Staff from the former Lexington restaurant Alfalfa in the 1970s. A new book documents recipes and stories from the restaurant’s storied past. Photo by Guy Mendes
During its 48-year lifespan, the iconic Lexington restaurant Alfalfa was known not only for its delicious food, but for being a hub for art, music, literature and community – a place where ideas were shared and philosophical discussions were had over generous portions of homemade farm-to-table meals.
Though Alfalfa closed its doors in 2021 after a handful of different iterations and ownership changes, a group of the original Alfalfa owners and staff are honoring the memory of the beloved institution with “Life, Art, Community and Cookery: Stories and Recipes from Alfalfa Restaurant.” This new cookbook, slated for release on May 8, features recipes as well as social history to commemorate the impact the restaurant had – and continues to have – on the Lexington community.
Alfalfa began in 1973 as a cooperative endeavor of a group of college students who wanted to build a business based on collaboration, empowering the staff to be a part of day-to-day decision making. Focusing on healthy, wholesome meals, it was one of the first Lexington restaurants to offer vegetarian options and prioritize local food sources. Alfalfa hosted art shows, literary readings, music performances, community gatherings, and fundraisers at its original location on South Limestone, near the University of Kentucky campus, for three decades before moving to its second location on Main Street in 2005, where it remained until its closing.
The driving forces behind the book are Marina Ubaldi Ritter, who co-owned Alfalfa from 1974-1987, and Lucinda Zoe, a server and cook with the restaurant from 1977-1987.
“For years, we’ve said that someday somebody should do a cookbook, and we agreed that when we retired we’d try to do it,” Ritter said. “Now we have both retired, so we jumped in.”
The women began gathering memories from former partners and cooks during the pandemic, and started putting the book together in earnest in August 2022. They threw a 50th anniversary party in November 2023, at West Sixth Brewery to celebrate and roll out the Alfalfa History Project. That year they also started collecting stories at the oral history studio, from various folks who were involved with the restaurant in some way over the years.
Founded in 1973, Alfalfa was known not only for its focus on healthy, wholesome food, but also for being a hub for community art shows, literary readings, music performances and more. Photo by Guy Mendes
“We have captured some incredible stories – not just about Alfalfa, but about the era,” Zoe said.
The final product is more than a cookbook. Focusing on the years Alfalfa operated from the South Limestone location, “Life, Art, Community and Cookery: Stories and Recipes from Alfalfa Restaurant” is also a social and cultural history of Lexington in the 1970s and ’80s.
“We really wanted to capture the time and the era that gave birth to Alfalfa, and to document the community that was built around it,” said Zoe. “When Alfalfa started in 1973, those of us that were there were dealing with the Vietnam War, people getting drafted, and the Kent State shootings.
“It was a time of great social unrest, and yet this small group of people came together and built a community that grew out of this restaurant,” she continued. “With very little money or resources, we created a very vibrant, lively, creative artistic community that thrived. It became like a community meeting place, and we had a lot of creative people, writers and actors, painters and musicians who worked there.”
While the era was flourishing with creativity and vibrancy in many ways, there were also aspects of the time that feel grim to Ritter as she looks back.
“I was an owner of the restaurant, but I had to get my father and my artist husband — who was not working at the time — to co-sign on a bank loan so I could buy a car,” she said. “A woman couldn’t get a credit card in her name. A businesswoman who owns a restaurant had to have her unemployed husband sign off. Those were the times that we lived through.”
These and other stories illustrate the era highlighted in the book. At nearly 400 pages, it begins with a history of Alfalfa and the social and historical context of the time the restaurant was established; the second part of the book consists of a photo album, followed by 130 recipes.
The recipe section includes illustrations created by Louisville-based artist Patricia Hatcher. Various ephemera, including flyers and posters from the restaurant, images of art that was displayed there, and memories from individuals connected to Alfalfa in a variety of ways.
“We talked to people who built the restaurant, like the carpenters and cabinet-makers that worked in exchange for meal tickets. We talked to artists who showed work and performed there, and we talked to former employees and customers to gather these stories,” said Ritter.
While she and Zoe are the primary content curators, they both say they couldn’t have done the work alone.
Annual staff photos (like this one from the 1970s) were part of the restaurant’s culture for many years.The new cookbook features a collection of old photos, stories and ephemera from the restaurant’s heyday. Photo by Guy Mendes
“There are 10 people in our group, which we call the Carrot Cake Collective,” added Ritter. “Lucinda and I have coordinated the majority of the work, and the rest of the group has been extremely helpful in sharing their stories as well as writing down and testing recipes.”
Another valuable partner in the project is the local art gallery Institute 193, which came on board as a co-publisher.
“They handled our fundraiser, and they have publishing experience that is invaluable,” Ritter said. “It’s been wonderful having them as a co-publisher.”
With this book, Ritter and Zoe are excited to share the legacy of Alfalfa with new generations. But it’s also about what the early team members took from their time at Alfalfa.
“People came together at this restaurant and [had experiences that] catapulted them into the world,” Ritter said. “For many, they gained confidence working there and being around people. The vitality and creativity of the place helped them gain a sense of themselves to take out into the world.”
Ritter sees the legacy of Alfalfa as something that has the potential to positively impact the future.
“We want to remind folks, particularly the next generation, that you’ve got each other. You’ve got a community. You can gather together over food. You can bake and garden and be together, and have a real community with your neighbors and friends,” she said. “The story of Alfalfa is a story of building a creative community.”
The Carrot Cake Collective has lined up two local events to celebrate the release of “Life, Art, Community and Cookery: Stories and Recipes from Alfalfa Restaurant.” Copies can be ordered online at Institute193.square.site, or purchased at the launch events.
