In the late 1960s, Lexington landowners and developers, J.W. Davis Jr. and Charles McEachin, surveyed their property holdings along Tates Creek Road, just inside present-day New Circle Road, and decided a shopping center was needed to serve the new homes they were building in subdivisions along the "Pike." They wanted the buildings to resemble historic Colonial Williamsburg, with its classic look. The name "Lansdowne" came from a plantation in Natchez, Miss. That's how the concept for Lansdowne Shoppes was born.
Today, many retail observers consider Lansdowne one of Lexington's most enduring and successful small shopping centers - fully leased with a waiting list, thanks in large part to the arrival in recent years of several upscale businesses.
But let's start at the beginning. The only existing business in the area in 1969 was a lonely gas station offering gas, repairs and installations. It's still operating today - a rarity - as a gas and auto service in one place. Construction of the Shoppes began that year, and soon the first store opened - Lansdowne Liquors. The spring and summer of 1970 brought Big B Dry Cleaners, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, Begley Drugs and an A&P grocery store. When the expressway portion of New Circle Road reached Tates Creek Road that year, Lexington residents now had easy access to the Lansdowne neighborhood.
Businesses came and went through the '70s, '80s and '90s, but the Lansdowne storefronts and second floor offices mostly remained occupied. "It's owned and managed by local people," said Barbara Johnson, an administrative manager who has worked for the Lansdowne Company since 1966. "We have some really good tenants, with a mix of chain stores and locally owned businesses. At the moment we have only one office space available. All the storefronts are leased," she added with pride.
Today you can buy shoes and clothes for adults or kids at several Lansdowne shops, do banking at two locations, get a haircut, grab an ice cream treat, pick up your prescription, shop for greeting cards or gifts, get your teeth cleaned, decide on the perfect diamond or shop for cheese, specialty foods or cookware. Across the street from Lansdowne, you can visit two more banks and a real estate office, plus enjoy a meal at the popular Merrick Inn, tucked away in the tree-lined Merrick Place Apartments.
Back at Lansdowne, the Mousetrap is in its 31st year and owner John Kennan, a New England transplant, believes he is in the right place at the right time. "This shopping center has always done well," said Kennan. "The owners market themselves nicely. We're a destination for people, a niche market. We get people all the way from Richmond, Ashland, and Huntington - educated, well-traveled people. We're an anchor on this end of the shopping center."
The life of a shopping center is unpredictable. Some thrive for 10 to 15 years then fade as trendier centers open nearby. Others are solid and dependable. The singular event that extended the life of Lansdowne Shoppes was the arrival in 1998 of Malone's, a high-end steakhouse.
Bruce Drake, who operated Regatta's Seafood Grille, and Brian McCarty, who ran A.P. Suggins restaurant, had become friends, and then business partners. When Columbia Steakhouse closed its doors at Lansdowne, Drake and McCarty thought they would open another Suggins there. Instead, they hit the road, visiting 30 to 40 restaurants in cities like Atlanta and Chicago. They decided that Lexington had "a dire need for a prime beef steakhouse," said Drake, "but at prices people could afford."
"Prime Beef" is an official grade designated by the USDA and represents only about two percent of all beef butchered in the world. Brian came up with the name Malone's. But the new restaurant venture was just the tip of the iceberg, as far as Lansdowne Shoppes was concerned.
Malone's quickly added a piano bar called Oscar's. Then, in 2003, the owners expanded, in a big way, acquiring old storefronts down the walkway where they built a two-story structure to house Sal's Chophouse, Malone's Banquets and another bar, called Harry's. In 2007, Harry's added a patio to accommodate smokers and others who enjoyed an evening of food and drink outdoors.
"The key to our business is good food and the really talented people who work for us. We have 500 employees in Lexington," said Drake. As for the future, the partners might open another Malone's outside Lexington or another Harry's outdoor patio, perhaps downtown. "They have been movers and shakers," said Johnson. "They seem to know what the market is and have done a wonderful job."
The Lansdowne success of the restaurateurs, known as Bluegrass Hospitality Group, may have helped bring in an upscale grocery store, Fresh Market, which replaced the old Slone's Market. The neighborhood has also seen another new development nearby: Signature Club of Lansdowne, which occupies land that originally housed the Lansdowne Club, one of the city's oldest private clubs.
Though landlocked and with no place to grow, Lansdowne Shoppes still does well in Lexington's tough retail market. "They're old school - fair, and stand by their word," said Drake. And that seems to be the perfect recipe for success.