It’s been about a year since construction began on what would become Jon Kemp’s new business location at 303 W. Main St., but the 12-year owner of Kemp’s Upper Tap in Lexington said it is something he had been thinking about for five years and working on for two.

“I wanted to do a different location, or something different,” Kemp said. “Over time the craft beer scene has evolved and people have started coming to us for that.

“We were running out of space in our old place. It was to the point where, from Wednesday through Saturday, if you didn’t get there by 5 p.m., you weren’t getting in and we don’t do reservations. The beast was getting bigger than the building and we decided it was time to make the jump.”

With the help of social media websites like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Kemp announced a soft opening on Monday for drink sales only. The owner said when the bar opened, the bar stools were full with the crowd spilling out to the tables within 20 minutes.

“I thought, ‘finally! This is awesome!’ you know?” He said. “It’s been fun seeing the look on people’s faces when they visit us at the new location for the first time. It’s light years from what our old place was. If we can get past the first week, I’ll be able to enjoy it a lot more and based on the attendance so far, I’m scared for the crowds this weekend.”

Next Monday, the 7,900-square-foot business will start serving food with the faces people remember from the previous location and 17 new hires. One of these new hires is Kemp’s good friend Cale Beecher, who serves as executive chef of Public Hall Hospitality, Kemp’s group that owns both Kemp’s and the other half of the business, a restaurant called The Public Hall, which opens in late November.

“ I’ve known Cale for close to 13 years and we always joked that we were going to work together and the pieces just fell into place,” Kemp said. “He is one cat that I can always trust on a cooking line — we don’t even have to communicate. You just go and click, but we have some other new cooks to add in with the old cooks as well.”

The Public Hall will seat about 49 people and will feature seasonal dishes and food from local farmers. The “contemporary American” restaurant will be open Thursday through Saturday for dinner and Sunday for brunch.

Starting next week, the bar will be open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Monday through Saturday. Kemp’s Upper Tap now seats 97, more than double the old bar’s seating. The bar also features a 42-seat beer garden with a full-service bar and five different craft beers on tap compared to what’s on tap inside.

“The seating alone makes the garden almost like our old place, which is crazy to think about,” Kemp said. “It was kind of cool to have the dive bar vibe with nick-knacks everywhere and seating for 43 people, but I think we have so much more to gain. More options came on board when we lost that nostalgic element.”

Kemp attended culinary school at Joliet Junior College before finding work at upscale restaurant NoMI at the Park Hyatt in Chicago. He also had previous experience working at the bar he now owns, which was previously called the Upper Tap. Kemp says he hadn’t thought about returning to his hometown until one fateful day, when he received a phone call.

“The owner told me I had a month to decide if I wanted to buy it. At that time, I was cooking in Chicago. I remember thinking, ‘why the heck would I want a bar in Lexington, Illinois?’” Kemp said.

After looking at numbers, a 22-year-old Kemp decided to take the plunge with a plan: to own the bar for five years and then go back to Chicago and cook. However instead of moving back to Chicago, Kemp has taken on a new mission: introducing customers to the taste of craft beer.

“People from my generation grew up thinking beer was only Budweiser and Bud Light, but now there are enough craft beers out there that you can find a beer for everyone,” Kemp said.

When customers come in for the first time, Kemp likes to have three or four of what he calls “gateway crafts,” which are craft beers that people can try if they don’t think they like the hoppy taste of craft beer.

“They are usually lighter and not hoppy, but once you get people hooked on something they like, they tend to go a little deeper,” Kemp said. “We have people who are drinking IPAs now that never used to try it. It’s kind of fun to see the customer base change that way.”

Today, Kemp prides his business on the fact that it has no domestic beers on tap. There are bottled domestics, but only craft beers on tap. Kemp said it was a change that was met with very little adversity, which surprised him a little.

“We just kind of evolved into a craft beer bar,” Kemp said. “When we first took over the Tap, it was all domestic beers on tap: Busch, Bud Light, Budweiser and Miller Light. We just slowly started putting craft beers and three-and-a-half years ago, we took the last domestic beer off. I thought there was going to be met with a bigger uproar.”

It’s obvious that exposing people to the variety of craft beers is a top priority. Among the wide-screen televisions showcasing a variety of sporting events, is a single 55-inch wide-screen television completely dedicated to listing the craft beers available on tap. The list can be updated on the fly and Kemp even uses an app that allows him to change the beer menu while he’s away.

“We have 21 taps on the inside and five in the beer garden,” Kemp said. “I will also have 10 taps on The Public Hall side, when that opens. I believe it is very important for people to know what is on tap. Even if they aren’t coming in for a craft beer, if they see what we’ve got on tap, they are more likely to try it. It’s all about putting more information in front of them.”

The reason Kemp finds craft beer so important is the movement he sees among the brewers. He described craft brewing like a brotherhood, a family of crafters who work to promote the trade, not a specific brand.

“What drives me now is keeping people happy and introducing them to craft beer,” Kemp said. “I also love getting to meet the actual brewers. You can’t meet the brewer of the big domestics, but craft brew company owners are a lot more accessible.

“It’s almost like a fraternity and I would rather promote a product where I know who is making it and their style, than a product I can’t put a face to. And, with the craft beer scene blowing up nationwide, that energy level reminds me a lot of when the small restaurant scene started.”



