Several new businesses are set to open soon at The Venue, a five-acre retail center nearing completion at the intersection of Nicholasville Road and Malibu Drive.
With a neighborhood focus and a mix of service-oriented boutique concepts catering to healthier lifestyles and convenience, the new development is designed to reflect the changing face of modern retail on the busy commercial strip.
“We wanted to bring something to the market that would be a good fit for the community and for the Nicholasville Road corridor,” said Coby DeVary, who partnered on the development with Royce Pulliam, former owner of the fitness chain Urban Active. “We wanted to find tenants that were somewhat unique to Lexington and to be able to introduce new concepts along with some locally grown businesses … not to be another ‘me-too,’ big-box retail center.”
It’s a direction that more retail developments are choosing to take, both in Lexington and nationally, as competition from online retail giants increases and consumers look to brick-and-mortar establishments more for their added convenience, unique offerings and service-oriented lifestyle experiences.
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New concepts taking root
Construction on The Venue began in late fall of 2016. One of the first businesses to set up shop at the new retail center was Jason’s Deli, a restaurant franchise new to the Lexington market that opened in late October.
Jason’s Deli currently has 275 locations in 28 states, including three in Louisville. Its menu highlights healthier fare, including a variety of sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes and baked potatoes, as well as a full salad bar.
“We were surprised with how much brand awareness we had in the market, without even having a Jason’s Deli there,” said Jay Tortorice, Jason’s Deli franchise owner and son of Jason’s Deli founder Joe Tortorice Jr.
In addition to catering and delivery, the new 5,200-square-foot Lexington location also offers drive-thru service. Tortorice said that customer traffic at the location has been steady since the opening, and while he doesn’t have any immediate plans for expansion, additional Jason’s Deli restaurants in the Lexington market are likely.
And Jason’s Deli isn’t the only newcomer to Lexington that will be setting up shop at The Venue. Everybody Fights, a boutique fitness concept founded by a son of famed boxer George Foreman, is scheduled to open in May. The Boston-based fitness gym highlights a complete exercise regimen for its patrons built around the workouts boxers use to prepare themselves for the sport, DeVary said. The clientele typically skews more heavily female, with patrons ranging from 20 to 50 years of age.
“I think it will blend in well with what’s happening in the fitness industry right now, because you are seeing a lot more boutique fitness offerings out there,” DeVary said.
Floyd’s 99 Barbershop, a franchise that grew out of Denver, is set to be another Venue tenant that’s new to the region. The full-service barber shop and salon, which bills itself as “old-school new-style,” will offer a wide range of services, including classic straight-razor shaves complete with hot lather and steamed towels. While the concept attracts a heavily male clientele, the company employs a diverse team of stylists to cater to both men and women. There are currently more than 100 Floyd’s 99 Barbershop locations in operation across the country.
Local businesses coming soon
The Venue has attracted several businesses with a local connection for expansion and relocation as well. La Petite Academy, a private equity-backed childcare center with more than 500 locations nationwide, is scheduled to open in January, relocating from its Lexington location on Wellington Way. The Eyecare Center, which has multiple locations in central Kentucky, is heading to The Venue shortly thereafter, opening in February. Cable and internet service provider Spectrum is also setting up a high-tech, service-oriented showroom in a building adjacent to Nicholasville Road, DeVary said.
Kristie Kotze and her husband, Lood, owners of Daily Offerings Roastery, the downtown coffee shop across from Heritage Hall that is commonly known as The Roastery, will be opening a second location, named Daily Offerings Café, at The Venue in February as well.
“It was always a goal of ours to open a second location,” Kristie Kotze said. The Roastery’s focus is its specialty coffee, she said, and they will be serving their full menu of expresso drinks and specialty pour-overs at the new location. With the ample dining space at the Café — including a large garage door opening to an outdoor patio area — the plan is to expand its dining options at the new site. Local chef Susanna Henderson has been brought on board to broaden the menu, Kotze said, adding more artisanal foods to complement the specialty brews.
Kotze said the downtown Roastery has been a largely community-driven enterprise, and she expects The Venue’s neighborhood appeal will bring a similar sense of community to the new Café. The downtown location will continue to operate as the company’s center of operations, and it will remain exclusively gluten-free, Kotze said, with products for the Café packaged and transported to the second location.
A neighborhood feel
In its scale, its curated tenant mix and its overall design, The Venue is targeted to serve as a retail hub for the nearby residential neighborhoods on both sides of Nicholasville Road, in addition to serving the nearby hospitals and the University of Kentucky campus. For DeVary, who grew up near Lansdowne Drive not far from the new center, the easy access along Malibu Drive created an important opportunity to connect with the many close communities of people who choose to live, work and shop inside New Circle.
“You’ve got a neighborhood feel here,” DeVary said. “It’s not only the heart of Nicholasville Road, but it is at the center of a lot of the neighborhoods that are around here. … We wanted to build something that was reflective of that environment.”
Along with The Venue, DeVary sees the recent redevelopment activity along Southland Drive as indicative of the area’s new commercial direction as well, and he expects more to come.
“I think we are going to continue to see things happening inside New Circle Road along the Nicholasville Road corridor,” DeVary said. “I think you are going to see a lot of redevelopment that is already starting to happen, and you’re also starting to see a lot more of the medical providers pop up, whether [connected to] the hospitals, the doctor’s practices or anti-aging clinics.”
With only a few properties at the site still unoccupied, including one outlying lot and a possible site for an additional restaurant, The Venue’s tenant roster is well-positioned for today’s retail climate, said Greg Leveridge of Block and Lot Real Estate, which has been handling the leasing for The Venue.
“If you take a snapshot of the tenant mix that we have here, it is a direct resemblance of the macro-level retail direction — personal care, service, experience-based. That’s a trend that is in its early stages, and [The Venue] is perfectly aligned with that,” Leveridge said. “I feel very good about its long-term potential.”
“And enough can’t be said about the location,” Leveridge added. “You’ve got to love where we’re sitting.”