Roughly a year after taking over the struggling restaurant, owners Cameron and Kevin Heathcoat have announced that Alfalfa restaurant, a 45-year-old Lexington mainstay of wholesome dining, is once again looking for a new buyer.
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In April 2017, former owners Jim Happ and Betsey Moses put Alfalfa on the market, after spending 27 years themselves as part of the operation. The restaurant was at risk of closing permanently, until Cameron Heathcoat, whose husband, Kevin, co-owns Bourbon ’n Toulouse and Chevy Chase Inn, and Salvador Sanchez, founder of Cup of Common Wealth, stepped in to buy it.
Sanchez left the partnership after less than two months, however, and Kevin Heathcoat stepped in to help manage the venture. But running a third business ultimately proved to be too much of a time commitment for the Heathcoat family, they said.
“Although we are extremely proud of how well Alfalfa has rebounded, the restaurant is taking too much time away from our time as a family,” the Heathcoats said in announcing their decision to sell.
The Heathcoats said the restaurant is now on more solid financial footing than it was when they purchased it, which they attribute in part to the restaurant’s “amazing and dedicated staff.”
“In 2016 Alfalfa lost $56,000, but we had it breaking even within a few months of our 2017 purchase. Now the restaurant is turning a nice profit with incredible potential for future growth," the Heathcoats said. "We sincerely hope that we can find the right person(s) to take over this Lexington institution so it can stay open for another 45 years."