Brick Oven Pizzeria, a beloved Lexington eatery, has closed its doors after 15 years of service. The family-owned restaurant at 4379 Old Harrodsburg Road made the announcement on its Facebook page.
“Attention Brick Oven Customers: We have some unfortunate news… Brick Oven will be closing down this week. Most likely permanently. Today will be the last day we are open to the public. Come visit and hang out tonight!” the post read.
The restaurant’s website confirmed the permanent closure effective Tuesday, July 10, and added: “Thank you for all of your support over the years.”
Owned by the Kolenda family in South Elkhorn Village, the pizzeria was a community staple. Michael Kolenda, the original owner, worked closely with his son Tim, who served as the manager, and his other children. Following Michael’s death two years ago, the business was left to his six children.
“All of the recipes that are in that store are original, nothing came out of a book,” said Michael’s daughter, Kara Kolenda. “Nobody knows those recipes, even the dough has a secret recipe that Tim invented.”
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Brick Oven Pizzeria managed to stay open, providing for both the community and its employees. “He never opted to close his doors,” Kara recalled. “Everything that was legally allowed, we did it. He never let one single employee go unpaid through Covid. He made it last.”
Initially, Brick Oven Pizzeria operated in a smaller space within the same plaza off Harrodsburg Road for 11 years. Four years ago, it moved to a larger building in the same area. Michael Kolenda’s death, however, posed challenges for the family-run business.
“The community helped us stay alive,” Kara said. “They would come in and just say, ‘We’re supporting this small business,’ and they would drop big tips to our staff.”
Despite the community’s support, the pizzeria faced significant challenges. Rent negotiations and staff retention were particularly tough. “Hiring was so difficult because they had some Covid assistance happening behind the scenes so their paychecks weren’t their only source of income,” Kara explained. “We had a high no-show rate of our employees, and therefore our business suffered because of that.”
Rising supply costs added to the difficulties. Kara mentioned that despite inflation, they tried not to raise prices to continue catering to their loyal customers.
The decision to close was not made lightly. “We did not make the announcement to our customers because we wanted to stay open,” Kara said. “We were looking every minute right up to closing for options and ways that we could stay open.”
Efforts to sell the business were unsuccessful, as the Kolenda family wanted to keep ownership local. “We had our UK game crowd, our NFL crowd and our happy hour crowd and we just loved every single one of those groups of people and we got to know most of them by name,” Kara Kolenda said. “They weren’t just our customers, they were our friends and we will miss that very much.”
Brick Oven Pizzeria was cherished for its pizza and grinder sandwiches, leaving a legacy in the hearts of its patrons.