Downtown Nashville continues its unprecedented growth with another new venture based upon a country stars brand. Johnny Cashs Kitchen & Saloon, a 15,000 square foot venue situated next to the Johnny Cash Museum, is set to open in late spring.
The new eatery is the latest Music City project of Icon Entertainment CEO Bill Miller, a Cash family friend and longtime collector of Cash memorabilia whose company also owns and operates the Patsy Cline Museum, Nudies Honky Tonk, the House of Cards dining/magic experience and the speakeasy Skulls Rainbow Room.
Johnny Cashs Kitchen & Saloon will take its inspiration from the Southern hospitality shown by the Hall of Fame legend and his wife, June Carter Cash, who welcomed guests into their house for home-cooked meals, guitar pulls and other social functions. Nashville restaurateur David Swett, owner of the Nashville meat-and-three Swetts restaurant, will collaborate on recipes, along with kitchen and menu design. Swetts first opened in 1954, the same year Arkansas native Cash moved to Tennessee, his home for the remainder of his life. The Johnny Cash Museum opened in 2013.
Cash is just the latest figure to have his name adorn a restaurant and bar in Music Citys Broadway district. Venues from Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Florida Georgia Line all opened within the past few years. Kid Rock also has his own entertainment complex, Kid Rocks Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N Roll Steakhouse, which recently kicked up some dust for its proposed signage featuring a caricature of a womans buttocks.