Business that helped Jefferson Street become Lexington dining district to close
A Lexington food and drink destination that helped kick start the creation of the Jefferson Street dining corridor is closing.
Wine+Market, at 486 W. Second St. on the corner of Jefferson, is closing at the end of the year, according to the owners.
In an announcement on the Wine+Market newsletter and on social media, owner Renee Brewer said that she and her husband, Seth, decided to close the store and deli after 12 years so she could focus more time on their family.
“As many of you know, our family recently grew with the birth of our second child earlier this year. I am a happy and very proud mom! But, as my personal responsibilities and priorities have changed, the weight of being a small business owner and operator has become too much of a load for me to bear,” Renee Brewer said in the post. “I have become spread too thin to provide the quality of life that I require for myself and my family.”
The store still plans to host its annual Holiday Open House 5-8 p.m. Dec. 1 and will be taking special orders for holiday wines and platters through the end of the year. Other events are planned through the end of the year.
“I love Wine + Market dearly and I am so very proud of what we have accomplished and how much we have learned and grown over the years. I’ve poured my heart, soul, tears, laughter, enthusiasm and passion for wine into this wonderful business. It was my ‘baby’ before my real babies were born,” Brewer said. “I have dedicated myself to W+M, and this has been a very difficult and sad decision to make. I will miss our shop and the community it created tremendously, but this is the right decision for me and my family.”
Brewer was not immediately available for comment.
Brewer recommended that customers look to other locally owned Lexington businesses such as Vine & Branch and Corner Wine, both run by women, for future purchases, as she will.
The Brewers bought wine in market in November 2011 from Krim Boughalem and his wife Andrea Sims, who opened the business in 2008; Renee Brewer, who studied international wine marketing and management in Europe after graduating from the University of Kentucky, worked in the shop.
Under the Brewers, the wine shop expanded the specialty foods selections and added more fine spirits, including bourbon, to the shelves.
Restaurants in the Lexington Jefferson St. dining district
The wine store was an early businesses along what has become an important dining district in Lexington.
Before 2008, only Stella’s Kentucky Deli and The Green Lantern bar were open on the street, which was in an industrial area. Then came Wine+Market and many others. There’s been a fair amount of turnover but Jefferson is still home to Distilled on Jefferson, The Goose Lexington, The Blue Heron Steakhouse, County Club Restaurant, West Sixth Brewing and Smithtown Seafood, The Apiary venue, Villainous Lexington and Sorella Gelateria.
The Brewers also have been co-owners in the nearby Al’s Bar since 2019.
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