From icons to newcomers: Faces defining Nashville’s celeb-themed bars on Lower Broadway

• Some hospitality business owners prefer to work with musicians and celebrities who have already achieved a ‘legendary’ status in their careers.
• Other bar owners have swapped their celebrity partners throughout the years, opting to work with commercially successful artists.
• Still, the heart and soul of Nashville’s Lower Broadway is defined by some as the beating heart of country music, regardless of the day’s most popular musician.

Lining every inch of the first floor of Chief’s on downtown Nashville’s Lower Broadway are hundreds of unique concert posters from Eric Church performances over the course of his career.

The posters are just one detail in a slew of fan-focused Easter eggs placed throughout the Church-themed bar.

The bar, restaurant and live music venue fills a six-story building that is emblematic of a new kind of Lower Broadway mega-bar that caters to county-music fans, represents the personal brands of their celebrity owners and costs a fortune.

In contrast, Alan Jackson’s Lower Broadway bar, which opened in 2016, paid homage to the honky tonks that originally defined the strip and attracted singer-songwriters to Music City. These days, honky-tonk culture is only one small aspect of the celebrity-branded entertainment venues that have flooded the area.

So, what defines the latest iteration of celebrity-themed bars and restaurants bringing in millions of tourists per year?

It depends who you ask.

Icon Entertainment and Hospitality prefers to stick with the ‘legends’

Bill Miller, the prolific Nashville business owner and CEO of Icon Entertainment and Hospitality, built his business career out of deep friendships in the community.

He counted Johnny Cash as a good friend.

From that relationship, he built a museum in honor of the country music legend that opened in 2013. The Johnny Cash Bar and BBQ followed a short time after.

More than ten years into the business, with several celeb-themed venues under his belt, Miller has witnessed the proliferation of celebrity-owned and themed bars in the Lower Broadway area.

In his Southern Turf building in Printers Alley, Miller operates Skull’s Rainbow Room, Sinatra Bar and Lounge, a set of short-term rentals and a members-only lounge called the Southern Turf Club. The Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash museums are in a historic building on 3rd Avenue North, steps from Lower Broadway.

Each of his properties are rich in history, with memorabilia to match. Nudie’s Honky Tonk pays homage to the legendary tailor Nudie Cohn, who created suits and costumes for all the biggest names in the music industry. That bar boasts Nudie’s own customized Cadillac El Dorado “Nudie Mobile” that hangs on the wall and is insured for $400,000.

Nudie, Cash, Sinatra and Cline all share this in common: They are dead. Their stories have been written, unlike many of the newest celebrity-branded bars to hit the strip. In Miller’s view, that’s one of the things that sets him apart from some of the newer spots. He only works with people he considers to be legends.

“With contemporary artists, we don’t know what the ending is going to be,” Miller said. “With newer artists as opposed to legacy artists, times change, tastes change.”

He also believes Tanya Tucker is legendary, though she’s still writing her story. Tucker debuted her Tequila Cantina in early May on the second floor of Nudie’s. Miller and Tucker bonded over their mutual love for tequila, and Miller recognized in her an authentic love for her fans that he thought fit into the Icon Entertainment brand.

“I view her as a legacy artist,” Miller said.

Celebrity bars defined by the fans who visit

Meanwhile, a new era has dawned for the former FGL House, one of the first celebrity-branded bars to feature contemporary artists as its banner head back in 2017. Lainey Wilson’s brand is replacing that of the now-separated band, which has divided into the solo acts of Tyler Hubbard and Bryan Kelly.

TC Restaurant Group is the hospitality powerhouse behind the property. The group maintains a heavy presence in the Lower Broadway circuit, and is the most prominent company when it comes to celebrity-themed bars in particular. TC owns bars and restaurants with Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert, in addition to the Lainey Wilson-themed bar to come.

The group also worked with Morgan Wallen to bring This Bar + Tennessee Kitchen to the Lower Broadway area. The country artist is arguably the most in-demand performer to grace a Nashville entertainment venue with his likeness.

All of the TC Restaurant Group properties are defined by the personal brand of each celebrity partner, from the interior design to the menu. The same goes for the newer celebrity bars that have opened in the area.

Chief’s is packed with memorabilia from the artist’s career. For example, the original sign from The Fiddle and Steel, a Printers Alley bar where Church would perform gigs in his early days as an artist, is prominently displayed.

Lower Broadway newcomers like Church created venues that cater to an intensely passionate fanbase — including those who make a pilgrimage of sorts to the honky tonk capital of the world.

But “honky tonk” isn’t the perfect term to describe what happens at many celebrity-branded bars on Broadway. There are honky tonk elements to the businesses, surely. Live bands play country music, mostly covers. Many of the bars also feature floors that cater to different music tastes — including performance sets from DJs playing pop and hip hop music.

Fans love this, too. Though, some argue it has shifted the focus away from what made Broadway special in the first place: live country music performances from singer-songwriters trying to make it big.

Finding a balance

For one bar owner, the evolution of celebrity bars on Broadway highlights what made the area special in the first place.

Barrett Hobbs owns Bootleggers Inn and Whiskey Bent Saloon on Broadway, among other bars and restaurants in Nashville. His honky tonks were built on what he experienced when visiting Robert’s Western World as a teen — country music, songwriting and dancing.

“What I will say is that, fundamentally, country music and the songwriters and musicians ultimately are what built that street,” Hobbs said. “It wasn’t ever one individual or any celebrity’s name that built the street. I don’t think any one bar or multiple bars is going to ruin the street either.

“Country music is the heartbeat of America. Where there is country music there will be honky tonks.”