BRUEN BUNKER, a new business located in the old Midway fire station on Bruen Street, held its grand opening with a Woodford County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on Saturday. The business is a tavern offering food delivered from well-known downtown restaurants, Goose and Gander and Don Jockey. It is centered around golf simulators, which allow golfers to work on their game, or for groups to actually play what feels like a real round of golf on thousands of courses from around the world. Pictured holding the ribbon, from the left, starting with Woodford County Magistrate Liles Taylor in the blue shirt and white cap, is Woodford County Judge-Executive James Kay, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, and owners Joseph Bunker and Alden Gatewood. (Photo by Scott White)

VERSAILLES FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF T.A. RANKIN, with his family, enjoys a round of simulated golf. His colleague, owner Joseph Bunker, who is also a VFD firefighter, said, “No freebies!” (Photo by Scott White)

By Scott White

Woodford Sun Staff

One of the real positives to come out of the new Midway Fire Department and Woodford County EMS station building at Midway Station was the opportunity for something new to go into the old fire station, located on S. Bruen Street.

And, that something “new” just held its grand opening last Saturday: Bruen Bunker, a bar/tavern with a focus on golf simulators, darts and a large open seating area with several large televisions to watch sports and hang-out.

Shortly before the fire department moved to its new facility, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift and the Midway City Council saw an opportunity to bring a new business into Midway that would address a need and integrate well with the existing hospitality focus of the town.

At Vandegrift’s urging, the city advertised an offer with a unique term – though the offered price was a factor, another factor was the type of business being proposed. Following the process, the council unanimously selected the bid for a tavern focused around golf simulators . . . a growing industry found in many cities around the country.

Golf simulators allow golfers, regardless of experience, to play any one of thousands of golf courses from around the world. It has a tee area with a large screen you hit the ball into, and depending on your “stroke,” the ball appears on the screen and you continue to play as if you are on a real course. On Saturday, both simulator stations were occupied, with both sides booked up. To make sure one of the simulators is available when you want to play, reservations (or, tee times) can be made by visiting Bruen Bunker’s website at bruenbunker.com.

Though not precisely on the historic Main Street, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said, “Bruen Bunker will have a great synergy with our downtown.”

Indeed, co-owner Joseph Bunker said that though the business has limited food offerings now, he has worked with Main Street restaurants Goose and Gander and Don Jockey on special menus for patrons to order from that can be delivered to Bruen Bunker.

“This place has vibes out the yin-yang,” Vandegrift told the large crowd that gathered on April 18. “This is a great new business and lots of folks are going to enjoy working on their golf game while hanging out.”

To honor the history of the building, it is serendipitous that one of the three co-owners, Bunker, is also a full-time firefighter with the Versailles Fire Department, so there are fire jackets and other fire memorabilia decorating the tavern area.

Bruen Bunker is a dream come true for the three partners, Bunker, Alden Gatewood and Tanner Walker, who are lifelong friends that grew up in Frankfort and went to Franklin County High School. Walker also runs a restaurant in Boston and was not able to attend the opening.

“We always talked about the three of us owning a business together since we were in high school,” Gatewood said. “When this opportunity came up, we knew it was our chance. We are really excited to be in Midway, and are blessed to have so much support from our friends, families and the whole community.”

Bruen Bunker is open seven days a week: Monday through Thursday, 11a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 12 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.