The Mixer restaurant’s opening has been pushed back a couple of months as renovations continue at the former Young Hardware building on Sixth Street.
Graham and Heather Dawson, in an interview Friday, said plumbing and electrical work is beginning, which will be followed by installation of a new floor and windows and then the HVAC system.
“We are hoping late October, early November” Heather Dawson estimated.
The 1898 building, long considered the anchor of Sixth Street, had operated continuously as a hardware store under a succession of local owners until the last store owners, Mac and Catherine Arthur, closed in mid-2018. As the hardware business was liquidating, the Arthurs sold the building to downtown investor Hal McCoy, and he recruited the Dawsons to make their restaurant his first tenant.
The concept for The Mixer comes from Graham’s experience in bartending and Heather’s work as a baker.
With plans to be open Wednesday through Saturday, The Mixer will serve baked goods, coffee, sandwiches and salads at lunch and have a full menu and bar for dinner. Their chef, Lane Meinert, previously worked at Harper House when it was still in Hopkinsville.
The project is financed, in part, by a $50,000 Kickstarter campaign that concluded on Jan. 2 with 191 contributors. Some of the Kickstarter proceeds have been used recently to purchase kitchen equipment.
The Mixer’s kitchen will be in the back of the building beneath the mezzanine, which is being rebuilt to accommodate seating.
Initially, the restaurant will have seating for up to 84 diners, which is slightly less than the Grahams originally planned. However, the permitting process will move more quickly at that size, said Heather. After the opening, the restaurant can then apply for a larger seating capacity.
A sign with LED lights has been designed and will be installed on the building’s exterior.
Patio seating will be offered outside along the side of the building that previously was an alley, Graham Dawson said.
Several staff members have already been identified, and hiring for additional employees will begin in late summer. The Dawson said they expect the staff will be in training for two weeks before the restaurant opens.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
