It’s been a busy Spring in restaurant news. The Warehouse Block is heating up with new and relocated entries, North Lime is adding a distillery anchor to the corridor, and a couple of longtime proprietors are selling out of the restaurant business and moving on to new adventures. WATCH Tune into CBS Saturday Morning on Saturday April 13, 2024. The team visited Holly Hill & Co’s Versailles cooking studio for a sit down with author Crystal Wilkinson, discussing her new book, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts.BIRTHS  Congratulations to Bespoken Spirits on the launch of their new distill ..read more

IN MEMORY: Cecil Dunn As shared by their family, Cecil and Judy Dunn were married on July 10th, 1965, and raised their sons together in Lexington, where the front door to their home on Kingsway Drive was always open, the house was often full of friends and family, and Cecil could be found holding court in his den.  The founder of Lexington’s Hope Center and subsequent director for 24 years, died March 23, 2024. Dunn enjoyed a distinguished six decades of legal experience. He served as the General Counsel of the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), as a Criminal Trial Commissioner and Assi ..read more

  Welcome to April and the newest issue of Ace! This month, we have a follow-up on our cover story from May 2022. See what has grown as a result of a tragic fire two years ago. We honor three Lexington civic and business leaders who recently passed away. See the list of winners from Downtown Lexington Partnership’s annual awards ceremony. And Tolly-Ho is on the move again. Catch up on this month’s restaurant news. The post Ace Magazine Digital Edition – April 2024 first appeared on Ace MagazineLexington's original citywide magazine, since 1989 ..read more

Small Business and civic service are two of the hallmarks of Lexington leadership, and Lexington has lost three lions in recent months.   Harold Wayne Critchfield   Harold Wayne Critchfield, 75, died in March 2024 at the Lexington VA Medical Center, surrounded by his family. The Lexington native attended Henry Clay High School, and briefly UK before choosing to serve his country by enlisting in the Navy. He later completed his education at EKU, and returned to Lexington to help run the family business, Critchfield Meats, along with his siblings, before retiring in 2007.  One lo ..read more

…And the Award Goes to…   The Downtown Lexington Partnership hosted their Annual Meeting & Awards of Excellence presented by Republic Bank celebration, with more than 200 great guests, including Mayor Linda Gorton.  At the luncheon, winners received awards including: Urban Innovation Award: The Manchester Landscape and Streetscape Award: Transylvania University Leadership Achievement Award: FoodChain Rose Lucas Perfect Partnership Award: Ryan Foster (Harper Hall) Outstanding Individual Award: Dougie Allen (Creaux)   —   The Bluegrass Business Hall of Fame event pays tr ..read more

The garden at Second and Upper is just the latest (and one of the smallest) projects for designer Jon Carloftis, whose award-winning work is extensively documented in a recently published coffee-table book, Jon Carloftis Fine Gardens, featuring photography by Abby Laub. At a hefty 316 pages, the hardcover book features 24 private and public gardens by Carloftis, beginning with his childhood home at what is now the River House at Rockcastle River Trading Company and ending with his current home,  historic Botherum in Woodward Heights.. In between, featured gardens include those at Dudley ..read more

By Kevin Nance When their historic building in downtown Lexington’s Gratz Park neighborhood was destroyed by a fire next door in late March of 2022, Lissa Sims and Stephanie Poole spent several days in shock and grief for a vision that had suddenly gone up in smoke. They had purchased the 1812 building only three months earlier and had already undertaken extensive renovation and structural repairs. Sims’ yoga studio, Shala, had been set to open in the building within a few days. She remembers standing on the corner of Second and Upper streets watching it burn all night long: “I couldn’t belie ..read more

Easter comes early this year — Sunday, March 31, 2024. Easter Sunday menus, however, are arriving later than ever, as the hospitality industry barely has time to catch their breath between St. Patrick’s weekend, and getting Easter brunch on the table.  But you may work up an appetite during all of the 2024 Easter Egg Hunts, so you’re going to need sustenance. You need brunch options. Maybe you’re looking for an Easter Ham? A source for hot cross buns? An Easter buffet or two or three? How about pre-orders you can pick up ahead of time, discard all the boxes, and pretend like you’ve whipp ..read more

No Lexington Easter Guide could be complete without Ace’s 35th annual roundup of Easter Egg Hunts throughout the central Kentucky area, including Easter Bunny photo ops, food trucks, petting zoos, golden eggs, and more. Easter comes early this year — Sunday March 31, 2024 — so Lexington’s Easter Guide is available earlier than usual this year (and, as always, will be updated daily through Sunday March 31). WED MAR 20, 2024 Thanks to daylight savings time, the Kenwick Community Center can host their annual Egg Hunt on Wednesday evening, Mar 20, while it’s still light out! There will be 3000 eg ..read more

What’s Happening at the ‘Ho? While staff at the UK burger staple have recently reassured patrons that Tolly Ho is going nowhere, the cat is out of the bag on its upcoming relocation. In May of 2011, Lexington’s legendary Tolly Ho moved to its new location on S. Broadway in the former Hart’s Dry Cleaning building, located diagonally across from The Lex, where it’s enjoyed a happy home ever since. No one knew if it would maintain its popularity, relocating from its decades-long perch on UK’s campus (at S. Limestone since 1987). But the 24/7 crowds for breakfast, burgers, and shakes on Broadway ..read more