Chef Edward Lee is a whiskey nerd. The Mind of a Chef watchers know this from the season Lee spent as host-subject, brown spirits–obsessives know this from the chef’s forays into bourbon-making, and industry people know it because if you meet Lee for a drink, chances are he’s ordering some sort of whiskey. “Ever since I moved to Louisville 15 years ago now, I've gotten so into whiskey in ways I never would have imagined as a chef,” he says. That Lee is opening Whiskey Dry, his very own whiskey bar, in downtown Louisville should excite many (but maybe surprise few). “It’s like being a kid in a candy store.”
The bar will join Lee’s dynamic Louisville restaurant portfolio, which comprises Milkwood, 610 Magnolia, and its sister space, the Wine Studio, all beloved essentials of the Louisville dining scene that explain why Lee has gotten multiple nominations from the James Beard Foundation. And while any new bar or restaurant from Lee would garner headlines, it’s what’s happening behind the scenes at this new project that suggests Whiskey Dry will have an undeniable impact on the restaurant industry, locally and, potentially, nationally.
Lee tells Eater that after about a year and a half of quietly piloting a similar program at his other restaurants, he’ll officially launch a mentorship program: The Chef LEE (Let’s Empower Employment) Initiative. In partnership with the Louisville chapter of the national non-profit YouthBuild, the Chef LEE Initiative will, according to an early draft of its mission statement, “employ six to eight young adults from the Smoketown and West End neighborhoods who have little to no prior restaurant experience. They will train and work under the chef Lee’s curriculum with an on-site mentor as well as restaurant managers.” After successful completion of the 40-week program, which includes on-the-job training at Whiskey Dry and class work with YouthBuild, trainees will be offered full-time positions in Lee’s restaurant group or with partner restaurants in town. If all goes well, Lee would like to expand this program to other cities and restaurant groups.
While this program is new, it’s something Lee has been thinking about for years. Back in 2014, he told Eater he was hoping “to create a community restaurant, run by the community and for the community.” Lee is part of a small but growing coterie of restaurateurs using their for-profit businesses to affect social change. Lee’s job-training mission seems aligned with Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson’s efforts at Locol in Los Angeles and Oakland, and also brings to mind Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook’s just-opened Rooster Soup Co. in Philadelphia, where all proceeds are going to a partner charity organization. Lee’s approach stands out for its ambition and its potential to solve a host of problems plaguing the restaurant industry. Not too shabby for whiskey bar.
And now, everything you need to know about Whiskey Dry:
1. Whiskey Dry is a definitely a bar, not a restaurant with a bar program: “This is a first for me,” says Lee of opening a bar. “I am a chef, I see things differently than bartenders do.” Joining Lee on the beverage front are drinks writer and whiskey expert Noah Rothbaum and Milkwood bar manager Stacie Stewart, who will be running the show at Whiskey Dry.
2. Lee is trying to create a new kind of whiskey bar: This is “not your father's mahogany and leather whiskey bar,” the chef says. Instead, he wants those who are new to whiskey to feel comfortable diving right in. “I don't want people to feel like this is a place you have to be quiet,” he explains. He also wants to try to modernize the whole endeavor, creating his own riff on the genre. “We’re not trying to cookie-cutter something that already exists.” There will be over 200 bottles of whiskey, ranging in origin from America to Ireland to Scotland to Japan. Flights will be available, served by bartenders ready to dive deep into whiskey history — if that’s what you’re in the mood for. “We don't want to be pedantic, but through the menu and through the storytelling, there's a chance to talk about it.”
3. Lee will serve some pretty wild burgers: “In the way that we're trying to refresh the idea of the whiskey bar, I really want to bring some creativity and fun to the burger,” says Lee. “The cheeseburger as of late has become puritanical, a not-to-be touched icon. I disagree. The fun of a cheeseburger is to go nuts with it.” To that end, he’s thinking patties made from beef, pork, or chicken, and adding global flavors, as in the kimchi burger pictured below. The combinations will rotate seasonally, and if any burgers could be said to have terroir, these should: Lee and his crew will be making the buns from scratch with local wheat. “Burgers are complex,” the chef insists, and he sees a natural match with the layers and complexities of whiskey. Naturally, there will be burger and whiskey pairings.
4. The bar has a secret mission: The Chef LEE Initiative is making its formal debut at Whiskey Dry. Lee’s inspiration was simple. He heard the usual industry laments — not enough line cooks, not enough skilled laborers — but it just didn’t sit right with him. “When that was rumbling, I took a step back and I said, you know, every city has an underprivileged part... To say to me you can't find restaurant labor, when within your city is a community with high unemployment rates, is unacceptable,” says Lee. The program is “not a charity,” Lee explains. “It's creating industry professionals out of young adults who previously would not have been able to get a job [in this field].” The participants will work for 40 weeks at Whiskey Dry, learning front of house and back of house skills along the way. Lee wants his bar to be a place where trainees can make mistakes and fail without fear of losing their job and livelihood. By the time the program is completed, graduates will be prepared to be restaurant professionals.
5. You’ll have to wait till late spring to go: The process is underway at the downtown Louisville space, and Lee is hoping to open in late April or early May. Of course, openings are always a moving target. Stay tuned.
• The Mind of a Chef’s Edward Lee Is Planning Three Major Restaurants [E]
• All Louisville Coverage on Eater [E]