The Venues of the Grand Reserve, 903 Manchester St., has changed ownership and will rebrand as new event venue with catering services called Old Tarr Venues. Plans include a new restaurant, bar and museum that will reflect the location’s history as the former Old Tarr Distillery, the first registered distillery in the Central Kentucky area.
Jill Bakehorn
Jill Bakehorn, co-owner and founder of Bluegrass Catering, and an unnamed investment partner have purchased the building and will run the venue. Consisting of four interior rooms as well as an exterior courtyard, the venue is the second-largest indoor event space in Lexington, after Heritage Hall. The Grand Reserve will remain open for the foreseeable future and continue to host events.
“We want to reassure current clients of the Grand Reserve that nothing will change for their events,” Bakehorn said in announcing the transition. “Bluegrass Catering will honor all existing contracts and the Grand room, Speakeasy and Distillery Square spaces will all retain much of their current identity. But with this change we are looking to explore the area’s heritage as the Old Tarr Distillery location.”
Tim Knittel, founder of local bourbon education and consulting company Distilled Living, has been hired to develop a craft beverage program and to introduce concepts from the Old Tarr Distillery into the venues.
“We’re reviving the brand’s history in the space, and will update the space to be a museum in addition to being an event venue,” Knittel said. Public tours are also a part of the plan. “We want the museum to be representative of Lexington’s history, as well, so that people can get a sense of the Lexington story and how it overlaps with Old Tarr and the bourbon history in this space and in the Distillery District.”
Shannon Guerrant will continue in her role as logistics manager and event planner. Johnetta Turpin, chef with Bluegrass Catering for more than 20 years, has been promoted to executive chef. Kimberly Gaunce, a certified planner with the Association of Bridal Consultants, will continue in a weddings sales role.
Organizers say that detailed plans for the rebranding will be announced early next year, with a grand re-opening in early summer. Parts of Manchester Street will be closed to traffic through May 2020 as crews replace a sewer line in the area.
For Bakehorn’s part, she says resurrecting the Old Tarr identity has been a passion project for many years.
“I love all aspects of history and visual storytelling,” Bakehorn said. “There are so many stories of Central Kentucky’s history—both related to Old Tarr and many more—and I want to use the venues as a canvas to tell them. I look forward to using this space for Lexington history tours, theater, bourbon tastings and more, all with the highest quality Kentucky food as a centerpiece as well.”