In 1973, four women and one man were working at a restaurant in downtown Lexington with a tyrannical boss. They talked about quitting and starting their own place. Another local man wanted to start a bakery and had $5,000. The group got together at a friend's apartment and, not long after, the collective launched Alfalfa Restaurant, which would go on to be not just a pioneer of farm-to-table food, but a community hub for almost 50 years.

When the restaurant closed in 2021, some of those involved in its story realized that its unique history was in danger of being lost. Marina Ubaldi Ritter and Lucinda Zoe led the charge to preserve it. Now, there's a gorgeously produced, compulsively readable new book that focuses primarily on its first 25-30 years at the 557 South Limestone location: "Life, Art, Community, and Cookery: Stories and Recipes from ALFALFA Restaurant" by Ritter and Zoe, with Michael Kelsay and The Carrot Cake Collective, illustrated by Patricia Hatcher.

You can pick up a copy at the Institute 193 Shop (193 North Limestone), where you can also take in "Eat Your Carrot Cake," a vibrant exhibition of visual art on view through June 13 featuring many artists who worked at or showed at Alfalfa back in the day. The University of Kentucky's Center for Oral History also partnered with the group on the Alfalfa Oral History Project.

We learn in the book that the name was suggested by Leslie Bower, who trained at the Cordon Bleu. She told the group that alfalfa was used to "rejuvenate the soil in crop rotation. Maybe Alfalfa, the restaurant, could be thought of as a place to rejuvenate the soul through honest, nutritious food and the love of a well-meaning community."

It seems to us that the seeds sewn at Alfalfa continue to grow around town. We see them in bloom at places like LuigART, West Sixth, sQecial Media, 2nd Story, and the Lexington Writer's Room, to name a few.

Write in and tell us what other lost local businesses you mourn.