The oldest continuously-running bar in Lexington, Chevy Chase Inn celebrates its 90th birthday this year. Photo by Sarah Hoskins
From the day the historic bar Chevy Chase Inn opened its doors, the local institution has been the Lexington equivalent of “Cheers” — a neighborhood gathering spot filled with regular patrons, where everyone is welcome and everybody knows your name. Lexington’s oldest bar, lovingly referred to as CCI, turns 90 this year, and owners have a season’s worth of celebrations planned to mark the occasion.
Originally known as the Blue Goose, Chevy Chase Inn opened in the Chevy Chase neighborhood — which was at the time new and located on the outskirts of the city — right after the repeal of Prohibition. Serving only beer at that time, the Blue Goose allowed its owners, who also owned the nearby restaurant R&S Grill, to take advantage of the re-legalization of beer and wine sales.
Throughout the years, the neighborhood has grown, and the bar’s ownership has changed several times, most recently in 2015.
“When we bought this place, it had been for sale for over 10 years,” explains owner Kevin Heathcoat, who also owns Bourbon n’ Toulouse, a popular Cajun restaurant located next door, with his wife Cameron. “Multiple times people tried to buy it, and they said ‘No, thanks’ because it wasn’t the right people — they weren’t going to carry on with CCI the way it was,” he continued.
Heathcoat recalled a day that fateful year when he was cooking at his restaurant and Bill Farmer, a former councilmember and the owner of neighboring business Farmer’s Jewelry, came flying into the kitchen and said, “CCI’s for sale — we’ve got to buy it.”
When former owners sold CCI to Kevin Heathcoat, Bill Farmer and Will Pieratt (pictured here behind the bar, left to right) in 2015, it was under the gentleman’s agreement that no major changes would be made. (Also pictured in the bottom right corner is Cameron Heathcoat, who helps run the bar today.) Photo by Sarah Hoskins
Heathcoat entertained the notion.
“We went to the bank and the first bank laughed at us. The second bank sent us to the Small Business Association, and they ultimately laughed at us. But the president of BB&T came in and sat down with us and talked about it and said — I’ll never forget — ‘I can’t give you a loan on what you’re trying to buy, but I will give you a loan on what you’re trying to do: save a piece of history,” he recalled.
Soon after, the Heathcoats, along with Farmer and Bourbon n’ Toulouse then-co-owner Will Pieratt, took possession of the Chevy Chase Inn.
With a stable of regulars, many who have been visiting the Chevy Chase Inn nearly daily for 50 or more years, one of the beauties of CCI is the mix of guests. It’s common to find patrons with decades separating them sitting side by side, enjoying each other’s company, or visitors with vastly different backgrounds and lifestyles sharing a toast.
When asked about CCI’s staying power, Heathcoat said, “A lot of other bars have come and gone, while this place kept the doors open 364 days a year. This is a community and an institution. It’s a family that cannot be recreated.
“It’s a very, very, very unique place. I’ve never stepped foot into another bar where the first time you walk in you don’t know anybody, and when you walk out you’ve made at least two or three friends.”
He added, “There’s no politics in CCI — doesn’t matter who you are. Doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your beliefs are outside of this place. In here? You’re here to have fun.”
The anniversary celebrations kicked off on May 31, when the Budweiser Clydesdale horses paraded down Euclid Avenue for the first time since 1959 –– the year they last visited the Chevy Chase Inn. In September, the official anniversary party started with the bar’s regular Bloody Mary Saturday, followed by live music and the sale of special one-day-only anniversary merchandise. Celebrations continue this month, with an Oct. 21 event featuring a live set by Kentucky cellist and songwriter Ben Sollee. That event will also commemorate a limited edition can release by West Sixth Brewing featuring art by Lexington artists Cricket Press and will serve as a fundraiser for the Jordon C. Ellis Fund for Arts and Healing, which serves programs, families, and individuals working with substance misuse, mental health issues, and suicide prevention. The fund was started by Sollee in memory of his friend and collaborator Jordon Ellis, who died by suicide in February 2023.
The bar, which opened as the Blue Goose in 1933, has remained largely unchanged in recent decades. Photo by Sarah Hoskins
Bourbon will also be featured in the celebrations ahead, starting with the Pappy Birthday Party scheduled for November 24.
Heathcoat said, “We’ve been holding back our Pappy Van Winkle allocations over the past few years and will sell two-ounce pours at cost. We just want common folk like us to be able to try it.”
“People lined up for hours — one person even camped overnight — the last time we did this,” he added.
And on December 8, CCI will sell bottles of their own Maker’s Mark flavor profile created through the Maker’s Mark Private Selection Program. Heathcoat estimates that the bar will have around 200 bottles of this limited-edition bourbon available. Maker’s Mark will be on site screen printing special reusable cloth bags during the event. This event coincides with CCI’s annual Christmas Karaoke for a Cause, and a percentage of sales from the bottles will support the organization Operation Secret Santa.
Heathcoat credits his wife, Cameron, as the driving force behind the anniversary celebration, but, in reality the motivation for both of them to make a big splash was Russell “Redeye” Salyer, a long-time manager of the bar who passed away in late July. The CCI team partnered with Pivot Brewing to create a label honoring Salyer and were able to take him a case to let him see it before he passed away.
“He was just tickled to death,” said Heathcoat. “He was with us 40 plus years. He ran this place, and he was this place. In my mind, this will always be Russell’s.”
Of the future of the Chevy Chase Inn, Heathcoat says, “We’re just the caretakers — we’ll take care of it as long as we can and then we’ll make sure that the next people will fit the bill and take care of it as well or better than we did.”
In the meantime, there’s plenty to celebrate about the bar and plenty of opportunities to do so in the days and months ahead.
Ben Sollee at Chevy Chase Inn
Saturday, Oct. 21 • 833 Euclid Ave.
A birthday celebration & fundraiser for the Jordon C. Ellis Fund for Arts