UPDATE
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Since this article has been posted and now that they have opened it appears that they are not serving evening dinners instead it’s Pub Food only.
Also look for their kitchen to close at varied times in the evening and for them to be “out” of various items.
We hear that they have a way to go in order to live up to the original (following) article.
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Sit-down dining coming to Alexandria
By Chris Mayhew • cmayhew@nky.com 4:24 pm, Mar 16, 2011
The Hay Loft, a new locally owned restaurant and bar in Alexandria, is set to open in April, adding a new sit-down dining option with table service.
“To be honest with you I could see the need out there because right now it’s little fast food spots or chains,” said local restaurateur Ezra Castle.
Castle, who also owns Skinny Legs Pub & Grill in Bellevue and Cityside Pub & Grill in Newport, is opening the Hay Loft along with business partners Jeff Heuser, of Alexandria, and Grant Gieseler, a Fort Thomas native who lives in New Richmond, Ohio.
Other establishments Castle has opened over his career, but no longer owns, include Zola Pub & Grill in Covington, the former Sonoma restaurant in Covington, and The 915 Pub & Grill in Fort Thomas.
The Hay Loft will have a customized menu based off the Skinny Legs menu with the addition of dinner platters of hearty foods, Castle said.
“Everybody will find something they like,” he said.
The bar area will be the only place people can smoke, Gieseler said, and there will be no smoking at the tables. They’re hoping to capitalize on being the closest option for people on high school game nights, he said.
Now people won’t have to drive to Cold Spring or elsewhere to go sit down and have a drink and eat on after Friday night football games, Gieseler said.
Heuser, who also runs Heuser Heating and Cooling in Alexandria, said he’s been “begging” Castle to help bring a locally owned restaurant to the city where people could sit down for more than three years.
“The community doesn’t have any local restaurant if you look at Alexandria,” Heuser said.
The Hay Loft is tentatively scheduled to open the first week of April, he said. The restaurant, with seating capacity of 126 people, is located in a building that had previously housed a series of several Tex-Mex restaurants, Heuser said. The space inside has been completely gutted and remodeled, he said.
The wood floors have been refurbished, new furniture added, and a new bar area will be separated from the dining seating by solid wood partitions, Heuser said.
Heuser said the name Hay Loft is fitting for Alexandria. People won’t see a bale of hay as part of the decor, but there will be local memorabilia including items for high school sports teams. There will also be live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, he said.
The kitchen hours for The Hay Loft, located at 7501 Alexandria Pike, will be from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Carryout will be available except for daily specials including the $5.95 Thursday burger specials. The restaurant’s number, which is not yet in service, will be 859-635-5638.
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