Turn the quiet up.
Back in January, Eric Church announced that he would be adding his name to the long list of artists who have opened their own bar in downtown Nashville over the past few years.
Names like Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Florida Georgia Line, Kid Rock and Blake Shelton all hang in neon outside of their own bars on Nashville’s famous Lower Broadway, and Garth Brooks is gearing up to open his bar, Friends in Low Places (which will also feature a police station), in the coming months.
Honestly, most of these bars (with the exception of Alan Jackson’s AJ’s Good Time Bar) are pretty much cookie-cutter, corporate-owned and operated bars that cater to tourists who step inside for the name on the door alone.
But when Church dropped the news of his bar, I was intrigued.
Appropriately named Chief’s, the space will be a 6-story bar, BBQ restaurant and music venue
The new venue will be located at 200 Broadway, in the building that formerly housed Cotton Eyed Joe, and will be right beside John Rich’s Redneck Riviera.
Church bought the building for $24.5 million from Rich along with Ben Weprin, founder of boutique venture capital firm AJ Capital Partners, which also owns the building housing the famous Exit/In music venue in Nashville and is best known for its chain of Graduate Hotels across the country.
He’s also bringing in a taste of his local Carolinas by partnering with famous BBQ chef Rodney Scott, the James Beard Award-winning pitmaster and founder of Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ, for the bar’s food program, which will be served from the rooftop and contain all-weather seating for visitors.
And to set itself apart from the other artist bars in downtown Nashville, Chief’s plans to feature a two-story seated music venue that would be able to host ticketed live events. (A Chief concert at his own bar? Sign me the hell up).
In announcing his new venue, Church says Chief’s will reflect every step of his award-winning career:
“I remember driving through downtown Nashville over 20 years ago with a pawn shop guitar, riding shotgun in a beat-to-hell truck just trying to chase a dream.
Chief’s is the culmination of catching that dream. Like everything else we do in our career, I wouldn’t even attempt a project like this if I didn’t think it would be the best, so that’s what Chief’s will be: the best.
I am partnering with my closest friend and, in my opinion, the greatest hotel entrepreneur on earth, Ben Weprin, and the greatest barbecue chef in the world, Rodney Scott. Together we will create an experience unique to Nashville and absolutely unparalleled in the world of music, food, fellowship and entertainment.
This is my hometown. This is personal. This matters. Every detail of Chief’s will feel that way. I cannot wait to get started. See you in 2023.”
Well they’ve gotten started putting the pieces together for Church’s new bar, as construction crews have been hard at work transforming the new space. And today Church dropped another teaser for his brand new bar:
Not gonna lie, this one may actually get me to venture down to Broadway.
