Brown’s Diner

This piece is a part of our 2015 Nashville Trail Map. Check out all the points on the trail and download our hand-illustrated map here.

“After moving to Nashville, I was in search for a local haunt that evoked a similar vibration in me as the Rainbo Club in Chicago. A place with cheap beer, good storytellers, a local lout, a place to be alone with low light but friendly stranger conversation. Brown’s welcomed me with open arms/open bar. I quickly bonded with two of the bartenders, Gordy and Rocco, both colorful characters with the relationship similar to that of the odd couple. Within the first month of living in Nashville, my birthday was put on the calendar at the bar as to not forget to give me my gift: three rounds of free budweiser drafts.

One afternoon, I left my headlights on and an older gentleman at the bar made me aware of it. We began chatting and he pointed to a mugshot above the bar and said, “That’s me! I’ve been coming here forever. Why would a young beautiful woman like yourself hang out here among these animals?” After seeing the mugshot, I made the connection that The Road Mangler, Phil Kaufmann was paying me a compliment.

If you listen close enough you will hear some of the funniest and debaucherous stories from a different time, when Nashville was ruled by coked up outlaws.

Every interaction at Brown’s is a buzzed flirtation with the past, leaving you with a pleasant nostalgia hangover which is only cured by one of their famous cheeseburgers.”

Contribution from Brit Hessler – Brit is visual artist and head designer at Original Fuzz. bhessler.com