Making a go of business in a location where several other ventures have failed in recent years, newly opened Versatile hopes to draw a diverse crowd to the block with blues, R&B, reggae and rock, as well as made-from-scratch soul food, one of the few styles of food missing from Bardstown Road.
I dropped by on a recent weeknight and took a seat on one of the long bar's cushy stools. Portraits of musicians from Jim Morrison to Bob Marley to the Beatles adorned the walls. A couple lapped up beers and wolfed down a big box of fried chicken at one of the two sidewalk tables. Inside, the place is spacious, with plenty of room to accommodate a crowd for shows. It was dimly lit, simply furnished and meticulously clean.
On tap were the usual domestics from Budweiser, Coors and Miller, plus Bass and Heineken. Heineken drafts are $3, all others are $2.25. The bar was temporarily out of Pabst and Miller High Life, which also go for $2.25 on tap. Bottles include more domestic offerings like Miller Genuine Draft and Budweiser Select, plus Corona. Cocktails range in price from $3.25 for well drinks to $7.25 for top shelf selections. (Two-for-one martinis are available daily between 6 and 10 p.m., when prices for draft PBR and High Life drop to a dollar.) I ordered a Bass and a basket of fries -- which, for three bucks, was a big step above the typical fried bar food, since it came with lemon pepper seasoning and tangy homemade barbeque sauce, earning the nickname "fire fries."
A whiteboard displayed a limited selection of hamburgers, fries and wings, but manager and co-owner Alexxx Newman (yes, with three x's) told me a full menu is in the works, including baked beans, greens, yams, mac and cheese, pulled pork and ribs. I let out an involuntary moan about my love of soul food and its tragic clash with my vegetarianism, but not to worry. Newman informed me that he is a vegetarian, too, and that a vegetarian soul food plate will be offered! I nearly jumped off my bar stool with glee. The food for Versatile is the miracle work of a mysterious chef known to Newman only as "Miss Hozanna," a personal friend of one of the other owners who is training Newman to prepare her recipes.
Newman, formerly a DJ with WLRS-FM, has also booked the popular DJ K-Dogg and DJ Fluid to spin on weekends, as well as the bands FattLabb and Paradigm, with the aim of having live music or a DJ every night of the week. A weekly neo-soul poetry night will also be starting up in the next week or two.
"Diversity is the key," said Newman, who hopes the venue will draw the most diverse crowd in the Highlands by welcoming fans of bluegrass, funk, R&B, jazz, poetry and rock all under the same roof for a rotating roster of themed music nights throughout the week.
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