Lexington, KY - It's a long-awaited announcement for Lexingtonians still grieving the loss of "The Dame Block": Jessica and Clark Case, owners of the former Main Street mainstay Buster's, signed a lease on a new location for the bar this morning. The locale? Manchester Street's Old Tarr Distillery building, in the west Lexington region popularly referred to as the Distillery District. The site has been host to a number of a cultural and community events over the past couple of years, including 2007's Beaux Arts Ball and the recent well-attended Tsuga Art & Music Festival, featuring Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and the Picket Line.
"We are very excited," said Jessica Case, a sentiment that will likely be echoed by the community that bemoaned the loss of the Main Street Buster's, which was razed to make room for the construction of CentrePointe last summer.
However, the building won't be ready for Buster's fans to bust down the doors for a number of months. Though the lease agreement between the Cases and building owner Barry McNees was signed this morning, making the new location official, Buster's won't take possession of the building until May 17, due to a number of events already pre-booked at the facility between now and then. The building, which as of now has no plumbing, requires a considerable amount of construction, which will begin in May. Doors are expected to open mid-August of this year.
Case said that installing restrooms in the building will give the owners the opportunity to divide the 10,920 sq. ft., 700-plus capacity space into two sections. The front part will house the pool tables, jukebox and casual hangout area that came to define Buster's at its previous location, and the back room, separated by a hallway with the restrooms, will contain a stage and be used as a live music venue.
"We're thrilled to finally get some of the entertainment components that we have planning for [on Manchester Street]," said McNees, who has spearheaded the movement to turn the Distillery District into an arts and entertainment destination that celebrates Lexington's tradition of distilling while breathing new life into a blighted neighborhood. The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEFDA) hearing on Tax Increment Funding (TIF) for the Distillery District, which was cancelled last week due to inclement weather, is rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5.
McNees is "very optimistic" about the outcome of the hearing, which he said is a "watershed point" in the TIF approval process.
The Cases, a married couple who met at UK in the '90s, frequented Buster's in their college days, and jumped on the opportunity to purchase the business when it became available last year. For months, they had been negotiating a lease on a space on the corner of North Broadway and Short Street - - a parlay that ended amicably, but ended nevertheless.
"We really started really thinking about our business plan and realized that a small location would not be feasible for what we want to do," she said. The couple is particularly excited about focusing on Buster's as a live music venue, and hopes to feed off the resurgence of live music venues, like north Lexington's Al's Bar and the Green Lantern, that have flourished since "The Dame Block" came down. They have hired a booking agent, who has said he is ready to start looking into potential music acts to book so that the live music can commence with the opening of the new location.
The Cases plan on maintaining the authenticity of the original location as much as possible, including keeping the original pool tables and jukebox. Lexington artist Waseem Touma has been commissioned to design light fixtures for the new location, and Jessica Case mentioned the possibility of getting some locally-commissioned murals on the interior walls.
McNees said he has been in conversation with what he calls "another iconic Lexington group" that may be relocating to the Distillery District as well; meetings are scheduled this week to further discuss the possibility. Stay tuned to BizLex.com for more information as it surfaces.