Published in the 2005 Kentucky Derby Souvenir Magazine
By Ron Mitchell
Photos by Dan Dry
 A couple of hours after the 1997 Kentucky Derby, John Shanchuk got a call that would turn out to be any restaurateur's worst nightmare and greatest dream.
On the other end of the phone was trainer Bob Baffert, who had just won the Run for the Roses with Silver Charm.
"He said, 'We won the Kentucky Derby,' " recalled Shanchuk, owner of John E's Restaurant and Lounge, a popular hangout for Baffert and many other Derby regulars. "He said, 'We're on our way.' I said, 'Hey, wait a minute. Whoa.' I thought maybe it was a joke, but I also had a feeling they were on their way. We were packed. The dining room was packed. The patio room was packed. You couldn't walk through the hall. The bar was four-deep.
"About 20 minutes later Bob came in with about 40 others. I asked, 'Bob, what are you doing?' He said, 'We're here to celebrate. This is my place.' "
Shanchuk, ever the accommodating host, was flattered that the Derby-winning party had chosen his place to celebrate. But he was also somewhat frustrated that Baffert had not been more affirmative when he had asked throughout the week whether the trainer needed reservations Derby night.
"I had seen Bob at the track or in here every day leading up to the race. I had told him we were completely booked up for Derby night, but that if he wanted to come here, we would take care of it," Shanchuk recalled. "He just said, 'no, no.' It worked out okay in the end though. They just mingled in with everyone, had their pictures taken, signed autographs. Finally, we got them some space in the dining room around 10:30 or 11 o'clock. It was the ugliest party we had ever set up."
Located at 3708 Bardstown Road in a two-story log cabin built in 1850, John E's has been a mainstay for Churchill Downs horsemen and other Louisvillians who have gone there for rehearsal dinners, anniversaries, birthdays, and other celebrations during the more than 20 years Shanchuk has run the restaurant.
The story of the 1997 Derby is testament to the popularity of John E's among the Derby crowd. It is readily apparent upon entering that it is a racetrack and Derby kind of place.
A small dining room to the right just inside the front door is the "Baffert room," so-named for the photographs and other memorabilia celebrating the trainer's three Derby successes.
Straight ahead, a large framed collage in the central hallway contains win tickets on all entrants in the past year's Derby, along with the program and winner's circle photo.
And all throughout the historic building are various mementos related to the Derby, the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships held at Churchill Downs, and racing in general.
One of Shanchuk's most prized possessions is a framed collection of win tickets, one for each starter, and the winner's circle photo from each of the past 26 runnings of the Derby. Years ago a prominent Central Kentucky horse farm owner offered to purchase the entire collection for $20,000 plus a nomination to one of the farm's stallions, who was then standing for $7,500. "I said, 'Hey, let's talk about this,' " Shanchuk recalled. But the restaurant owner never followed up on the offer.
The restaurant is homey but upscale. Customers in jeans are as welcome and feel as comfortable as those in suits and ties.
"We have a Louisville base of customers, but we also have a Derby base of customers," said Shanchuk, rattling off a long list of owners, trainers, and breeders who frequent John E's during Derby week. "For people who come from New York, California, or other parts of the country with a Derby horse, they want to come to an old traditional Kentucky restaurant. It's just something different with some nostalgia about it."
Shanchuk, 57, a lifelong restaurant professional, began his career at 15 washing dishes in the old Louisville airport terminal's Luau Room. Shanchuk worked his way up to manager, a position that enabled him to meet many horse owners and trainers as they took flights in and out of Louisville for the Derby.
Shanchuk and a silent partner, Ben Edelen (thus the E in the restaurant name), bought the restaurant, then operated as Bill Bolan's, in 1983. Shanchuk is now the sole owner. He also is the chef (he did not see a need to replace a longtime chef who died several years ago); his sister, Jenny Lee, is the restaurant's manager.
One of John E's strong suits is its atmosphere and the hospitality Shanchuk and his staff show their customers. But the owner is equally proud of the restaurant's menu, which stresses traditional favorites, such as burgoo, lobster tails, and steaks.
Among the fans of the steaks served at John E's is Bob Lewis, who raced 1997 Derby winner Silver Charm. Shanchuk recalled Lewis telling other customers at John E's that the restaurant's filet mignon is the best he had ever eaten. And that includes quite a few steaks at some of the finest restaurants around the world.
"And I looked at him and said, 'And I love Budweiser, too,' " the ever-diplomatic Shanchuk said, referring to the popular beer brand distributed throughout Southern California by Lewis' company.
For Baffert, Lewis, and many other Derby regulars, the buildup to the Derby officially begins with a Derby kickoff dinner at John E's on the Monday of Derby week.
The annual dinner, now in its eighth year, includes a lively question-and-answer session with some two dozen trainers, jockeys, and owners with horses in that year's Derby. The show is broadcasted on WHAS radio, whose sports director, Paul Rogers, serves as one of the hosts, along with racing broadcast personalities Caton Bredar and Chris Lincoln.
The dinner, previously a joint venture with the now defunct United Thoroughbred Trainers Association, is sponsored by Woodford Reserve and is called the "Woodford Reserve Derby Preview." Money raised at the event, which also includes a silent auction of Derby and racing memorabilia, is donated to charity. This year's beneficiary will be the Kids to the Cup program. Founded by Thoroughbred breeder and owner Trudy McCaffery, Kids to the Cup is a non-profit organization created to attract, educate, and develop young racing fans.
"When people come here, they feel Derby week; they feel horse racing," Shanchuk said of his restaurant's attraction to the horsey set. "There is just an air about this place."
In addition to serving up Southern hospitality and food at John E's, Shanchuk is also a racetracker. He belongs to a partnership consisting of John E's regulars who make it a point of always having one horse in training. Horses campaigned by the partnership, called No Crybabies Stable, are ridden by jockeys sporting the stable's distinctive silks showing a teardrop inside a circle with a line through it.
Shanchuk said owning a part of a horse keeps him involved on a grassroots level with his best customers. He also uses the horse ownership to justify trips to Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn Park in the winter.
Now that the proprietor has built his restaurant's reputation as "the Derby place to be," Shanchuk's biggest problem is accommodating all his patrons, especially those wanting to attend the Derby Preview on the Monday before the classic. Thanks to the addition of a large enclosed patio dining room, the restaurant's seating capacity is now 300.
"What is unfortunate is how many people we have to turn away. I try to take care of those people who have been here year after year. Those who come here every year get preference over everybody else. Including my mother."
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