NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A new restaurant opening has spurred a flurry of excitement, but foodies know these days in Nashville that’s nothing new.
So what’s the difference? On opening night Tuesday this restaurant already had loyal regulars.
“It was the place to eat!” said customer Ann Lauterbach, eating the spinach artichoke dip. It’s a dish she called a “classic.”
After it closed seven years ago, the Green Hills Grille open its doors yet again.
“There were relationships that were made that ended prematurely,” restaurant owner Steven Smithing said. Smithing, who started out as a server at the last Green Hills Grille, said he’s been planning to re-open the once popular restaurant for more than three years.
The restaurant had a few familiar faces at the helm. Smithing, along with some of the hosts and wait staff, returned.
They were hoping the restaurant fills a neighborhood void.
“We’re really missing a nicer restaurant (in Green Hills), somewhere people can come over have a nice glass of wine, a nice dinner,” Smithing said.
In a city where so much is shiny and new, revival isn't a word you often hear. In the last year alone local staples like the Stockyard, Sunset Grill, Sub Stop and Sam’s Sports Grill all closed their doors.
Smithing knew adapting to the times is vital. “What people liked 25 years ago in Nashville is not the same thing they want to eat today,” he said.
The menu featured several new and contemporary items like shrimp and grits, sushi and flat breads, but old favorites like the tortilla soup and lemon artichoke chicken still graced the page.
“My goal is not to be too far on the cutting edge,” Smithing said, “this is a comfort place to be.”
“We went to the Green Hills Grille for many years,” Peter Hodgson said, excited to be back.
He was one of the regulars the restaurant was counting on, as it works to earn the loyalty of a younger generation of customers along the way.
