by Tim Knittel

From the 15th floor of Chase Tower, Tom Evans, general manager and co-owner of Dupree Catering and Events, surveys the hustle and bustle of downtown Lexington. Behind him, a construction crew is equally hustling to complete the city’s newest — and highest — event venue, The Mane on Main.

Located in the former Lafayette Club space, The Mane on Main features rustic-chic décor with a refined, contemporary flair — not unlike the vibe of Lexington itself, which the design is meant to evoke. The space includes the Lexington Room, which can be used for meetings and presentations, as a bridal suite and for more intimate events; as well as the much larger East Side room, which is anchored by a rock-faced bar and can be configured for sit-down dinners, cocktail receptions, buffets or for nearly any purpose a party planner might need. There’s also a separate lounge area and audio-visual equipment to support live music, presentations, slide shows, live auctions and more.

“We can customize the space to any group that may come in,” Evans said.

Every room, including the 3,500-square-foot kitchen, features floor-to-ceiling windows that frame a panoramic view of downtown Lexington and beyond.

The venue’s kitchen is as large as Dupree Catering’s entire current facility on Delaware Avenue, Evans said. The need for a larger kitchen initially prompted the move, but when the opportunity arose to also acquire and build out a unique event space tied to the catering company, Evans and his partners, including Jeremy Ashby of the Azur Food Group, were quick to realize the potential benefits.

“We’ve been an off-premise caterer for 30 years, and catering chefs are often behind the scenes,” said Evans, who, along with his partners, purchased Dupree Catering from founder Harriet Dupree Bradley in 2014 and merged it with Azur Catering to form Dupree Catering and Events.

With The Mane on Main, Evans said the catering company can not only better showcase the talents of Executive Chef Jane Thompson and her culinary team in a more front-and-center fashion, but also enjoy a “home field” advantage when it comes to hosting and servicing events at the venue. The size of the venue — The Mane on Main can host up to 400 people for seated events, or as many as 500 in a cocktail setting — will also allow the company to accommodate larger events that might otherwise locate at one of the area’s hotels.

“We can capture a piece of the business that we weren’t getting before,” Evans said.

Source: Smiley Pete Publishing

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Dupree Catering opening venue in former Lafayette Club space
BY JANET PATTON

Dupree Catering, which is co-owned by Azur chef Jeremy Ashby, Tom Evans and their business partners, is opening an event space on the 15th floor of the Chase Bank building on Main Street.

The new venue will be called The Mane on Main and will host events including wine-pairing dinners and holiday parties, to be billed as “The Mane Events,” Evans said.

The venue, to open in mid-October, might be able to handle 300 to 500 people if the full space is used, Evans said. The first events already are booked, he said.

Dupree Catering’s catering kitchen will move in December from its building on Delaware Avenue, which is for sale.

The 12,500-square-foot space in the Chase Bank building once was the Lafayette Club, a private lunch and dinner club, and more recently had been a nightclub and a bar.

The new space will be configured into several separate rooms that can be used for a variety of functions, Evans said. One room will be set up as a conference room for as many as 60 people that will convert to a “bridal suite” for brides to use for changing clothes before or after a reception.

The U-shaped room has another area with a built-in bar, which could hold about 150 people, Evans said.

The north side of the room will be lounge area with furniture as a foyer but can be used for event space, too, he said.

The west side is probably the largest, Evans said, and it could handle probably 200 people.

The venue also will have attached covered parking in the garage next door, he said.

Janet Patton: 859-231-3264, @janetpattonhl

Buffet Menu 1

• BEET & TANGERINE SALAD with Goat Cheese, Shaved Shallots, Pistachio and Raspberry Vinaigrette
• WHITE WINE & HERB MARINATED GRILLED SALMON
• ROASTED FRENCH-CUT CHICKEN LEMON, GARLIC and CAPERS
• WHIPPED PARSNIPS and POTATOES
• WILTED SPINACH with GARLIC
• SAUTEED CAULIFLOWER FRITTATA with THYME (VEGETARIAN)
• YEAST ROLLS and MULTI-GRAIN BREAD
• CHOCOLATE-PEAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Buffet Menu 2

• ROASTED TOMATO SALAD with Goat Cheese and Shallot-Thyme Vinaigrette
• PORCINI CRUSTED FILET OF BEEF TENDERLOIN with Cipolini Onions, Chanterelle Mushrooms and Red Wine Jus
• PAN SEARED MAHI MAHI with SAFFRON BUTTER
• ROASTED BROCCOLINI in a Light Italian Herb Oil with Lemon and Pine Nuts
• PARMESAN and WHITE WINE RISOTTO
• PESTO VEGETABLE NAPOLEAN (VEGETARIAN)
• GRILLED SOURDOUGH & MULTIGRAIN GARLIC BREAD
• TIRAMISU

Buffet Menu 3

• THYME ROASTED TURKEY with PAN GRAVY
• BROWN BUTTER MASHED POTATOES
• GARLICKY HARICOT VERT with Lemon-Basil Butter
• TORN SOURDOUGH STUFFING with Celery, Wild Mushrooms and Kentucky Proud Sausage
• SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE with BOURBON-PECAN PRALINE
• ORANGE CRANBERRY RELISH
• HOT BUTTERED YEAST ROLLS
• BOURBON PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

A few of our Favorites are:

Cocktail Wedding Menu 1
STEAMED GULF SHRIMP with Spicy Smoked Pepper Cocktail Sauce
GRILLED BEEF TENDERLOIN with Yeast Rolls, with our Signature Horseradish Sauce
PEPPER CRUSTED SMOKED SALMON with Pumpernickel Toasts and Cucumber Dill
Sauce
OLD KENTUCKY HAM on CHEDDAR CORN BISCUITS
WILD MUSHROOM & THREE CHEESE PUFF PASTRY STRUDEL
FRESH& GRILLED VEGETABLES with LEMON HERB DIP
IMPORTED CHEESE & FRUIT DISPLAY
CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO COOKIES and Lace Cookies

Cocktail Wedding Menu 2
LUMP CRAB CAKES with Jalapeño Remoulade
HOUSE SMOKED BEEF BRISKET with Rolls
HICKORY SMOKED PORK LOIN with Apple Chutney, Mustard Sauce and Rolls
PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN BITES with Caper Mayonnaise
WILD MUSHROOM GOUGERES
MERLOT & SUNDRIED CHERRY CHEESE TORTA with Blue Cheese and Pine Nuts,
Apples, Fresh Figs and Crispy Flatbread
ASSORTED BITESIZED DESSERTS
ROASTED BEET & TANGERINE SALAD with Goat Cheese, Shaved Shallots, Roasted

Cocktail Wedding Menu 3
TURKEY MEATBALLS with cranberry glaze
CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA with proscuitto, sage croutons
MINI KENTUCKY HOT BROWNS
CHUTNEY NUT CHEESE TERRINE with crackers and fruit
TRIO OF DIPS; TOMATO BASIL, HUMMUS, ROASTED RED PEPPER served
with crostini, pita points and fresh vegetables
CHOCOLATE MINI BROWNIES and MINI LINZER TARTS