New Life in an Old Bottle (Factory)

Nestled on a small street off Winchester Road in Lexington is a community. On Walton and National Avenues you can shop for clothing, antiques, fabrics, chocolates or a new kitchen; have your hair cut, work out, enjoy a beer at a local brewery and eat. Eat very well, in fact. Walton’s most recent additions — Epping’s on Eastside and Poppy & Olive—bring casual dining, a bakery and a place for very young diners to enjoy an outing.

Cole Arimes, the owner of the popular Coles 735 Main, wanted a gathering place, a community place. A restaurant where he could serve more casual food and continue to showcase local products, a place to host large gatherings and have a community table, a larger bar with TVs that showcases an outstanding spirits collection, spaces to host private events and a larger kitchen for catering.

Enter 264 Walton Avenue. A historic landmark that was the home of John G. Epping Bottling Company, the location had the space and the feel that Cole was looking for. When you cross the threshold that still bears the original Epping’s mosaic, you enter the Bakery, with a wide range of delectable treats from Pastry Chef Laura Clay, and wonderful coffees and espressos with local roaster Nate’s beans.

Behind the bakery is a comfortable and airy restaurant space and a wraparound bar that extends into the larger community space on the other side of the building. Adjacent to the bakery is also Poppy & Olive. Named for Cole’s children, it is a space dedicated to young diners, complete with an extensive menu of healthy children’s options including house-made pop tarts (word has it the adults love them too!), buckets of crayons and other table entertainment and a bathroom complete with appropriately sized facilities.

Treats are in store for the adults as well! Cole and Chef de Cuisine Nate Voorhees have been curing meats for months in preparation for opening, from beef pastrami for the reuben sandwich to smoked ham for the charcuterie boards. As a certified Kentucky Proud partner, the kitchen team will also be sourcing ingredients from local farms and partnering with many of the region’s best food artisans, including Nate’s Coffee, Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, Sorella Gelateria, Butler Farms, Marksbury Farm, Weisenberger Mill and others.

Epping’s and Poppy & Olive are open seven days a week. For hours and more information go to EppingsOnEastside.com.