A new restaurant, taphouse and brewery will bring its showcase of up to 140 craft beers from around the state and the world to the Square in downtown Lexington this summer.
The craft beer bar HopCat will open its $3 million, two-story Lexington location in August at 410 W. Short Street, across from the Lexington Opera House.
“The Square in downtown Lexington is perfect for HopCat due to its proximity to downtown employers, healthy neighborhoods, universities and cultural attractions such as the Lexington Opera House,” said HopCat founder Mark Sellers in a media release on the opening. “I believe HopCat Lexington will serve as a hub for craft beer culture and support the continued growth of microbreweries in the state.”
HopCat’s two-story space in the Square with seating for 300 will include a storefront on Short Street, along with a new kitchen, small-batch brewery and a state-of-the-art 140-tap draft system.
In addition to featuring a variety of craft beers from across the globe, the bar intends to feature 40 Kentucky-brewed beers every day, giving it the largest variety of craft beer available in Kentucky. HopCat also plans to feature a variety of hard cider and mead as well, said Chris Knape of BarFly Ventures, the parent company of HopCat.
“We think the market is a little underserved, and we can actually be additive to what’s been happening there,” said Knape, who added that the growing presence of smaller brewers and craft beer bars in Lexington was one factor that drew his company to the area.
“We will be working with the Kentucky brewers to make sure we have the best seasonal selections and to showcase the best of the best of what Kentucky has to offer,” Knape said.
HopCat’s restaurant menu features a variety of food intended to complement the craft beer experience, including burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads, along with a few specialties such as its addictively named “Crack Fries.”
Although HopCat is not oriented to be a typical college bar, Knape said the proximity of the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University creates a solid customer base of highly educated consumers in the area who are often also craft beer enthusiasts.
“We tend to attract a lot of people who are graduate students or faculty who have a greater understanding of what craft beer is all about,” Knape said.
In addition to bringing its extensive craft beer selection to Lexington, the company will also be working locally to implement its sustainability program, which aims to recycle or compost more than 90 percent of the waste generated. In other markets, Knape said, HopCat has used the program to educate other local restaurants on successful sustainability practices, and to learn from them in turn.
Lexington will be the seventh location for HopCat, which originated in 2008 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company currently has five existing locations, with a sixth set to open in Madison, Wisconsin, this summer.