For sale, but not necessarily closing.
In the ever-turning door of Nashville businesses, you have to set yourself apart to thrive. And owning a business is even more cutthroat in Broadway when you’re trying to stand out among blocks of artist-owned bars.
Now, most of the artists don’t own their own bars. The vast majority of the bars, with the exception of Eric Church’s Chiefs, John Rich’s Redneck Riviera, Alan Jackson’s AJ’s Good Time Bar, and Garth Brooks’ Friends In Low Places, are owned by giant hospitality corporations that pay an artist to put their name on the bar. (And it’s no coincidence that the bars that are actually owned by the artists are far and away the best of the artist bars on Broadway).
We’ve said it time and time again here at Whiskey Riff that many of these artist bars, not all of them, have completely stripped the character from Broadway. They’ve turned it from honky tonks to nightclubs and bars where drunk tourists flock to hear top 40 hits and dance to DJs with bottle service. It’s sad. And when an artist bar fails, another moves in, or these hospitality groups are buying out the famed saloons and honky tonks that are the backbone of Broadway, with Valentine’s closing their doors to make room for an artist-owned bar being the most recent.
But even if you own a successful bar, the ownership can change hands between hospitality groups after the opening. A little over a year since officially opening its doors, Jon Bon Jovi’s bar, JBJ’s Nashville, is on the market… but not necessarily closing.
The famed ‘8-s rocker announced plans to open a bar in February of last year. JBJ’s Nashville, which is currently co-owned by Jon Bon Jovi and BPH Hospitality, was built in a formerly vacant alley between Nudie’s Honky Tonk and Merchant’s Restaurant, and it is unique in that the L-shaped bar will feature entrances on both Broadway and the adjacent 4th Avenue, as well as two 5th-story rooftop decks. It is the second-tallest building on Broadway.
Per the bar’s website, the building has eight bars, three stages, and two rooftops:
“We’ve got it all: a tattoo shop, a mechanical bull, and every NFL game with Sunday Ticket, plus great food and drinks all day long. Every floor is decked out in Bon Jovi memorabilia, making JBJ’s the ultimate destination for music, history, dining, and entertainment — seven days a week.”
Bon Jovi’s bar is a great time, and if you have the disposable income, you could be the building’s new owner. Real Estate company Surmount CRE announced that JBJ’s Nashville is on the market via a Facebook post, and if you’re interested, it’s going to cost you a pretty penny.
The building is for sale for a whopping $130,000,000. And if you got lost in all those zeros like I did the first time I read it, that $130 MILLION.
“This 5-story, 36,767 SF ground-up development marks the first of its kind on Broadway since 2018, and the second largest venue on the strip. Structured as a 20-year NNN sale-leaseback with 2% annual rental increases, this is a truly generational chance to own a trophy asset in one of America’s busiest entertainment corridors.”
At this time, it does not appear that JBJ’s Nashville is planning on closing its doors, though. A source shared with Whiskey Riff that they hope to lease the bar to a new owner, while also maintaining its open and operational status.
The listing of this building highlights the value of Broadway real estate…
