New Owners at Hermitage Farm, Santa at Creasey Mahan: What's Ahead in Goshen This Holiday Season
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
The biggest change in Goshen this fall was set up to change very little. In early October, the 160 acres at Hermitage Farm that hold Barn8 and the farm's hospitality operations went to a group of investors. Every buyer who spoke publicly talked about keeping the place the way it is. Over on Harmony Landing Road, Nature of Christmas returns for its 21st year at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve. It's free, and three local partners host it: the City of Goshen, Prospect/Goshen Rotary and the preserve.
Both stories run on stewardship, and that tells you a lot about how a Goshen holiday season will look this year. Barn8 is still at 10500 W. Highway 42 under the same name, and Santa is coming back to the Nature Center for a Saturday afternoon. At the farm, a bigger ownership group has now signed on to keep it going.
Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown, who co-founded 21c Museum Hotels, bought Hermitage Farm in 2010. The Courier Journal reported on Oct. 5, 2026 that they have now sold about 160 acres of the nearly 700-acre farm. That's roughly a quarter of the property, and it includes Barn8.
The sale came in two steps. In January 2026, the Courier Journal reported that the hospitality operations had been sold to a group that included Cara Osborne and her husband, Steve Brooks, who founded the bourbon brand Blaize & Brooks. The October deal added land to that purchase and brought in more owners. According to the Oldham Era, the full group now includes:
Wilson and Brown aren't leaving. A release quoted by the Courier Journal says they will "continue to retain and care for the working horse farm and land located adjacent to the Hermitage Farm hospitality operations." That includes the thoroughbred operation, which the Courier Journal says has produced winners of the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks and the Breeders' Cup. If you drive past on US 42, the horses in the fields are still in the care of the same owners.
All of the public statements about the sale point the same way. The Courier Journal reported that the group aims to keep the site focused on thoroughbreds, conservation, farmland and hospitality. According to the Oldham Era, the release also lists food, bourbon and art.
Osborne grew up in Carter County. The Oldham Era quoted her from the release:
"Hermitage Farm is not simply a property or a hospitality business, it is a living expression of Kentucky. It brings together our land, our horses, our food, our bourbon, our history, and our tradition of welcoming people."
The investors made the same point in their own words. In the same Oldham Era report, Matt Case of Auctus Point Holdings called the deal "about preserving an irreplaceable Kentucky asset while carefully investing in its future." Jonathan Blue said the group's responsibility is "to protect those elements while providing the resources, relationships and operational support necessary for Hermitage to thrive for generations to come."
The talk of preservation builds on what Wilson and Brown already did. The Courier Journal noted that, along with turning a century-old horse and dairy barn into Barn8, the couple placed the property in an agricultural easement to protect it from development. They also added event spaces, art tours and bourbon programming. The new owners take over a farm whose character had already been protected, and the plans they have announced are about running it rather than redrawing it.
For most Goshen neighbors, Barn8 is how they experience Hermitage Farm, and that's where you'd notice any change first. So far, very little looks different. The restaurant still goes by Barn8 Restaurant & Bourbon Bar, and its website still describes a seasonal menu sourced from the farm. The posted dinner menu includes steelhead trout, a Fischer Farms NY strip, mussels and housemade pasta. Brunch and dinner menus are both listed.
The kitchen has a familiar operator, too. The Oldham Era reported that The Indigo Road Hospitality Group "will continue to provide hospitality leadership and operational expertise" across the farm's culinary, lodging, event and guest-experience offerings. Indigo Road is now an owner as well as the operator.
Barn8's OpenTable page lists these regular hours:
| Day | Service | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | Dinner | 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Friday and Saturday | Dinner | 5 to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | Brunch | 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. |
| Sunday | Dinner | 4 to 8 p.m. |
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26 this year. As of this week, the farm's upcoming events page doesn't list any holiday dinners or special November and December events. If you're planning a holiday meal or bringing out-of-town guests, call the restaurant before you go and confirm its hours.
Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve sits at 12501 Harmony Landing Rd. Like the farm, it is a piece of Goshen kept open for people to use. The preserve's events calendar has two dates on it before the end of the year.
The first one is next week. Backyard Beekeeping with Sunnybees Apiary is on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. inside the Nature Center. Sunnybees Apiary leads the talk, which covers the basics and equipment of beekeeping at home. The suggested donation is $6 for members and $11 for nonmembers, and children 6 and younger get in free.
The second is the one families plan around.
The City of Goshen, Prospect/Goshen Rotary and Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve host Nature of Christmas from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. It's free, and donations are encouraged. Last year's event on Dec. 6, 2025 was billed as the 20th annual, which makes this the 21st. Here's how the preserve lays out the afternoon:
The preserve's own advice is to get in line early for Santa, since the goody bags are limited to those first 200 children. If you come at noon, you'll have time to eat and shop before Santa arrives at 1:30.
The ice date is Saturday, Dec. 12. If early December brings ice, check the event page before you load up the car.
Hermitage Farm's 160 acres have new owners, and Creasey Mahan's holiday party reaches its 21st year. In both cases, the people in charge are committing to keep a familiar Goshen place going. At the farm, the new owners have put that commitment in writing, the same operator is still running the kitchen, and the original owners still care for the horse farm next door. At the preserve, it shows up as chili in the Field House, NOHS carolers in the tent and a 1:30 Santa arrival that families can plan around.
If you live off US 42 or Harmony Landing Road, you'll find both places much as you left them this season. Barn8's Sunday brunch still runs 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Santa arrives at Creasey Mahan at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 5.
From our office next door in Crestwood, it's good to see Goshen's farms and open spaces in steady hands this fall. If questions about land, acreage or a home along the US 42 corridor come up for you this holiday season, Gale Cox is glad to talk them through over coffee. Let's Connect.
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