It started out as a joking comment I made on a Facebook post regarding the upcoming restaurant The Gavel Grill & Speakeasy, which will take over the spot once occupied by Maple Street Grill in the downtown square.

“I can’t wait for it to close in 6 months,” I wrote below the link discussing the new dining option expected to fill the old space of one of my local favorites. Though I miss the old tenant, that joke doesn’t come from a place of spite, ignorance or envy. Instead, it came from a bitter truth that I’ve since had to swallow over the years.

After feeling bad, I immediately followed the post with an obligatory “Jokes aside, I wish The Gavel the best . . .” comment, which was made not just to save face, but to explain why I made the joke. I’ve been here since fall 2006, and because of my love of dining out, I’ve seen more food options close than I care to remember.

But how many do I remember? And how many restaurants have been here in the last 10 years that have since closed?

Sadness gave way to curiosity, and then a little bit of hope. Through those sad memories of all the great places that closed, I came to the finale of my thought process: tell Pulse readers what they’ve lost, so that they can realize what they have.

So, I put together this list. The list is certainly not exact or complete. The goal of sharing which restaurants have closed between 2006 and 2016 won’t be met to exact parameters. This is a list based on the memories of other people who helped via social media, and though those memories are subject to faultiness, I did check this list against the long-running list kept by owner/president of Toot’s Wade Hays.

I’m considering every business that sold something intended to be immediately consumed—from ice cream shops, coffee houses and bars to full-blown eateries—in an effort to show Rutherford County that we shouldn’t take these places for granted. There are some restaurants that I’m omitting (such as The Egg and I, since it was an acquisition. I consider that still being in business), and I’m not speaking to “why” the restaurants closed.

I want us to appreciate what we have, and become receptive of the new ideas that come our way. To do that, though, I propose that we take a look at what we’ve lost. Let’s take inventory of the items no longer on the shelf, and regardless of why they’re absent, let’s ask ourselves: Which of these businesses improved the area? And what were they doing that did so?

Obviously, if I’m writing for a Murfreesboro-based publication, I like the area. But I get really brought down by what I read as ignorance and apathy of the consumers. And with this list, it seems that we’ve lost quite a bit in the way of both products being sold and economic players that employ our neighbors.

Remember, every business in the county is part of our identity. They show that we’re not just Nashville’s little brother, but that we’re somewhere worth living in. And though you might not have liked some of these businesses, ask yourself this: What can we do to keep your favorite places around? What attitudes and practices can we adopt as a whole to make the city even better? How can we keep a bigger menu of options available? Did these businesses close just because they weren’t needed, or did we as a community somehow fail these people? How can we make sure that new businesses—like The Gavel Grill & Speakeasy—stay around? How about something in the vein of an independent restaurant association that supports local businesses? Or how about a full Zagat’s-style list that keeps it all in one place?

If there’s anything on this list that strikes you as why it shouldn’t, or should, be there, I want to know: “why?”

Pan Asian
Mezza Cuisine
Calypso Cafe
Don Pablo’s
Red Rose Cafe
3 Brothers Craft Brewhouse
Maple Street Grill
JoZoara Coffee Shop
Pawbowsky’s Dog House
Puleo’s Grille
Cool Beans
Bellacino’s
Golden Eagle Mongolian Stirfry
Bobby McKee’s
Back to Cuba Cafe
Aya Sushi
Cedar Bucket
Kirkenburts
The Chicken Shack
Roly Poly
The Thirsty Turtle
OK Jose
The Grind
Shorty’s Pizza Bus
El Torero
Blue Rooster
Around The Way Dog
Brew U
Coach’s Grill
Cafe 24 7
Ryan’s Steakhouse
Wild Flours
Pa Bunk’s
Reveille Joe
Casa Burrito
Tomato, Tomato
Long John Silver’s/ A&W
Positiffitea’s Tiny Tea Factory
Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar
Taste of Tokyo
Bunganut Pig
Rice & Beans Cuban Cafe
Poppy’s Frozen Custard
Perk’d Coffeehouse
Judo Moody’s
Fiesta Acapulco
Uncle Bud’s of Murfreesboro
Shoney’s (Broad Street)
Coco Mocha Cafe
Blue Restaurant & Bar
Backyard Burgers
Corky’s
Fuji’s Japanese Steakhouse
Santa Fe Cattle Co.
LaMars
Dugger’s Food & Fun
Taqaria la Playita
Puerto Vallarta
Chef Raymond’s
All Souped Up
Front Porch Cafe
Ruby Tuesday’s
The Clay Cup
Blue Agave
Woody’s BBQ
Davy Crockett’s Roadhouse
Mike’s Catfish
Cuzco Latin Cuisine
T.H. Thomas
Aura Lounge
Aspen Leaf
King Buffet
Leonel’s Cheesecakes
Harvery Washbanger’s
Freshco Burrito
Otter’s Chicken
McDougal’s
Dinner A’Fare
Brain Freeze
Quiznos
Stones River Grill
Caribbean Legacy
Lenny’s Sub Shop
Cornerstone Cheesecake
Kababi
Rooster’s BBQ

UPDATE — Closings in 2017:
Fusion 9 Sports Bar
O’Possums Irish Pub