The new food hall coming to the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington will something that no other place on campus has: beer.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the mixed-use building under construction will be called The Cornerstone.
And the first three tenants of The Cornerstone Exchange, the ground level dining area featuring Kentucky companies, will be West Sixth Brewing, A Cup of Common Wealth coffee shop and Rolling Oven, a pizzeria.
Although beer is available at UK’s Spindletop Hall and The Boone Center, which are membership associations, alcohol is not publicly available anywhere on campus or in Kroger Field football stadium or at Rupp Arena basketball games, except in suites.
The Cornerstone is scheduled to be finished this fall. Besides the food hall, it will have 900 parking spaces, 10,000 square feet of retail and a 100-seat esports theater.
The name was chosen by a campus-wide vote.
“We are very excited to announce both the name The Cornerstone, which underscores the importance of this facility as a doorway to our campus, and our relationship with these local businesses,” says Eric Monday, UK executive vice president for Finance and Administration. “Each of these organizations has a strong connection to, and engagement with, the local community. They reflect the kind of supportive, collaborative environment we plan to create in this space.”
The esports theater will include 100 retractable theater-style seats, and an esports gamers lounge will have more than 50 PC-based gaming units and multiple console-play areas.
The university will operate and maintain the innovation zone, esports center and parking structure.
The retail and dining area will be operated and maintained by Signet Real Estate Group.
