Eric Church is joining the joining the long list of country singers who have opened bars and entertainment venues in Nashville. It has been reported that the singer has partnered with an investment group to open a 6-story honky-tonk called Chief’s on Nashville’s Lower Broadway.
According to the Nashville Business Journal, Church and AJ Capital Partners’ Ben Weprin have partnered for the venture. Big & Rich star John Rich was the previous owner of the building, which AJ Capital Partners purchased for $24.5 million in October. Church and Weprin now co-own the building, according to reports.
“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,” Church said in a press release.
“Together we will create an experience unique to Nashville and absolutely unparalleled in the world of music, food, fellowship and entertainment,” he added. “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.”
The establishment, which will be located at 200 Broadway, will feature a six-story bar, a live music venue, as well as a Whole Hog BBQ restaurant by Scott, a barbecue pitmaster and James Beard award-winner. The projected opening date will be sometime in 2023.
“I am beyond excited to not only bring Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ to Music City, but to also partner with my good friends Eric and Ben on this project,” Scott shared. “Anyone who knows me, knows that I love music – so the opportunity to expand the brand in partnership with an award-winning musician makes this project extra special! I can’t wait to share our Carolina roots and our whole hog BBQ with the incredible people of Nashville.”
Church has promised that the place will offer top notch food and drinks.
“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,” Church recalled. “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.”
