https://www.yelp.com/reservations/the-red-hen-lexington-3?yr_redirect=1
“Please Note: Beginning July 9, 2018, upon making a reservation, we will charge your credit card $45 per person. The total amount will be subtracted from your final bill when you dine with us. If you cancel more than 72 hours before your reservation, you will be fully refunded. Thanks for your understanding.”
Apparently, they have been getting a lot of fake reservations that disrupted their business. From their Yelp reservations page, I would guess that they are now open (Tuesdays through Saturdays, 5-9 pm), but it would be nice to get the truth from someone local.
Note: There are a lot of recent “reviews” on their Yelp page, but it is not obvious whether the reviewers ate there recently or at all.
I wonder if those charges, if not used, can be charged back? If so, the vendor is also charged a fee. Maybe I am wrong and they can charge that much simply for the opportunity to reserve a seat.
So, we could all tie up their future reservations so long as we cancel and document our cancellation at least 72 hours before the reservation time. That is a bit more involved protesting but would really screw them up to have their placed booked out for the next several months, then see every one of those reservations canceled as they approach.