The new restaurant in Troy occupies an historic 1928 Vaudeville theater

The Mayflower, a restaurant and cocktail lounge which opened earlier this year, is housed in an historic 1928 Vaudeville theater in the heart of downtown Troy.

“The building itself and the memories that it holds have always been special to people,” Jess Nielsen, chief marketing officer for A.M. Scott Distillery, which owns and operates The Mayflower, says. “To be able to reimagine the building as something else and be able to offer a new experience to people, when they come in, they almost treat it like a museum.”

Nielsen shares that it took about a year to renovate the theater into what is now The Mayflower.

“When we got the building, it was a complete renovation,” Nielsen says. “Pretty much brought it down to four walls and any of the interior architectural details we could save, we did save.”

Before The Mayflower had its grand opening, Provisions Co. was able to open in a different area of the building. This is another concept from A.M. Scott Distillery, where its spirits are sold as well as provisions from local artists and makers.

Provisions Co. opened in June 2023, and the A.M. Scott Distillery team continued to work on The Mayflower.

After about another year of work, The Mayflower opened in May 2024. The restaurant offers cocktails, mocktails, food and live music on the original Vaudeville stage.

Later this year, a rooftop bar will be opening as part of The Mayflower. It will have elevator access from within the building.

Nielsen says that the community response to The Mayflower has been positive since it opened in May. “I feel like we’re really finding and figuring out who our core customer is,” she says. “We’re seeing a lot of people traveling from all over the state of Ohio to come see it. Word of mouth has been huge for us.”

The Mayflower, which focuses on upscale cocktails and food, brought in a cocktail consultant and culinary expert to create and refine its menus. The culinary expert, Dan Gorman, still works with The Mayflower as culinary director. “He’s really taken our menu to the next level,” Nielsen adds.

Some standout items from the menu include sausage stuffed mushrooms, strawberry bruschetta, Yucatán shrimp, stuffed gnocchi and a provisions board, which includes local meat, fresh cheese, a vegetable assortment, jams and spreads, served with crostini bread.

One of The Mayflower’s most popular cocktails is named after the restaurant. The Mayflower is a riff on a Cosmopolitan with six-times distilled vodka, orange liqueur, lime, cranberry and hibiscus. All cocktails are made with A.M. Scott Distillery spirits.

The Mayflower also offers brunch every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with items like crème brulee French toast, eggs Benedict and breakfast tacos available.

The Mayflower by A.M. Scott Distillery, 9 W. Main St., Troy. Tu-Th 4-10 p.m., F 4-11 p.m., Sa 10 a.m.-11 p.m., closed Su-M. 937-759-8128, mayflowertroy.com.