Boone Tavern

Boone Tavern was built in 1909 to house guests of the college.[http://www.kaht.com/multiple/booneta1.htm Boone Tavern Hotel & Restaurant], Kentucky Artisan Heritage Trails website It is named for early Kentucky explorer Daniel Boone. The "Tavern" portion of the name derives from the historic definition that refers to a public inn for travelers rather than the modern definition related to the sale of alcoholic beverages.

Construction of Boone Tavern began in 1907 based on designs by the New York architect J. Cleaveland Cady of Cady & See. The building was built with bricks manufactured by students in the college's brickyard and was constructed by the college's Woodwork Department at a total cost of $20,000.

Located on the College Square in the heart of Berea where the old Dixie Highway crossed the campus, the hotel and restaurant became a popular destination with the traveling public from the beginning of the "automobile age." In the 1930s the establishment was featured in Duncan Hines' Adventures in Good Eating guidebooks.Howard M. Snyder, [http://www.kentucky.com/698/story/747999.html Berea's Boone Tavern is again worthy of its reputation, with a new menu that respects its past], Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com, accessed April 28, 2009 Under the direction of Richard T. Hougen, who headed the restaurant for 35 years beginning in 1940 and published three cookbooks, Boone Tavern established a reputation for fine Southern cooking.John Egerton, Ann Bleidt Egerton, and Al Clayton (1993), [https://books.google.com/books?id=m2MDbbzwXaQC Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History], pages 106–107. UNC Press, {{ISBN|0-8078-4417-9}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8078-4417-5}}

Boone Tavern is owned by Berea College and students make up about 15% of the staff at the hotel and restaurant. Guest rooms feature solid cherry wood furniture made by Berea College Student Crafts. Berea is a work college whose students are required to work at least ten hours per week at Boone Tavern or another college department or work area in exchange for receiving a tuition-free college education.{{cite web | url =http://bereaonline.com/?p=49409 | title = SOUTHERN LIVING MAGAZINE NAMES BOONE TAVERN AS ONE OF THE BEST HOTELS IN THE SOUTH | date =30 March 2016 | website = BereaOnline.com | access-date =17 June 2016 }}

In 2008, the college undertook an extensive renovation project on Boone Tavern at an estimated cost of $9.6 million, with the aim of converting it into Kentucky's first LEED-certified hotel while preserving its historic character. The renovation was projected to be completed in May 2009.Bonnie McKenna, [http://ourtribune.com/article.php?id=7128 History, arts, music, natural beauty and Abraham Lincoln] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715022342/http://ourtribune.com/article.php?id=7128 |date=2011-07-15 }}, The Tribune Newspapers (Humble, Texas), April 6, 2009 Planned changes included replacing the hotel's kitchen and service elevator, increasing the number of guest rooms from 58 to 64, restoring skylights in the dining room, and adding a new two-story portico entrance on the east facade.Jay Buckner and Tim Jordan, [http://www.berea.edu/BCNow/story.asp?ArticleID=1152 Boone Tavern Renovation Gets Green Light] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920045028/http://www.berea.edu/BCNow/story.asp?ArticleID=1152 |date=September 20, 2008 }}, Berea College press release, 20 December 2007

Currently, alcohol can be sold now at Boone Tavern's restaurant, and diners can legally purchase alcohol in the restaurant; hotel guests can also bring alcohol into their rooms.{{cite news |last=Kocher |first=Greg |date=April 7, 2012 |title=Alcohol approval creates dilemma for Berea College |newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader |url=https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/clark-county/article44166801.html |accessdate=August 24, 2012}} Before April 2012, Berea had been the largest city in the state with no provision for legal alcohol sales.{{cite news|url=http://www.kentucky.com/2012/06/26/2239077/somerset-votes-for-alcohol-sales.html |title=Somerset, long dry, votes in favor of alcohol sales |first=Bill |last=Estep |newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader |date=June 26, 2012 |accessdate=August 24, 2012}} In that month, the precinct that includes Boone Tavern voted in favor of allowing sales of alcohol by the drink at its restaurant. The vote was held under a Kentucky law that allows such a vote with regard to state-defined "qualified historic sites". However, the college's board of trustees chose not to sell alcohol until fall of 2014.{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Andy |date=Aug 28, 2015 |title=Alcohol sales increased profits at Boone Tavern, officials say |url=https://www.richmondregister.com/news/alcohol-sales-increased-profits-at-boone-tavern-officials-say/article_679f2470-4dee-11e5-89ed-1b86f7291c98.html |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=Richmond Register |language=en}} The college was historically opposed to alcohol, and according to the then-current president of the college, a decision to approve alcohol sales would "put us in an awkward position" with two other restaurants that rent space in buildings attached to the tavern. Those two restaurants would not be allowed to sell alcohol because the attached buildings are not classified as "qualified historic sites" under the aforementioned law. As of 2022, the Boone Tavern Restaurant, Frost Cafe, and Local Food dining options all offer alcoholic beverages for sale.

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Category:Restaurants established in 1909

Category:1909 establishments in Kentucky

Category:Historic Hotels of America

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