News that James E. Pepper-branded bourbon again will be produced at its namesake building on Manchester Street offered yet another high-profile validation of the commonwealth’s favored elixir and something more — it signaled a new phase in Lexington’s Distillery District.
Mayor Jim Gray, no stranger to ribboncuttings, remarked on the sheer number of city, civic and business leaders gathered May 4 to welcome the Pepper brand back to the campus, now the center of a bustling dining and entertainment area along the banks of the city’s founding Town Branch creek.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a groundbreaking with more people at it,” Gray said, marveling at the crowd, before launching into prepared remarks.
“It’s just a great day to be in the Distillery District in Lexington. It’s an exciting announcement. It has deep roots in our authentic history,” Gray said. “That’s what we’re here to talk about: the rebirth of the James E. Pepper distillery right here in the heart of Lexington.”
Amir Peay, the Washington, D.C.-area businessman and owner of the Pepper brand name through his Georgetown Trading Co., echoed the sentiment.
“This is a momentous day for the Pepper brand,” Peay said. “This has been a dream project for many years for us.”
Peay plans to open a boutique distillery by mid- to late 2017.
The heady Pepper news, which mixes history, culture and economic development, is part of a wave of new activity in the district, including plans for more parking, a Goodfellas Pizzeria and a new honkey tonk bar nearby.
Transformative decade
For the Distillery District, the Pepper announcement is the latest major milestone that has seen a little-used area transformed into a destination dining and entertainment hub in little more than a decade.
Around 2005, developer Barry McNees and 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.
“I was romanced by it,” McNees said. He and others, including Tony Higdon and Chris Kelly, have restored the properties and nurtured the area’s commercial return.
From the start, businesses such as The Break Room, Ethereal Brewing, Middle Fork Kitchen Bar, Barrel House Distilling Co. and Crank & Boom have been thriving and adding character to the historic area.
Higdon, an artist who co-owns the James E. Pepper building, has been a key component in the development of the campus since he purchased the real estate in 2013. He co-owns the space occupied by Ethereal, Middle Fork, Goodfellas and the new James E. Pepper brand.
“I figured in five years, maybe, it’d be pretty cool, but it just exploded,” said Higdon of his expectations for the area when he purchased the facilities.
Growing pains
The overall success of the Distillery District hasn’t come without some challenges. Last summer, the city’s Department of Planning essentially threatened to revoke the liquor licenses of several businesses unless the campus parking lot was fully paved. Some hand-wringing and $85,000 worth of blacktop courtesy of McNees later, that problem was smoothed over.
“This was us trying to look into our crystal ball a few years back,” McNees said at the time. “We had made a commitment that by December 2016 … to pave the lot on behalf of all the other owners there. That’s when we thought we’d have the need for it. So this parking lot has been a victim of our success.”
Even the recent Pepper distillery announcement wasn’t without controversy. Days before the ground-breaking, Lexington’s arts community erupted on social media as news spread that a campus mural was being blasted away.
The piece was created in 2013 by United Kingdom-based artist Phlegm, said John Winters, a co-founder of PRHBTN, which organizes street art exhibitions. The piece was funded by local business and patrons with cooperation from Higdon.
“While it was unfortunate to lose a piece of art, we know that street art by its very nature is ephemeral and transitory and that Lexington’s landscape is constantly changing,” PRHBTN said in a statement. “We are currently working to bring Phlegm back to Lexington, and we can’t wait to see what he creates on his return visit.”
In fact, Peay has since reached out to PRHBTN and is paying to bring Phlegm back to create another mural on the Pepper campus, and is also donating money to bring additional artists.
“[Peay] decided that he needed to have his own entrance represent his product,” said Higdon, who had originally donated that wall for the mural. “I know there was a lot of negative backlash, but the cool thing about the tenant is he’s actually very supportive of public art. I hated to lose the mural, but I think that’s pretty cool that he stepped up.”
Looking ahead
Despite these bumps, the Distillery District remains a study in rapid redevelopment, and current business owners there say they’re ready to welcome more to the fold.
Pete Wright and Jeff Wiseman, who opened Barrel House Distillery in 2008, believe sharing the lot with another distillery will add to the overall ambiance and excitement of the Pepper campus.
“We see it as a very positive move,” said Wright.
Wright cited what he called a “symbiotic” relationship with Alltech’s Town Branch Distillery as a good model for what they hope happens with the James E. Pepper brand.
“I think it’s good for Lexington to all of a sudden have [several] bourbon distilleries now, as opposed to none when we started,” said Wiseman. “Especially with Louisville getting what they’re getting now, Lexington has got to do what they can to compete to become the other anchor end of that bourbon trail.”
Also joining the campus will be Goodfellas Pizzeria and a restaurant-slash-brewery called Building 20 – a collaboration between Parisbased Rooster Brewing and popular Lexington food truck The Gastro Gnomes.
Goodfellas Pizzeria will be located in the old boiler room of the James E. Pepper distillery, a 4,500-square-foot space that will be designed by architect Rebecca Burnworth.
A 90-foot-tall smokestack in the middle of the restaurant will act as a VIP area with seating. The New York-style pizzeria will be bringing a cocktail scene that owners Alex Coats and Eric Boggs have already introduced to their Cincinnati market in the form of the “The Wiseguy Lounge” – an extension of their Goodfellas locations.
“We are very knowledgeable about the history of bourbon and the history of cocktails, and we thought, ‘What better opportunity would we have in the world for a bourbon bar and pizzeria to go into an old distillery?’” said Coats.
The restaurant also will feature winding staircases, a mezzanine and a 2,500-square-foot patio that overlooks Town Branch Creek.
Owners intend to impose a speakeasy/ Roaring ’20s feel to the establishment and will showcase over 400 bourbons. They hope to be open before this winter.
The five-story warehouse near the entrance of the campus is where Building 20 will be located. This building, known as “The Rickhouse,” was used as the barrel-aging facility for James E. Pepper bourbon. Building 20 will be at the far side of the warehouse, with part of the restaurant facing Town Branch creek.
McNees, who owns the warehouse, said the project had stalled a bit since February as they await permits from the city.
“We’ve cleared out the area where Building 20 would go, and everything is teed up for construction now,” said McNees. “Until such time as the city gives us the go-ahead on the permitting, there’s only so much we can do.”
Spillover success
In part due to the success of the Pepper campus, other areas near the Distillery District are starting to attract new businesses. Across Manchester Street, for instance, at 375 Thompson Road, a music venue and bar called The Burl is set to open this summer.
Located in an old Texaco building built in 1928, The Burl will bring an intimate music setting reminiscent of The Dame, according to co-owner Seth Bertram.
“I really want to fill that space that’s been left by The Dame,” said Bertram, who co-owns the facility with Cannon Armstrong and Jomo Thompson.
Future plans for the Pepper campus include the installation of pervious pavers in the parking lot to reduce runoff into the Town Branch creek. An application for a water quality grant has been submitted to the Division of Water.
“All the owners down here are really open to doing things a little bit different, more environmentally conscious,” said Higdon.
Other plans include a sculpture garden in the parking lot and possibly using the lot for music and craft beer festivals. Higdon also submitted an application to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to put a summer-only walk-up tiki bar in the small building next to Ethereal’s patio.
As far as improvements in infrastructure, Higdon hopes one day to have sidewalks that allow for people to safely walk down Manchester Street all the way from Rupp Arena. Along with the completion of the Town Branch trail, sidewalks would enable the already popular spot to reach more patrons seeking out a unique and historic section of Lexington.