One Of The Oldest Family-Owned Restaurants In Kentucky Is Also Among The Most Delicious Places You'll Ever Eat
By Sarah McCosham|Published October 04, 2022
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Sarah McCosham
Author
I write like it's my job - because it is! I have a Master's in English and love words: crossword puzzles, Scrabble games, Wordle, and, of course, good, old-fashioned books.
I'm a writer and editor at OnlyInYourState, and a contributing writer at Cincinnati Magazine. I love the Great Outdoors and am endlessly awestruck by this beautiful country of ours. Coffee keeps me going, yoga keeps me sane, my kids keep me grounded, and my writing keeps me inspired.
There are numerous long-standing restaurants in Kentucky that are legendary, from Bardstown’s Old Talbott Tavern, the oldest bourbon bar in the world, to Burlington’s Tousey House Tavern, a 200-year-old restaurant that’s one of the country’s most historic. In Harrodsburg, Old Owl Tavern is a James Beard Award-winning restaurant that’s part of the Beaumont Inn, a beloved Bluegrass establishment that harkens back to 1845. The Inn and Tavern have been owned and operated by the Dedman Family for over a century, making the Old Owl Tavern one of the oldest — and delicious — family-owned restaurants in Kentucky.
When you're craving a plate of Southern cooking in Kentucky, you don't have to look too far. Nor do you have to search too hard for a historic dining experience. Or a longstanding, family-owned restaurant -- Kentucky is full of them!
The Dedman Family opened the Beaumont Inn in 1919. The site of a former women's college, the Beaumont quickly became known as much more than a mere B&B.
The Inn's Old Owl Tavern is, in fact, hailed as one of the top culinary destinations in the country, with signature dishes like yellow-legged chicken, corn pudding, and two-year old Kentucky country ham earning numerous awards -- including a coveted James Beard Foundation American Classics Award in 2015.
Despite its culinary clout, however, nothing about the Old Owl Tavern is at all pretentious. You can expect delicious, down-home cooking with a heaping side of Southern hospitality...
Although the Inn changed hands in 2022, it remained in the family. Former Mercer County Judge-Executive Milward Dedman, his wife Kathy, and their family purchased the Beaumont Inn -- Chuck and Milward Dedman are cousins.
The Old Owl Tavern isn't just a longstanding, family-owned Kentucky establishment; it's truly part of the very fabric of the Bluegrass State. An official sponsor of the acclaimed Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Old Owl Tavern also boasts one of the best bourbon collections in the Bluegrass, with over 70 varieties from which to choose!
We're so happy to have this long-standing, family-run restaurant in Kentucky. Old Owl Tavern is one of those wholly unique places that make our state so wonderfully, deliciously special.
Have you dined at Old Owl Tavern before? As one of the oldest family-owned restaurants in Kentucky, it most certainly belongs on your Bluegrass bucket list!
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