The Mixer, poised to be Hopkinsville’s most up-scale restaurant, was open today on Sixth Street following four large dinner parties staged over two evenings to thank financial backers and contractors who worked on the historic 1898 building that previously was home to Young Hardware.
The building renovation, plus the addition of a kitchen and mezzanine, took about a year, but restaurant owners Graham and Heather Dawson began planning The Mixer three years ago.
“I can’t believe it’s ours now,” Heather Dawson said as the first group of Kickstarter campaign backers settled into the restaurant for dinner Monday evening.
Originally, the Dawsons had planned to put their restaurant in another building on Sixth Street, but they learned a renovation was not feasible after they bought the building. Instead, the accepted Hal McCoy’s proposal that they become a tenant at the hardware building after he purchased the property from Mac and Catherine Arthur.
“I’ve helped open other businesses … but having all the responsibility as the owner is something different for me,” Graham Dawson said.
The restaurant design features a large bar in the center of the dining room with booths on one side and a long counter with seating on the opposite side. Dining tables surround the bar on both sides of the main room. There’s additional seating on a mezzanine.
A stained concrete floor replaced the original hardwood flooring planks. However, the wood was saved and used for the bar and for the stairs leading to the mezzanine.
The design was intentional to ensure that there is not a bad seat in the house, said Heather Dawson.
“We took care to make sure that nobody would feel left out,” she said.
One customer, who also makes his living in the restaurant business, said he thought the design was excellent.
“It’s quaint and cozy, but at the same time, it’s wide open,” said Brett Clayton, who is the food and beverage director for Harper House restaurant in Cadiz.
Clayton and several staff members from Harper House, including founding owner Nelson Green, came to The Mixer’s first soft opening for backers on Monday.
Graham Dawson is a former bartender for Harper House; he started with the restaurant when it was still in Hopkinsville. His wife was a baker for Harper House.
Their concept for a new restaurant came from their unique backgrounds, and mixer was a description that fit both of their jobs.
A sign on the front of the building describes it as a bakery, bar and restaurant.
Although The Mixer and Harper House will likely cater to many of the same customers, Clayton said he doesn’t view their relationship as purely competitive.
“In my opinion, regional success is everyone’s success. We want to create a culinary region that this area hasn’t always had,” he said.
The Mixer’s hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Pastries and coffees will be served in the morning. A small lunch menu of sandwiches will be available mid-day. The bar and dinner will me open at 5 p.m.
Next week, the restaurant will be closed Christmas Day, open from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The full lunch menu will launch in January.
The dinner menu includes steaks, pork seafood, Cornish hen and a hamburger.
For reservations, call (270) 874-2416.
The Mixer has 16 employees. The chef is Lane Meinert.
(Jennifer P. Brown contributed to The Mixer’s Kickerstarter campaign.)
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
