STELLAS_SARAH JANE SANDERS c2014-5
Photos by Sarah Jane Sanders
From a bustling downtown suburb of the 1800s to a no man’s land in the 1970s, Jefferson Street has evolved into a diverse neighborhood with a thriving restaurant row.
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Distinct Districts: Jefferson Street
Bill Johnston always told people Jefferson Street was the best kept secret in Lexington. “But for the longest time no one believed me,” said the president of the Historic Western Suburb Neighborhood Association.
First established in 1815, the Jefferson Street corridor is the main thoroughfare of one of Lexington’s oldest suburbs. On land originally belonging to Colonel John Todd, many of the street’s older homes were designed in the Greek Revival Style that was popular in the 1830s-1840s. From the beginning, an edgy group of individuals lived on the street, including Belle Brezing, the famous maven of Lexington’s brothels (and purported inspiration for Belle Watling in Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind”). Most merchants lived next to their places of business.
By the 1970s, homes had deteriorated and the entire area was in disrepair. A once-beautiful 1815 brick building had the words “Tear It Down” spray-painted on it.
“Back behind Jefferson Street was where they parked the garbage trucks. That’s what the city thought of this area. The rats were as big as dogs,” said Johnston, a proponent of downtown living who moved into the area in 1986 and started buying houses to restore.
“Underneath the rusted linoleum and holes in the floors was beautiful poplar wood,” he said.
It was a slow process, but things started to turn around. After 25 years of operating as a neighborhood deli, Stella’s Deli, with its cheerful exterior and authentic diner-style interior, was acquired in 2006 by a team of new investors who instilled a strong focus on local food and community. In 2009, Keith Clark opened the neighborhood bar and restaurant Grey Goose across the street from Stella’s, in a property that formerly housed Ballard Grocery. Several new condominium complexes built in the surrounding area around that time added neighborhood customers; today, Jefferson Street is a destination district for dining and entertainment for Lexington residents and tourists alike.
“It’s a very artistic area — a lot of artists, dancers, professors live here,” said Johnston, who is still rehabbing houses there and finding that with the increased activity, more people are wanting to live downtown. The nearby Providence Middle School, a parent-owned Montessori school that recently opened in the former historic Florence Crittenton home property on Fourth Street, is also drawing families to the area.
Restaurants and houses are not the only businesses to see change. Historic design-build company Annis & Dreyer Construction saw the potential in the neighborhood in 2005, when they purchased a building on the street for their office and studio. After relocating for a number of years while settling an unforeseen new internal structure of the business, partner Scott Dreyer is excited to move back to Jefferson Street this month.
“It’s such an eclectic neighborhood — almost like Lexington’s Bardstown Road,” he said, referring to the popular street in Louisville. “There’s no other street like it in Lexington.”
In the center of it all, The Green Lantern has remained the second oldest continually operating bar in Lexington. Starting as The Metropolitan Club in 1924, it later became The Hideaway Lounge before being named The Green Lantern in 2007, an homage to a dive bar once located on Transylvania University’s campus. Robert Garrison and Michelle Zheng took over a year ago. While many people expected them to gut it (a previous bartender once stood on a street sign inside the bar to keep himself from falling through the floor into the basement), they wanted to embrace its history as a dive bar with an eclectic feel. The Green Lantern has long been known as a music venue that supports a range of artists patrons might not see elsewhere.
Garrison and Zheng fixed the air conditioning, improved the sound and lighting system and added decorative touches that have revitalized the business; in mid-September, they plan to open Tiki Java, a retro Tiki room serving coffee, hand-squeezed juices, traditional tiki cocktails and pastries, operating from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. inside The Green Lantern. Garrison described it as a cozy, coffee hideaway for the over-21 crowd.
Business owners in the area have developed camaraderie. “We all eat and drink at each other’s establishments. Servers down the street end their nights at The Green Lantern,” said Garrison.
Seth and Renee Brewer, who opened the Jefferson Street wine bar and tapas restaurant Enoteca last year, have been integral in helping unite the area’s businesses together with the recently-formed Jefferson Street Business Corporation, and also in heading the inaugural Jefferson Street Soiree, a “block party” style event which takes place on the street on Sept. 10 in conjunction with Keeneland’s fall horse sales.
While the design of Enoteca could be considered “high fashion,” the Brewers have structured the “small plates” menu for the restaurant (which is complementary to their aptly-titled sister business Wine + Market, situated across the street on the corner of Jefferson and Second Streets) to be inviting to a variety of budgets.
“Most of our menu is $6-$8,” Seth Brewer said. “If things cost too much, people don’t want to explore.”
Brewer said he always believed in Jefferson Street because of its proximity to downtown and the character of all the old houses on the street.
“I think it’s important to make the town where you want to live a place you want to be,” Brewer said.
Coming Up:
The Jefferson Street Soirée Wed., Sept. 10 • 5-10 p.m. www.jeffersonstreetsoiree.com Keeneland, VisitLEX and several Jefferson Street in downtown Lexington, Ky., have collaborated to present the inaugural Jefferson Street Soirée. The street will shut down to vehicular traffic between Short and Second streets for the event, which is modeled in part after the Chevy Chase Block Party and other similar events. The soirée features a stage with live music from Tee Dee Young and Aly’An, and the restaurants and bars along the corridor will offer food and beverage samplings at outdoor tables to encourage patrons to explore various culinary and cultural offerings along the corridor; open containers will also be allowed. Restaurants and bars serving food and drinks include Wagon Bones Grill, Stella’s, Nick Ryan’s, Grey Goose, Blue Heron, Wine + Market, Enoteca, Chase Tap Room, The Green Lantern, County Club, West Sixth, Smithtown Seafood, Blue Stallion Brewery and more. Parking will be available at the Cox Street Lot behind Rupp Arena; shuttle service provided by LexTran’s COLT Trolley will also be available.