By Stephanie Krasnov
A new restaurant inside the blue-roofed building on North Main Street in Lexington is becoming a hit with students and community members by selling juicy burgers and decadent doughnuts.
Pure Eats opened in September, and owner John Blackburn plans to make his second restaurant succeed with local ingredients and a short menu of about a dozen items.
“I’m a big believer in the purity and integrity of the food,” said Blackburn, who also is co-owner of the Red Hen on East Washington Street.
As a small town that relies heavily on the patronage of college students, Lexington has restaurants that come and go quickly. Blackburn speculated that some of them may have failed because they tried to do too much by offering larger menus.
“You can’t do everything,” he said.
Pure Eats offers a simplified a menu, “things we can do exceptionally well,” including burgers, veggie burgers, sweet potato and regular fries, chips, deep fried potato salad, doughnuts, milkshakes, coffee, and soft drinks.
The name Pure Eats originates from an old oil company named Pure Oil, formerly one of the largest oil companies in the country. In the late 1920s, the company built service stations that resembled English cottages.
Lexington’s Pure Eats was built in that style. It still has the original roof, “that crazy, blue enamel tile,” Blackburn said. The Pure Eats logo also looks like the Pure Oil logo.
Pure Eats is open from 7:30 a.m. until 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Doughnuts are baked each morning by chef Katrina Ulrich, who starts work at 5:30 a.m. to bake fresh cake doughnuts. Ulrich, who grew up in a doughnut shop, invents all of the flavors, ranging from classic cinnamon sugar to Oreo chocolate dipped.
“Her passion is doughnuts,” Blackburn said.
The first restaurant that Blackburn opened in town was the Red Hen. Washington and Lee University junior and Red Hen waitress Ali Greenberg referred to Pure Eats as the “younger sister” of the Red Hen. Both restaurants use local ingredients but cater to different crowds.
At Pure Eats, the clientele is “anybody and everybody.” At the Red Hen it’s an older, professional crowd.
Blackburn says he notices when students are away. “We realized how much a part of business our students are,” he said.
W&L senior Elizabeth Starnes said she prefers Pure Eats over other restaurants. “I know that the food is fresh and of a good quality, and that the establishment is locally owned,” she said.
A cheeseburger, regular fries, and a fountain drink cost $10.25 plus tax, more than at a fast-food restaurant.
“If I wanted to get a cheap burger and fries,” Starnes said, “I would go to Wendy’s or McDonalds.”