According to LEXtoday, there are around 53 women-owned businesses in Lexington, Kentucky. Each of these businesses has unique outlooks on what it means to be “women led” and the empowerment that comes with it. For some business owners, it’s about owning a business. Or, it’s about creating spaces where this empowerment and connection can thrive. One owner, Avena Kiely, is a part of this group of female entrepreneurs. She is from Waterford, Ireland, but moved to Lexington when she was twenty-one years old to help her brother run his bar, McCarthy’s. She had a graudated with a degree in science and had no business background, but she had quickly discovered a love for hospitality and the joy that came with creating a space where people could feel at home. “I didn’t know I really ever wanted to own a bar or a business, but I realized I loved hospitality,” she said. “I loved people being happy, good service and seeing tourists and locals enjoying an experience.”
This passion led her to open Harvey’s Bar that has been in Lexington for 20 years this June. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it hurt the hospitality industry, Kiely faced one of the biggest challenges of her career so far. “You can’t tell people to dance six feet apart,” she said.
With bars and dance clubs closed, Kiely began to rethink what her business should be.
During the pandemic, she had the idea to start The Grove. The Grove is a collective of four woman-owned hospitality businesses. It includes a coffee shop, The Greenery, a charcuterie spot Fable Charcuterie, the Melodeon, an event space, and Harvey’s Bar.
“We didn’t plan for them all to be owned by women,” Kiely said, “but it just kind of worked out that way. It’s like a magnetism. You give out a certain energy, and the right women just find you.”
The Grove became more than a shared space—it became a symbol of community, collaboration, and support. It also became a staple of the community. Kiely says that the community of women she has found through her businesses has become like family. Although two of her sisters still live at home in Ireland, she says, “I’ve found sisters here in Lexington.”
Her most recent business is The Willow, a wellness and wine bar that is also women-led. Kiely co-owns The Willow with two other women who also own businesses in Lexington. “One of us could have done it alone,” she said, “but it would have been ten times more stressful and it’s lonely. Being together just makes everything better.”
This sense of sisterhood and shared purpose is shared through the Lexington female owned businesses community. “I enjoy being around good women,” Kiely said. “They only make you better.” This resonates beyond her businesses, and more women in Lexington are looking to create spaces where they are able to lift each other up and thrive professionally.
These women-owned businesses of Lexington are creating a space for women to inspire others and help the community one business at a time. Whether it’s a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, or a vision of something bigger than themselves, these women are creating something powerful with the help of one another.
Here is the percentage of women-owned businesses in the United States and in Lexington, Kentucky:
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