Chris Young is quietly shopping for a bar location in Nashville, but he is not looking to plant his flag on Lower Broadway. The country star is reportedly interested in something that feels more like a neighborhood hangout than another stop on the tourist-packed honky-tonk crawl.
According to the Nashville Business Journal, Young has been touring potential spaces around town and has told people in his circle that he would rather avoid Lower Broadway. For now, the hunt is described as exploratory, not a formal business rollout.
Young is hardly a stranger to Music City. He was officially inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2017, per the Grand Ole Opry, and he has topped country radio 14 times, according to Country Evolution. That mix of hit-making clout and hometown credibility helps explain why even the early whispers of a bar project are getting attention.
Broadway's celebrity-bar glut
Lower Broadway has turned into a predictable landing spot for celebrity-branded venues, from Blake Shelton’s Ole Red to Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, and the sheer concentration is exactly what has some artists looking elsewhere. Ryman Hospitality’s public filings highlight Ole Red’s downtown flagship, underscoring its role in the core tourist zone, according to Ryman Hospitality. Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row runs a multi-floor honky-tonk on Broadway, a setup that mirrors much of the strip’s vertical, party-all-day buildout.
Together, Ryman Hospitality and Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row exemplify how the corridor has filled up with large, multi-level concepts designed for maximum foot traffic.
What’s next
For now, Young’s bar concept appears stuck firmly in the scouting stage, with no public opening date, branding details, or street address in play. If the idea moves ahead, the first breadcrumbs are likely to show up in local permit filings, followed by more concrete reporting as partners, a concept, and a specific site come into focus.
