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Former sleepy horse town awakes to the possibilities of a burgeoning restaurant industry in a stable economy
People who cross into Kentucky say the grass seems greener, the fences whiter, and all roads lead to Lexington.
Although it's known as the "Horse Capital of the World" and ringed by as many as 150 horse farms, Lexington, Ky., is far more than hay and grain.
"We used to be a sleepy horse town where not much happened, but now Lexington is growing faster than Louisville," says Phil Dunn, chairman of the Kentucky Restaurant Association and owner of Phil Dunn's, a renowned Lexington establishment featuring new American fare.
According to the most recent Economic Performance Index for Cities, Lexington is the 13th-fastest-growing midsize metropolitan area among the top 79 surveyed. It also ranks 47th against all metropolitan areas.
Another sign of prosperity is Lexington's booming construction industry. Permits issued for single-family units were up nearly 72 percent in 1999 over 1998.
Lexington also is convenient for travelers. The city where bourbon was born and burley tobacco is raised is located at the junction of Interstates 75 and 64, a scant 10 minutes from Blue Grass Airport. It also is within a day's drive of 75 percent of the U.S. population, city officials say.
Helping boost restaurant usage is the Triple Crown Convention Connection, which offers a combined 30,000 square feet of meeting space and 600 guest rooms in the Hyatt Regency Lexington, Radisson Plaza Lexington and Lexington Center.
"It's a fabulous city with a stable economy," says Les Lockhart, director of development for the O'Charley's dinner-house chain. "We have three stores there, and all are hitting our national average of about $53,000 a week."
What will other restaurateurs find in Lexington? Ron Cegnar of CEO Partners, a foodservice supply chain management consulting firm, says "The economy is very strong, and we have a great environment for high-tech companies."
Among corporations making an impact on Lexington, none is bigger than Toyota Motor Manufacturing, which churns out nearly 500,000 cars and more than 500,000 engines a year. "They have a massive plant just north of us," Cegnar adds. "That and the supplier companies that support Toyota have spurred a lot of growth."
Other major companies with facilities in...