Jelly Roll's Lower Broadway venue is leaning into the season. Goodnight Nashville has turned Buddy's Backroom, its third-floor speakeasy, into a vampire-themed pop-up bar called The Lair, serving Halloween-inspired cocktails and mocktails now through November 1.
The transformation was reported by Maury County Source, which detailed the pop-up's menu and hours inside the four-story venue at 209 Broadway. Guests reach The Lair by taking the elevator to the third floor, where the speakeasy normally operates as a reservable lounge built around agave spirits and craft tequila. According to PR Newswire, Buddy's Backroom was created as a personal tribute to Jelly Roll's late father, Buddy DeFord, and the space closes to the public whenever the musician himself is in the building.
For now, the lounge has swapped its usual tequila menu for a Halloween lineup. The Lair offers blood bag cocktails priced at $10, along with pumpkin spice martinis, candy corn martinis, and evil eye Jell-O shots, per the Maury County Source report. The pop-up runs Fridays through Sundays from 1 p.m. until late through November 1.
A Venue Built on Local Roots
Goodnight Nashville opened with a soft launch in mid-January 2025 before its official grand opening on February 20, 2025, the product of a partnership between Jelly Roll and Scottsdale, Arizona-based Evening Entertainment Group, which operates entertainment and dining venues across Arizona, Texas, and Tennessee, according to PR Newswire. The venue sits at 209 Broadway in the building that formerly housed the Trail West Boot Store. Born Jason DeFord and raised in Nashville's Antioch neighborhood, Jelly Roll became the first Music City native to open a celebrity-backed venue on Lower Broadway, a contrast to most celebrity bar owners who relocated to Nashville after finding fame, PR Newswire notes.
Beyond the speakeasy, the four-story building features tattoo-inspired design throughout, live music, food, and rooftop views of the Nashville skyline, per the Maury County Source account. The property also includes the highest rooftop venue on Lower Broadway, a second-floor nightclub called Bunnie's named for Jelly Roll's wife, Bunnie XO, and an in-house flash tattoo shop, according to Visit Music City.
One Pop-Up in a Crowded Halloween Season
The Lair isn't the only Broadway-area bar leaning into Halloween this fall. It operates alongside other seasonal transformations across the city, including Impractical Magic at Hidden Bar inside the Noelle Hotel, The Apothecary at Virgin Hotels Nashville, and Honky Tonk Hell at Lucky Bastard Saloon, according to GoodNight Stay. The guide also describes seasonal pop-ups at Nashville bars and hotels.
Buddy's Backroom has used its speakeasy layout for recurring themed activations before. In September, the space hosted a Dolly's 9 to 5 pop-up that donated a portion of its proceeds to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, according to a video posted on Facebook.
Competing for Attention on a Pricey Strip
Goodnight Nashville operates on Lower Broadway alongside venues tied to artists including Luke Combs, Eric Church, Lainey Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, and Garth Brooks, according to Rowdy Bus. The strip remains a major economic engine for the city: Tennessee reported a record $32.5 billion in visitor spending in 2025, generating more than $3 billion in annual state and local tax revenue, per the Nashville Post.
The Lair is a seasonal cocktail bar dressed up for October. Visitors can grab a blood bag cocktail or a candy corn martini on the third floor through November 1.
