill, Texas de Brazil, and World of Beer.

Stores opening later are Alumni Hall, Anthropologie, Bath & Body Works, Cos Bar, Crittenden clothing, CycleBar, Draper James clothing, E. Leigh’s Boutique, Fabletics athletic wear, Free People clothing, Hollywood Feed pet food, J. McLaughlin women’s and men’s clothing, Kendra Scott Jewelry, Lily Rain women’s apparel and gifts, lululemon athletica, LUSH Cosmetics, Madewell clothing, Warby Parker eyewear, Water + Oak Outdoor Co., Shelia Bayes Fine Jewelers, and Williams-Sonoma housewares.

Thing Three: What will it be when it’s complete?

When it’s complete, consumers will have access to 70 retailers and restaurants, 40 of them new to the market.

Thing Four: Will the traffic be rough?

Nicholasville Road is one of Lexington’s busiest retail shopping corridors already. On April 27, there will be people helping to direct traffic, and signs pointing Summit customers to the appropriate location, according to the developers, Alabama-based Bayer Properties.

A statement from Susan Straub, a spokesman for Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, made these observations about traffic, which can be summed up as: Don’t worry.

“We don’t encourage cutting through neighborhoods. Our intent is to accommodate the traffic without increasing congestion in the area. ... There should be no need to avoid the area. If there are problems, we will put out advisories through our normal channels.”

The city said a 2013 traffic study estimated approximately 2,000 entering and exiting vehicles at The Summit at full build-out during weekday peak hours.

“We recently counted the intersection of Nicholasville Road at Man o’ War, and it carries about 6,600 vehicles during the p.m. peak hour (5 p.m. to 6 p.m.),” Straub said. “We have a traffic monitoring camera there and will make adjustments to the timing as needed.”

Thing Five: So what’s the best way in? Are there shortcuts?

The Summit will have one main entrance off Nicholasville Road, a right in/right out entrance off Man o’ War Boulevard, two entrances off Tiverton Way, and one off Habersham Drive.

All entrances will be open Thursday, but The Summit management urges visitors to use the Nicholasville Road entrance if possible. Construction workers will continue to use some of the other entrances.

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 12:10 PM with the headline "5 things to know about The Summit, Lexington’s new shopping destination."