Move over, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Dierks Bentley: There’s a new country star-owned bar coming to downtown Nashville.
Eric Church is planning to open a new hot spot called Chief’s. Occupying the spot formerly owned by John Rich-owned Cotton Eyed Joe — which Rich and his partners sold for $24.5 million late last year, per the Tennessean — Chief’s is due to open in 2023.
The country superstar says opening his own bar is the “culmination of catching” a dream that he’s been chasing ever since he first moved to town.
“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,” he explains.
Named for Eric’s 2011 Chief album, and the nickname that fans have given him, the singer’s new spot is personal on every level. Drawing on his Carolina roots, Eric’s enlisting James Beard Award winner and Charleston native Rodney Scott to bring his Whole Hog BBQ to a rooftop restaurant at the top of Chief’s six-story building.
Plus, the bar and restaurant will have a designated seated music venue, ready to host ticketed shows. That’s a big difference from many of the other spots on Nashville’s neon-splattered Lower Broadway, known for its boisterous, packed, standing-room-only honky tonks.
Chief’s is the latest in a fast-growing trend of country stars opening up their own bars. Florida Georgia Line and Miranda Lambert are two more who’ve gotten into the bar and restaurant game in recent years.
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