Spending A Day At Irish Acres Gallery Of Antiques And Lunch At The Glitz

You seldom come across a stop as unique as the Irish Acres Gallery Of Antiques in Nonesuch, Kentucky near Versailles. Plus, if you add in a lunch in The Glitz restaurant located downstairs, you can easily make a day of it. Irish Acres is unlike any antique shop I have ever been in.

The drive to Irish Acres Gallery Of Antiques was a treat in itself. Located 18 miles from Lexington and 10 miles from Versailles in Nonesuch (I love that village name), you find yourself driving the countryside, viewing horse farms, those beautiful Irish stone walls, and the rolling hills of Kentucky Bluegrass.

What started in 1974 by Bonnie and Arch Hannigan in one stall of their horse barn, Irish Acres Gallery Of Antiques has grown to a 32,000 square foot tourist and local destination which has been featured in Southern Living Magazine.

Obviously Irish Acres is no longer in that horse barn! In 1984 they bought what was once the Nonesuch school-house and took 2 years to lovingly renovate the 1930’s building to fit Bonnie’s vision. The renovation became a family affair along with their daughters Emilie and Jane, home from design school. Each daughter contributes their individual talents to the business. Sadly Bonnie passed away in 2001 and Arch in 2012, but their daughters continue to keep Bonnie’s vision alive today working side by side, with Jane taking on the gallery design and Emilie using her talents creating the menu and sourcing the ingredients for the downstairs Glitz restaurant.

The massive gallery showcases more than 50 themed showrooms for browsing. Immediately when you walk in you know right away Irish Acres is not just another antique shop. Actually it feels like walking into another era. The gallery is full of European and American china, furniture, glass, crystal, jewelry and so much more. Of course I spotted MANY French pieces. There truly is something for everyone, from the serious collector, to the casual browser.  I highly recommend taking your time and comb through each room, because there is so much to see. What stood out for me was how each item seemed to have a special place within each room whether by color or theme. In between each room are shelves and shelves of glass, dinner wear, and other trinkets. You can tell each item is acquired and placed with a skilled eye.

At the front of the gallery, you will find an extensive jewelry counter featuring new and antique pieces. We were told that some customers make a pilgrimage to Irish Acres Gallery Of Antiques once a year to buy jewelry! This is also the area that displays other beautiful accessories such as, scarves and handbags.

If time permits, make a lunch reservation at The Glitz downstairs (not handicapped accessible). When I tell you this is a one-of-a-kind experience, I am not kidding! Bonnie outdid herself with the design of this restaurant. Definitely a ladies who lunch atmosphere with the hanging grapevines, twinkling lights,  glass bulbs, and old stone walls. We had a bit of fun because our host Catherine’s Husband came with us and while he was clearly outnumbered ladies to gents, he was also not the only gentleman in the dining room.

The menu changes every 3 weeks taking advantage of locally sourced ingredients from local farms. It’s a fixed price menu ($22.95 plus tax) where you get 3 courses with a choice from a handful of options from each course including beverage. Each meal starts out with the signature Spiced Apple Refresher, which you can purchase in the gallery. You can also purchase Emilie’s The Glitz cookbook, and their famous Poppy Seed salad dressing (These would make great gifts to bring home). I purchased a bottle of the dressing since I have been on a never ending search for just the right poppy seed dressing to mimic what comes with Costcos Kale Salad. This was the closest match I’ve found!

The one constant item on the menu is the Nonesuch Kiss! This dessert is a baked meringue shell filled with jamoca ice cream, hot fudge sauce, toasted sliced almonds, topped with whipped cream and a cherry! OMG! This was delicious!

For my lunch I chose the Calamari appetizer, Chicken Cordon Blueberry entree, and of course the Nonesuch Kiss for dessert! Remember the menu changes. Each selection was delicious and fresh! I was very happy with each choice.

The Glitz serves Wednesday-Saturday from 11 am-1:30 pm. We had reservations for 12:30 and took a leisurely lunch and were at our table until well past 1:30. We were never rushed and although we apologized for lagging behind, our waitress assured us that was fine.

I can say we had an enjoyable afternoon at Irish Acres. It was fun to talk to both Jane and Emilie. They had just opened for the season when we visited. You can tell by talking with the Sisters how much love they have for their Mother to keep her spirit alive through this iconic destination.

Irish Acres Gallery Of Antiques and The Glitz

4205 Fords Mill Road

Versailles, Kentucky 40383

Open: Wednesday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm

Open April through the end of the year

Reservations recommended at The Glitz (859) 873-6956

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Go explore! The world is waiting

Lori