As students return for a new school year at the University of Kentucky, hungry Wildcats are finding new food and beverage options on campus.
Christian Wallace, marketing manager for Aramark, UK’s food service partner, recently detailed some of the newcomers.
“One of the changes I am most excited for is that we are bringing Great Bagel to campus,” he said. “Great Bagel will be replacing Brioche Doree in the Gatton College of Business and Economics. Other changes consist of switching some of the stations in Fresh Food Company and Champions Kitchen. Nathan’s Taqueria, which was a food truck outside of Willy T, will now have a station in Fresh Food Company. Zen Sushi will also be operating one of the stations in FFC, and they are calling it Zen Wok. Zen will be serving Asian stir fry dishes and more.”
Wallace also noted that Champions Kitchen has launched a new station called Local Restaurant Row that will feature a local Lexington restaurant every week.
Also, near and on campus, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii is now open on the first floor of Hub Lexington Limestone at 685 S. Limestone. According to Melody Flowers, UK’s executive director for strategic analysis and policy, Selma’s Kitchen and Miyako Poke Bowl have also opened at The Cornerstone, an innovation and mixed-use space.
In other local food and beverage industry news:
Lexington fixture Magee’s Bakery on Main Street has rebranded as Magee’s Baking Co.
Romesh Sinclair, marketing director with Sinclair Group LLC, detailed the rationale behind the rebranding saying that, as the bakery industry has evolved, the company is changing with the times while preserving artisanal baking traditions with its house-made biscuits, New York-style hand rolled, boiled bagels, an 81-layer hand-rolled croissant that takes two days to complete, and scratch-made doughnuts, pies and breads.
“Magee’s Baking Co. is excited to offer a new website that showcases our new breakfast additions, a new lunch menu and a rewards program,” he said, adding that a monthly newsletter will spotlight these and other new menu items as they’re added.
Sinclair said the official launch of the baking company and related festivities will be held during the fall racing season and teased that new locations may also be on the horizon.
According to Lex18’s website, Chick-Fil-A is constructing a new location at the intersection of New Circle and Russell Cave roads that should be completed by October.
And winner, winner more chicken dinners — Lee’s Famous Recipe has opened at 3014 Richmond Rd., according to its Facebook page.
The Creole Café is now open at 833 Georgetown, St., Ste 110. The restaurant’s menu has a variety of seafood alfredo pastas, po boys, lobster rolls, lobster melts, Creole Cajun boil varieties and more.
The folks at Elixir Downtown are partnering with Bazaar Eatery’s culinary minds for a new menu that launched in mid-August, according to an announcement from Bazaar Eatery. There’s a weekend brunch menu and a late-night menu that includes nachos, wings and a Shogun teriyaki chicken taco. Bazaar Eatery was formerly located at Ethereal Public House but in May announced its departure.
With the slogan, “Come Eat, Come Drink, Come Mingle,” a new speakeasy-style bar called Pour Decisions has opened at 233 E. Main St.
According to DeLuca’s Pizza proprietor and Hot Springs, Arkansas, resident Anthony Valinoti’s Facebook page, he and Thoroughbred horse racing announcer Frank Mirahmadi are opening a pizza restaurant called Frankie DeLuca’s at 508 Lexington Rd., Versailles. The restaurant is expected to open this fall.
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