With the opening of its boutique hotel in Lexington, Kentucky, nearing, the Origin Hotel team announced the hotel’s chef-driven restaurant has been renamed 33 Staves. 33 Staves refers to the number of wooden stave pieces needed to form a full-size oak barrel used to distill bourbon.
The team also announced Bret Hall will be executive chef and Katy McDaniel will be restaurant manager at 33 Staves. The Kentucky natives will curate the food and beverage offerings at the restaurant in Lexington’s newest independent hotel, which The Thrash Group is developing.
33 Staves will feature a focal barrel wall displaying repurposed Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels stacked on reclaimed rickhouse wood beams, which originated from the Jim Beam Distillery.
Hall, originally from northeastern Kentucky, has had a passion for cooking since he learned from his grandparents as a child. Hall moved to Lexington in 2005 and after attending the University of Kentucky for a short period, realized his interest was in the culinary industry. He launched his career with Bluegrass Hospitality Group. After working at Lexington’s premier steakhouse Malone’s for 10 years, six of which were in managerial roles, Hall worked at Tin Roof in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Now he has returned to Lexington to curate a unique Kentucky-inspired dining experience.
McDaniel is originally from Lexington and now lives in Midway. McDaniel began working in the food and beverage industry at age 15 as a hostess and eventually worked her way up to general manager. After nearly a decade, she transitioned into a new role with a small company as a wine sales representative. She opened her own wine shop in Midway in 2017 and gained a sommelier certification through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust in 2018.
33 Staves, which was initially called The Still, will feature a seasonally crafted, southern-inspired menu deeply rooted in Kentucky history. To create the authentic offerings at the restaurant, Hall is curating the menu from a collection of Kentucky cookbooks that have been passed down from generation to generation.
33 Staves is located in the lobby of Origin Lexington at The Summit at Fritz Farm in Lexington.
The Summit at Fritz Farm is Lexington’s only mixed-use development and features 60 retailers and restaurants, the state’s first food hall, office space, multifamily apartments and greenspace for community programming.