Wood-fired pizzeria shuttered during COVID returning in a new neighborhood
A Lexington restaurant that was a 2020 COVID casualty is coming back in a new location after four years.
Crust, a wood-fired pizza and pasta place, will reopen early in 2025 in Beaumont Center, in the former Whiskey Bear location at 3195 Beaumont Center Circle Suite 100. Whiskey Bear closed in May.
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Owner Kuni Toyoda opened the pizzeria as Smashing Tomato in 2011 in the French Quarter Square shopping center off Richmond Road then it was revamped as Crust in 2014. In 2019, Toyoda changed the name to Bella Forno, adding some menu items from his popular Bella Notte restaurant to the menu as well. Then in October 2020, after it had been closed for six months, the lease was expiring and he made the decision not to attempt to reopen it.
Now he plans to bring Crust back. Remodeling will start soon.
“I closed the previous Crust at the onset of the pandemic in order to focus on Bella Notte and Smashing Tomato operations since we had only one year of the lease left for that location,” Toyoda said. “We were also in process of opening our first Bella Café & Grille at that time. I always wanted to bring Crust concept back when timing is right.
“Although the visibility from the street is not desirable, I like this location because of the Beaumont neighborhoods that are close to this restaurant. I hope our guests will enjoy unique but quality dishes and artisan pizza in relaxing ambiance that will be unique to Lexington.”
The menu will be similar to the previous version of Crust, with artisan pizza and a wide variety of appetizers featuring charcuterie with Kentucky country ham and many other familiar dishes, updated slightly, he said.
The decor will be “more airy with a touch of West Coast Modern ... with more natural wood,” he said. The location also has a large patio for alfresco dining.
It will be the sixth restaurant in his Bella Notte Restaurant Group, which includes two Bella Cafe locations and two Smashing Tomato locations.
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