Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse, the Chicago chophouse that has fed Michael Jordan and generated some of the highest restaurant sales figures in the country, is coming to downtown Nashville. The 37-year-old flagship concept will open its first location outside Illinois on the ground floor of the 414 Union Street tower, with the project targeting a spring 2028 debut and more than 150 new jobs.
The announcement, first reported by WhatNow, marks the first time in Gibsons' history that the brand has expanded its core steakhouse concept beyond its home state. Gibsons opened on Chicago's Rush Street in 1989 and currently operates three steakhouse venues in Illinois, according to Nation's Restaurant News. Gibsons Restaurant Group has evaluated Nashville for several years before settling on the deal, per WhatNow's reporting, and the group is investing more than $10 million into the Nashville project.
A Financial Heavyweight Enters Music City
Gibsons isn't arriving as an unproven newcomer. Restaurant Business ranked Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse among the nation's top-grossing independent restaurants for 2025, with the flagship Chicago location posting approximately $30.9 million in sales that year, per Nashville Business Journal figures cited in the WhatNow report. Sister concept Gibsons Italia also cracked the list with roughly $32 million in sales for 2025. Nation's Restaurant News separately reported that Gibsons Restaurant Group placed three concepts in the top 10 of the nation's 100 highest-grossing independent restaurants in 2025, including The Boathouse at No. 2, Gibsons Italia at No. 7, and Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse Chicago at No. 9.
The Nashville menu will lean on the group's signature strengths: Prime Angus steaks, fresh seafood, and raw bar selections, alongside an extensive wine program, a bourbon program, private dining and event spaces, and outdoor dining. Gibsons Restaurant Group was the first restaurant group in the United States to earn its own dedicated USDA Prime Angus beef certification, a custom sourcing and aging standard that will supply the new Nashville dining room, according to Nation's Restaurant News.
Why Gibsons Chose 414 Union Street
Steve Lombardo said the group chose 414 Union Street because of its history, character and location, per WhatNow. The 20-story building, a 1975 tower formerly known as Philips Plaza and later Bank of America Plaza, has been undergoing a dramatic transformation since local investors acquired it. Tennessee investment firm TC Investment Holdings and Nashville music executive Scott Borchetta acquired the 414 Union building for $29 million, a deal that, according to The Real Deal, translated to a sale price of $39 per square foot — an 85 percent drop from the tower's $255 per square foot valuation in 2019 after occupancy had plunged to 50 percent.
Borchetta, who founded Nashville-based Big Machine Label Group and famously signed Taylor Swift early in her career, has increasingly invested in Music City commercial property. Municipal development permit filings submitted in July confirmed that developers plan to convert the tower's top 10 floors into hotel rooms as part of a broader office-to-hospitality conversion, a project Hoodline detailed in July shortly before the Gibsons lease became public. TC Investment Holdings envisions 414 Union as a destination combining hospitality, dining, business and lifestyle uses, and the building has already accumulated several issued permits tied to the redevelopment.
Historic Tower, New Chapter
The building has worn several corporate identities over the decades. It served as the national corporate headquarters for building materials giant Louisiana-Pacific Corporation after the company relocated from Portland, Oregon, in 2004, occupying 75,000 square feet across four upper floors, according to filings from the Metropolitan Nashville Council. Joe Field described Gibsons as an important addition to the revitalization of the historic 414 Union building, and the Gibsons lease is being treated as the first major tenant announcement connected to the tower's redevelopment.
Gibsons' move into Nashville also reflects a broader, more cautious approach to growth than its steakhouse rivals have taken. The company previously tested out-of-state expansion with secondary concepts rather than its flagship brand, opening a Quartino Ristorante location at the Grandscape development near Dallas in 2018 while keeping the core steakhouse strictly within the Chicago market, per Nation's Restaurant News. Beyond its steakhouses, Gibsons Restaurant Group operates concepts including Hugo's Frog Bar & Fish House, Ristorante Quartino, Luxbar and Gibsons Tavern, and it partners with Chef José Andrés on Chicago's Bazaar Meat and Bar Mar.
What's Next for the Project
The Nashville project remains in the planning and redevelopment phase, with the hotel conversion still awaiting municipal design approvals and the Gibsons buildout not slated to open until spring 2028. WhatNow's reporting notes that Gibsons Restaurant Group has additional growth ambitions for Nashville beyond this single location. Once open, the steakhouse will compete against a lineup of established upscale steakhouses already operating in downtown Music City, entering a market where the original Gold Coast Gibsons location built its reputation in part as a favorite haunt of Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan during the team's 1990s championship run.
