THOROUGHBRED THEATER AND WINE BAR OWNER ELISHA HOLT stands in the large event space with two wines from her Wildside Winery & Vineyard which will be available. (Photo by Scott White)

Wildside Winery, one of Woodford County’s most important agritourism and event spots, has broadened its business scope with the opening of the Thoroughbred Theater and Wine Bar on Main Street in Midway. Unlike Wildside, which is a working winery, this new venture will be a wine bar offering a potpourri of concerts, live theater, special tasting experiences and other events. Thoroughbred Theater christened itself last Friday with one of co-owner Elisha Holt’s favorite bands, the Five Below Band. The building itself dates to 1916 when it was built as a one-room theater and then became an assortment of businesses in the mid-1960s. It has recently been entirely renovated including the installation of several stable doors salvaged from Keeneland. The entrance opens to a space where the wine bar will be, which in turn opens to a medium-size theater space with a stage and an antique velvet curtain. As Holt notes, “Since there isn’t fixed seating the possibilities really are endless.” Holt is not looking to house a specific theater like The Woodford Theater, but instead hopes to work with a variety of theater or actor groups who will stage their own productions at the theater. She has already scheduled a production of Dickens “A Christmas Story” for December. Holt has been looking for space in Midway to broaden the scope of Wildside to include her hospitality passions of live theater and music. “I’ve been feeling Midway needs a space like this for years – when this opened up, I knew this is where I was meant to be. It has a lot of history and character and lets us operate a wine bar which compliments the already existing foodie culture.” The long-standing culinary reputation of Midway with Holly Hill Inn, Goose & Gander, Heirloom, Don Jockey and Gibsons is something Holt will be plugging into. She also is considering offering charcuterie and other snacks complimented with delivery from those restaurants and to partner with them for events or tastings. She has already partnered with Tastee Town Bakery on one-of-a-kind “theater cookies”. And, she has a murder mystery event that will be catered by Don Jockey with wine pairings from Wildside in November. Holt said the Thoroughbred Theater and Wine Bar will be a very different experience from Wildside. She looks forward to “offering ticketed flight tastings (like) I’ve experienced in California where we bring in a winemaker and offer several vintages of a particular type of wine, say a cabernet, so people can taste how a wine changes as it ages.” Given the success of Wildside Winery and the fact that Holt is involved in a number of civic, service and business groups, it is not hard to imagine that this new venture will soon become an established thread in the Midway hospitality fabric. Holt said, “Who knows – I just know this is a part of our dream and I am always ready for the next big challenge. Woodford County is really happening and we are excited to continue to be a part of that.”