When word began circulating that the former Manchester Street home of Buster’s Billiards and Backroom had been purchased by three Pikeville entrepreneurs, speculation about what would become of the space quickly mounted.
“We’ve heard some bad comments, rumors that it’s going to be a country music venue and that that’s all we’re going to do,” said Adam Hatton, one of the owners of Old Tarr Entertainment.
Hatton and his partners purchased the space from Lexington developer Barry McNeese for $1.01 million and have rechristened the space as Manchester Music Hall. Hatton said any worries about what kind of music the venue will feature are overblown.
“We want to have local and national talent in all genres of music,” he said. “We want to listen to the public. If there’s someone they want to hear, we’re going to try to get them here.”
Hatton said they are planning a grand opening event for Manchester Music Hall on Sept. 30, kicking off a new era for the former Old Tarr Distillery facility with a public concert featuring six local bands and food trucks, including Thai and Mighty Noodle Bowls and Crank and Boom.
“It’s going to be an ode to all the local bands in town,” said Kaelyn Query, 27, founder and president of LexEff ect, a local entertainment and events company tapped by the new owners to handle bookings and promotions.
“We want folks to know we 110 percent will support local musicians,” said Query, a Lexington native with the hospitality industry in her blood. Her family owns restaurants and production and marketing companies in Colorado, and she has worked as a catering manager and private event planner before launching LexEffect two years ago.
Query said the venue will host a diverse musical lineup and hopes to book a national touring act about once a month, regional acts at least a couple of times per month, with weekly performances by local musicians, including an ongoing series called Lexington Live.
“We’ll host Lexington Live every Wednesday and will feature local bands from different genres,” said Query, who points to the success of Thursday Night Live as an inspiration for that series.
“Everybody loves Thursday Night Live,” she said. “This will be a similar tribute to local bands but without any weather dependency.”
While multigenre musical offerings and investment in the local music scene is a big part of Manchester Music Hall’s vision, the space will not solely be a music venue with regular, every day hours like the former Buster’s was. The mixed-use event space, will host weddings, private parties, non-profit and corporate events and other community events. Query said a comedy act and a theater group also have expressed interest in renting the space.
“LexEffect’s hope for the space is to be a venue for everyone,” said Query. “We want this to be a space that you can come to on a Thursday or Friday night for a concert, a Saturday night for a wedding, and a networking event the next week.”
Hatton, 29, and his partners also own and operate a restaurant in Pikeville, where they also plan to open an Irish pub next spring.
Hatton will handle the day-to-day operations of Manchester Music Hall, hiring and managing staff for building security, bar management, sound engineering and renovations. He describes himself as a “managing partner” who reports to fellow owner Adam Short, 31, who is also general manager of Lexington Motorsports, and Mitch Potter, 52, owner of JMP Coal Holdings and several other ventures, ranging from real estate to restaurants.
Since the building purchase did not include any of the sound or bar equipment previously used by Buster’s, Hatton will oversee the purchase and installation of a new sound system and bar equipment, as well as interior cosmetic renovations including a new ivory and slate color scheme. Bigger renovations are planned for the future, including new lighting and pavement for the parking lot.
Hatton said he is glad to be back in Lexington, where he cut his teeth in the service industry working for Bluegrass Hospitality Group while studying business and construction management at Eastern Kentucky University. He said he and his partners have “drunk the Kool Aid” when it comes to the revitalization of the Distillery District and want to make a meaningful impact.
“We fell in love with the building when we started visiting the area, and when we bought into the building, we bought into the area,” says Hatton. “We’re just ecstatic to be a part of it and really believe in it.”