LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Exactly a year after the iconic Parkette Drive-In restaurant closed in Lexington, the lot the restaurant sat on continues to sit empty, except for the restaurant’s sign.
The property was leased to the neighboring Lexus of Lexington car dealership, said Bryan Tipton, the son-in-law of Parkette founder Joe Smiley. His family continues to own the property.
The dealership plans to use it as a car lot, Tipton said.
“Those things take time,” Tipton said, referring to the city’s planning and approval process.
City records show the approval process was completed two weeks ago. It’s unclear when construction will start.
The restaurant was first opened in 1951, making it one of Lexington's oldest restaurants when it closed for the final time on June 28, 2022.
The sign will stay exactly where it is forever, Tipton said. He thanked the mayor’s office for allowing the sign to stay.
The city has designated the sign as a Lexington historic landmark
“it was a really big deal, it was an important thing we thought we could do to save the Parkette name for many generations,” Tipton said.
They’ve already fixed the base of the sign. Once Lexus finishes construction on the rest of the lot, they will continue to work on the sign — repainting and fixing the lights.
The Smiley family has also been working to add a historical marker to the site. They applied for a Kentucky state historical marker. They hope to hear back soon.
He says they are still working on a potential Parkette cookbook, along with other ideas to keep the Parkette legacy alive. It’s something he and his wife Melissa think they do every day as the owner of local restaurants, such as the Arby’s in Nicholasville, where you can still buy Parkette T-shirts, pens, and bumper stickers.
Tipton said it’s been admittedly tough on his family to not have the Parkette there, but he said the historic designation, and potential for a historical marker, show that some good has come out of the year.
