TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/974613
in 1975, and 'Martin Castle' was put on the market in 1988. It was bought in by Miami-based lawyer Thomas Post for $1.8-million in 2003 and dubbed 'Castle Post.' It sadly caught fire the following May, destroying the renovations Post had made, but he trudged on with the project, which was completed in 2008. It was used for events like corporate functions and weddings, but apparently never quite caught on as a hotel. Post put the Castle on the market for $30-million in 2010, and he reports to have sold the property last summer for $8.7-million. Since Bramer and his partners took possession on July 21, 2017–"at 5:20 p.m.", he specified– the Castle has become about what Bramer described as its "four pillars": its boutique hotel, farm-to-table restaurant, events and special events. Bramer admitted that sentimentality could have played a small role in the deal being sealed, but he said he and his partners weighed the risks and truly felt they could run it as a successful business. "We had to make sure we could make it work going into it," he said." We had to make a good plan and I think having the restaurant concept, the event concept, the special events concept and the boutique hotel concept all come together made us all feel like we could definitely make this a world-class facility that everyone in Kentucky would be proud of." Bramer and two of his partners are physicians, and he said co-owner Matt Dawson had been hosting corporate events at the Castle for several years prior to their purchase. One