In our Distinct Districts series, we highlight some of our favorite local corridors — thoroughfares ripe with clusters of unique businesses, interesting architecture or use of space and other factors that work in tandem to make Lexington a wonderful place to live, shop, work and play.
In this installment, we examine the Distillery District, an industrial oasis along Manchester Street that is at once ripe with history and brimming with future potential.
A decade in the making, the Lexington Distillery District — an industrial oasis on Manchester Street —finally comes to life
When Lexington developer Barry McNees purchased the 47,000-square-foot former King’s Food Warehouse at 903 Manchester St. more than a decade ago, his plans for that space – let alone any of the other neglected industrial properties lining the district – were ambiguous. The vision for the increasingly vibrant rehabbed corridor – once a nucleus for bourbon production during the pre-Prohibition era and now a burgeoning arts and entertainment zone called The Distillery District – materialized later, after McNees started learning more about the spirited history of the area.
“I was romanced by it,” McNees said, referring to the notion of helping return the area to the bustling glory it saw in its heyday. Around 2005, McNees and his associates started working toward creating a bourbon-themed destination zone – seeking public financing, purchasing more parcels, creating partnerships and leading efforts on zoning designations. Over time, McNees said he was encouraged to “think bigger,” and his initial vision soon evolved into a mixed-use arts and entertainment district that would house a variety of residential and commercial spaces.
While that journey has certainly seen its share of detours, especially during the global economic crisis of 2008, the 27-acre tract just west of Rupp Arena and downtown is finally emerging as a creative and inspired entertainment-oriented zone.
“When we moved in, we never dreamed that we would be in such a vibrant district six and a half years later,” said Jeff Wiseman, co-owner of Barrel House Distillery, which became one of McNees’ first tenants in the district in 2006. With products that include Pure Blue Vodka, Oak Rum, Devil John Moonshine and Rockcastle County Bourbon, Barrel House is located in the former barrel house of the James E. Pepper Distillery, a historic bourbon producer that operated in the sprawling Manchester Street campus from the late 1800s until the 1950s (yes, it was so successful that it survived Prohibition).
Wiseman says he was attracted to the area because of its history of producing spirits. And after years of anchoring the Pepper campus as its sole tenant, Barrel House has welcomed a batch of new neighbors in the past 12 months, including a brewery, a restaurant, a bar and a dessert lounge. A combination coffee shop/cocktail bar is scheduled to open this fall.
The history and industrial aesthetic of the long-neglected distillery zone were major attracting forces for Tony Higdon, a metal artist whose thumbprint has been significant in shaping the direction of the area over the past couple of years.
“I’ve always been interested in bringing old properties back to life,” said Higdon. He and his business partners purchased a large building on the Pepper campus from McNees in 2013, intending to rehab the space and use it as a new venue for their metal studio, Iron Horse Forge. Two years later, in a bit of an unexpected turn, the building is also home to Ethereal Brewing, a local brewery focusing on Belgian-style ales, and Middle Fork Kitchen Bar, a brick-and-mortar restaurant that grew out of chef Mark Jensen’s mobile galley Fork in the Road.
“We were probably halfway into refurbishing the building, and there was so much interest, we just changed the direction that we were going,” said Higdon.
“The buildings were neglected for a long time,” Higdon added, pointing out that the property’s position in a floodplain adjacent to Town Branch Creek, a tributary of the middle fork of Elkhorn Creek that runs adjacent to the Pepper campus, made exterior construction difficult. At the same time, the presence of the creek serves as an asset, uniting many of the businesses in the campus, several of which have created outdoor patios overlooking the stream. Efforts to clean up and expose the creek have been an important part of the area’s development, and efforts to create a greenway/pedestrian trail alongside the creek, connecting downtown with Bluegrass countryside, continue.
“Town Branch Creek was a major component of us being interested in this property,” said Higdon. “It reminds me of the River Walk in San Antonio. I think we’re in the beginning stages of something like that.”
A wide variety of entertainment-themed businesses have certainly put the Pepper campus in the limelight in recent months, but more than a dozen additional robust businesses exist within minutes down the road, including a popular doggie daycare center, a dance studio and occasional performing arts venue, two event spaces that often host weddings, several art galleries, a wholesale plant nursery and a marketing agency – just to name a handful.
And yet, opportunity for expansion still abounds. In Higdon’s building, for example, only 10,000 square feet out of 50,000 are currently in use. Higdon and his partners have been working on “one space at a time,” and most recently on a 5,000-square foot parcel that Higdon says has already attracted interest from several potential tenants.
“There’s been a lot of interest in the other portion of the building as a new restaurant, music venue or another craft distillery,” said Higdon. “We’re focusing everything on entertainment – music venues, restaurants, bars, things that will make this location more appealing, things for the public.”
John Bishop, the owner of Ethereal Brewing, appreciates that Higdon focused on restoring the buildings rather than reinventing them.
“When I first saw the space, I stood outside with my mouth agape,” said Bishop. “I knew this was the right spot.”
He loved that it was along the creek and admired the interesting original architectural details that Higdon had worked to maintain. When a wall had to be rebuilt, for example, contractors reworked the original bricks – graffiti and all – into the interior of the building.
“We were fascinated by the history of the place, and how it could be going forward,” said Bishop, who works in tandem with neighboring business owners on their shared vision. Patrons of Ethereal will one day be able to order food from Middle Fork through an opening in the wall, and Middle Fork carries Ethereal’s brews on tap. The tenants share the patio, which seats 150, as well as parking.
“The building, architecture, creek space drew us here. What makes us glad we’re here are the businesses that are here,” said Bishop. He added that his son, Andrew, who runs Ethereal, takes the name of the neighboring bar Break Room literally.
“He hangs out there on his breaks from work,” said Bishop.
Formerly the actual break room for the Pepper Distillery – complete with showers and lockers – Break Room opened as a primarily summertime bar late last year. Lisa and Jonny Cox, owners of Sidebar Grill, had been looking for a second location for two years before finding the perfect fit.
“We really liked the building and wanted something close to the creek. I always wanted an old gas station building,” said Jonny.
“What I really like about it is you feel like you’re out in the country, but you’re right downtown,” Lisa added.
Designed to be primarily a summertime hangout spot, The Break Room features dog-friendly outdoor seating alongside the creek, a fire pit, horseshoes, corn hole and occasional live music and other special events during warm months. Local beers on tap and a rotating selection of food trucks provide locally oriented options for customers, and the relaxed atmosphere led to busy weekends and a crowded parking lot within weeks of opening.
“Everyone is very friendly. We have great regulars,” said Jonny. “We’ve been so lucky.”
“There’s so much history here, so much great architecture,” said Lisa, adding that she has found an old musket ball in the creek and a really old horseshoe in the surrounding area. “People should see the beauty of this place.”
The owners hope to expand on their vision of keeping the campus appearance artistic and industrial. A metal sculpture garden is in the works to complement the murals on the outsides of the buildings.
With its eclectic, industrial buildings and natural beauty, the Distillery District is already a dynamic destination. Half a mile from the center of downtown with ample parking and room to expand, it has even greater potential for the future.
“We’ve been really blessed in that at the right times, that the right interests have come along,” he said. “It’s really been something that’s sort of developed an ongoing and increasing velocity.”
“When you come to the Distillery District and you see things like Studio 300, where Tony Davis is creating products out of bourbon barrels that are being sold all over the country and in Canada, or you see Barrel House Distilling producing four or five different varieties of different spirits, you’ve really experienced something unique to us,” McNees added. “And I think that’s something really very special.”