Unique Lexington restaurant once known for giant jellyfish tank demolished

An iconic Lexington restaurant known for its ambitious design and 18-foot-tall jellyfish tank is gone.

Demolition on the building that once held the Coba Cocina restaurant happened this month. Workers were combing through the rubble at 2041 Richmond Road on Wednesday.

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The demolition comes as developer Greer Land Co. has proposed putting in a bank and a quick-service restaurant. No concept was specified for the proposed restaurant, which would be 2,700 square feet, with indoor and outdoor seating and a double drive-thru, according to the plans approved by the city in April.

The proposed bank building would be 2,900 square feet and also have a double drive-thru. No specific tenant was listed for the bank building either.

Neither building would have an entrance directly off Richmond Road; both would use existing entrances and exits for the Idle Hour Shopping Center from St. Margaret Drive and Coburn Boulevard.

The restaurant would sit closest to St. Margaret Drive, while the bank would be between the restaurant and the Family Dollar store.

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History of Lexington’s jellyfish restaurant building

The restaurant had been vacant since 2019 when Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse restaurant closed there.

The colorful restaurant and building, which cost more than $4.5 million to build in 2012, opened in early 2013 with an 18-foot-tall tank with more than 300 jellyfish as the centerpiece of the golden-domed dining room.

The 400-seat restaurant and bar, which also had a confectionery and an ice cream spot inside with a separate entrance, was the brainchild of Lee Greer, president of Greer Companies, who hoped the glamorous Latin-inspired restaurant with its Italian blown-glass chandeliers would wow Lexingtonians.

And it did, for a time. In 2014, chef Jonathan Lundy came in and began serving a menu of upscale Latin food.

But the restaurant closed in 2016 . In 2018, a Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse opened there but it closed after less than a year.

In December 2023, the building’s contents including kitchen equipment and dining room booths and tables began to be auctioned off after the building was cited for code enforcement problems. According to code enforcement, Greer Properties indicated then that the building would be demolished.

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