Slainte Public House - Georgetown, KY

If you’ve been keeping up with our blog from the beginning, you’ll know that we’re very into going to the local places that are up-and-coming, while also hitting up the restaurants that you’ve passed by a hundred times but never really thought too much about. This time not only are we going to tell you about an awesome bar, we’re also venturing outside of Lexington for the first time. Enter Slainte Public House in downtown Georgetown, KY - your new favorite local watering hole! Even if you don’t live in Georgetown, it’s definitely worth the short trip from Lexington to check out this quaint house-turned-bar neatly nestled next to the campus of Georgetown College. Slainte Public House (pronounced slon-cha) is already historical; first opened in 2016, SPH is the oldest bar in Georgetown - literally! This small town hasn’t seen a stand-alone bar since Prohibition ended, and owners Matt and Ashley Nunn have made it their mission to serve the fine people of Georgetown by offering a warm and welcoming environment. Not only is Slainte the oldest bar in town, it’s also located in the oldest house in town - how cool is that!? 

We had the pleasure of sitting down with the aforementioned owners of Slainte Public House, Matt and Ashley Nunn, on a cold and snowy Sunday to find out more about the couple and how the idea for the bar came to be a reality. Matt and Ashley met in college and quickly hit it off; they got married in 2005, and for their 10 year anniversary decided to take a trip to Ireland. They both have some Irish heritage, so they thought it would be fun to see how the locals live instead of hitting all of the tourist attractions. Matt had been wanting to open a bar for quite a while but Ashely wasn’t quite convinced; seeing how all of the locals in Ireland gather at public houses to hang out and enjoy a drink or two really inspired her, and when they came home they began looking for places that would make for the perfect bar. They happened upon a cute old house downtown, which was previously home to an antique store, and decided that it would be the perfect fit for their vision. They settled on the name “slainte” for the bar, which is Irish for health, and who wouldn’t want to toast to good health? 

The Nunns really wanted to create an environment for patrons that was as if you were spending an evening in their own home - lots of comfy seating, good drinks, and good company. They also wanted to keep with the Prohibition theme by serving mostly Prohibition-style drinks; they also serve several different bourbons and other whiskeys, as well as 16 taps full of craft beer. Although the Prohibition-style drinks are a big part of the business, Matt and Ashley are also really passionate about craft beer; they try to keep half of the taps open for local brews (Country Boy Brewing’s Cougar Bait is always on tap) while keeping the other taps open for all of the really good craft beer that’s being brewed all over the country. 

I could write all day long about our conversation with Matt and Ashley; we spent a couple of hours just talking and laughing, it’s as if we had known each other forever! During the course of our friendly chat we touched on the different local aspects of the bar, such as the artwork and food availability. Local artist Margie Rigney has furnished the bar with some of the artwork hanging on the walls. She has also made a couple of special pint glasses that reside behind the bar for specific patrons; one is personalized for the person who has spent the most time with the Slainte family, while the other was a recent birthday gift for Matt himself to use when he stops by to enjoy a cold craft beer! Slainte Public House is strictly a bar; they don’t serve food here, simply because they want to focus on doing one thing really well. However, they have teamed up with Fava’s, a local restaurant just a block or so away from the bar, to serve a special pub menu that can only be ordered at Slainte. Patrons can call in their order and it will be delivered to their seat at the bar from the fine people over at Fava’s. Even though they don’t serve food themselves, Matt and Ashley encourage bar-goers to bring in their own food; they have a wide variety of menus to order from so you can find something to satisfy your taste buds. They also try to have food trucks available from both Georgetown and Lexington on Friday and Saturday nights, so you can have myriad food choices! Renee doesn’t normally drink alcohol so she sat this one out, and I enjoyed a pint of Ommegang Fruition as well as an Irish coffee (when in Rome, right!?). I didn’t have this particular drink on this visit, but I would also highly recommend their Kentucky mule; it’s one of their signature Prohibition-style drinks, made with ginger beer and plenty of bourbon!

The Nunns are very much into any kind of celebration, and they host all kinds of holiday events throughout the year. For instance, St. Patrick’s Day is coming up soon, and you know that the owners of an Irish pub will be cooking up something festive for the occasion. They’ll be hosting their annual Kegs and Eggs event, featuring an authentic Irish breakfast as well as traditional Irish drinks. You’ll wanna keep an eye out on their Facebook page for more information in the coming weeks, it’s sure to be a great time! Another cool event they've done in the past is their Veteran's Day deal. Being a part of the military, Matt thought it would be nice to do something nice for our veterans; you could "buy a vet a drink" by donating a drink leading up to Veteran's Day, and then any veteran would be entitled to a drink from the "buy a vet a drink" fund! They also have live music on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as on Sunday evenings in the summer, and they just recently opened their upstairs area that features a room where you can watch sports and play darts, all while enjoying a nice drink. That room, as well as the large rooms downstairs, can all be rented out for any event - just drop them a line to set up a date! The courtyard out back is also available to rent out, and it's an awesome place to hang out during the warmer months. We had a great time getting to know Matt and Ashley; they’re awesome people who do good stuff for their family, their church, and the city of Georgetown. Get over to Slainte Public House and meet them and their lovely bartenders - you won’t regret it! Sit down, grab a beer, and toast to Slainte! Cheers!