Located at 101 Broadway, Nashville’s century-old Acme Feed and Seed building has been under renovation for some time now, and soon it will be ready. What’s coming is a three-story music venue and restaurant that promises a unique downtown experience for lower Broadway. Featuring beams hewn from 150-year-old trees and bars crafted from repurposed wood found in the subflooring of the historic building itself, the building’s motif is one of an updated classic that retains the charm and character of the original. Moving from the ground up, here are some of the things you can expect from native Nashvillian Tom Morales’s (TomKats, Loveless Cafe, The Southern, Saffire, Nashville Dancin’) vision of the future for the Acme Feed and Seed building.
The first floor is slated to be a fast-casual-style lunch spot with a seasonally rotating, locally sourced menu designed by executive chef Matt Farley (The Southern Steak & Oyster, Loveless Cafe, and Noho Star). Offering 28 regional craft beers, live music and community tables, the planned venue will just slightly change its daytime fare at night to transform it into a honky-tonk featuring a house band comprised of local musicians expressing Nashville’s own unique musical landscape—they promise every genre and style. In the words of Morales, it will offer a “transcendental honky-tonk experience” with two bars, a stage and an open kitchen.
Moving to the second floor allows patrons a more contained and low-key atmosphere. It’s to be set up like a lounge, with group seating, shared platters, and 60-inch televisions adorning a wall decorated with old printing plates for feed and seed, upholding the promise of history-centric renovation and adding impressive charm all while adhering to strict fire and safety regulations. Pinball machines and vintage games will live in this controlled-access area of the building. It will also feature a seasonal frozen drink proffered by trained mixologists and served in actual glassware.
Floor number three is an event venue that offers a full catering menu, two bars and a movable stage that can be set up in any area your event requires and is available for corporate or private parties. Known as The Hatchery at Acme, it will be the largest one-level event and music venue on lower Broadway. When not hosting private events, it will host pre-programmed music events and concerts featuring rising local talent.
On up to the balcony now: With an incredible view of the Cumberland River, LP Field, and Riverfront Park, Acme’s rooftop is an open-air cocktail bar that extends eight feet to the edge, showcasing not only the riverfront but the striking lights of lower Broadway as well. It, too, will feature a rotating menu, including chef’s choice items that altogether serve to raise the bar when it comes to elevated downtown experiences.
Mixing high-energy fun with relaxation and old-world charm with modern sensibilities, Acme is an ambitious project with lofty goals. Given Morales’s repertoire, however, it seems likely these goals will be met and more in a venue that is distinctly “Nashville,” from the food to the music to the art decorating the walls. A hodgepodge honky-tonk, an all-encompassing amalgam of styles with a unique local resonance, Acme is poised to open up and bring you what you’re looking for.
For more information and event booking visit theacmenashville.com.
