LEXINGTON, KY - After a November soft opening "it's gone from frustration to elation," for Vince Carlucci, who had aimed to be open in time for Keeneland's meetÖ that would be the spring meet this past April. But late and three times over budget after adding an unplanned kitchen and foodservice has proven better than never as SKYBAR is "finally" open.
On the ninth floor of Main and Cheapside overlooking the old courthouse square, SKYBAR took former office space occupied by Kelco and Global Fitness Holdings and turned it into a warm, well-adorned masculine space featuring a piano, wines and martinis in an lounge setting amidst the Lexington skyline.
"What we've projected and what we're getting is a mature crowd, we're not a college bar, we're not a nightclub, we're a restaurant and lounge that caters to a mature, older, worldly audience," Carlucci said.
But when he conceived SKYBAR it was all lounge and no restaurant. However liquor licensing issues came into play as deep in Kentucky code sits a requirement that all bars be on street level, so it was back to the drawing board to figure out how he could open the room he'd almost finished constructing.
After already planning on utilizing space on the floor below that he'd also rented for offices and a cooler, Carlucci went about adding a full service kitchen to the eighth floor of the office building. Now with a full sushi menu and lunch service beginning Monday featuring beef and lamb Carpaccio, a lobster club, turkey club, duck confit and an assortment of soups, salads and stews, all of which are also available Wednesday through Saturday for dinner, SKYBAR has opened its doors for the bevy of customers who've checked in often with Carlucci wondering when, if ever he would open.
"We used to joke that if we had a dollar for every time someone asked when we were going to be open, the project would have paid for itself," he said, and while that may sound clichÈ, he might not be exaggerating all that much as his first set of advertisements announced an April opening that never came.
After more than 20 years as a part of the Lexington restaurant and bar business since starting at Pino's on Southland Drive and later operating the University Club on South Limestone and Solid Platinum, Carlucci planned to take time off from running a bar when he sold Platinum two years ago, which thanks to SKYBAR's delays, he in a way did. But two weeks after he closed on his former place, he toured his current space.
"I couldn't have asked for a better staffÖ We've gone through several rounds of orientation, some training sessions during the summer and spring when we thought we were going to open, a lot of good people actually stuck with us," said Carlucci. SKYBAR's staff includes servers who've worked with Carlucci in the past. And there is an international flare with a Japanese translator and a door man who, as the son of United Nations staff, speaks five languages.
The activity that has solidified around the old Fayette County Courthouse since Carlucci began working on the project strengthened his resolve to open. "The (planned) Cheapside Park renovation really gives an incentive to come down here," he said. "There's already an entertainment theme down here."
Another unexpected aspect he came across in opening was the camaraderie he has experienced working with other owners around Cheapside Park including Robin Campbell of Cheapside, Sandy Fields of Rosebud and Silks, Larry Redman of Redman's and Bluegrass Tavern, Debbie Long who is in the process of relocating Dudley's to Short Street and property owner Bob Estes who've come together to form the Cheapside Entertainment District Association.
"We wanted to be part of that," Carlucci said.
With a business casual dress code, a cover charge for men on weekends, three private rooms for bottle service or parties, all encased in glass to allow a view of the sky, SKYBAR opens at 4 and closes at last call Wednesday through Saturday.