Restaurant Offers Something Old, Something New

As a local restaurant reviewer once noted, the Lexington restaurant scene seems to thrive on chain establishments offering rather predictable fare. But a new restaurant set to come on the scene this summer hopes to deliver a departure from that in both its atmosphere and its cuisine.

Situated on a four-acre site near the intersection of Tates Creek Road and Man O' War Boulevard, Emmett's will occupy the house in which the restaurant's owner and developer, Joe Coons, grew up. The restaurant is named for Coons' father, who built the house in the early 1900s.

The menu at Emmett's will include "traditional Southern fare with a new twist' as well as a broad range of other items from which to choose, according to Chris and Ouita Michaels, the husband-and-wife chef team Coons has hired to launch Emmett's. Ouita is a native Kentuckian many Lexingtonians may already know through her work at Dudley's restaurant and with Dupree Catering. She met her husband when they were both students at the Culinary Institute of New York.

Emmett's represents the first restaurant venture for Coons. The idea for a restaurant evolved as Coons and his real estate development partner, Tim Haymaker, were working on The Pinnacle, a new subdivision being built on the property behind the old house.

"We had this site and I really didn't want to tear the house down," says Coons. " So we started looking at alternative uses for the house and property ... and decided to put a restaurant there."

Coons and his wife, Elizabeth, are now in the process of overseeing a $2 million-plus renovation and expansion of the house, which is being handled by the general contracting firm of Manus, Inc. A 6,000-square-foot addition is being made to the 2,400-square-foot core structure, which will enable Emmett's to accommodate approximately 325 customers. The design, conceptualized by the Lexington architectural firm of Ekhoff Ochenkoski Polk, includes five main-level dining rooms (each with its own fireplace), an outdoor patio that will seat 100, and a private, second-floor dining room that will accommodate parties of up to 48.

The grounds surrounding the restaurant will include an herb garden for both the enjoyment of the guest and use by the chefs.

Marriott to Build in Hamburg Area

With the regional draw of a new one-million-square-foot power center, a surge in the development of professional office buildings and the traffic generated by a major interstate, the area surrounding the I-75/Man O' War Boulevard intersection in Lexington is exactly the type of property hotel companies constantly seek.

In fact, Marriott International has committed to build not one, but two hotels on Pleasant Ridge Road, across Man O' War from the new Hamburg Pavilion power center.

Initial work is already under way for a three-story, 90-unit Marriott Courtyard that will sit on 2.5 acres. The hotel, which is expected to be completed in October, represents the second area Courtyard but will be the first Lexington hotel for Musselman Hotels, LLC, a franchise group that owns 15 other hotels throughout Kentucky.

Musselman is also the franchisee for the first Lexington TownePlace Suites, a mid-price extended-stay hotel that will be erected across from the Courtyard hotel.

TownePlace Suites is the newest hotel concept being offered by Marriott, which pioneered the extended-stay plan with its popular Residence Inn hotels. Although both Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites fall into the extended-stay category, the concepts will not be competing in the same market, explained Tom Musselman, head of Musselman Hotels, LLC. With prices running upwards of $90 per night, Residence Inn is considered an upper-end market, whereas TownePlace Suites is marketed as a mid-price hotel with prices in the $45-50 per night range. Marriott has scheduled some 300 TownePlace Suites through the country to be completed this year. The Lexington facility is expected to open next spring.

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