NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Longtime managing partner Demetrius Kelley, now the restaurant's majority owner, is bringing the beloved fondue spot back to the corner of Third and Union.
Nearly six years after the Christmas Day bombing devastated Nashville's Second Avenue, one beloved restaurant is getting a second chance.
The Melting Pot's longtime managing partner, Demetrius Kelley, is now its majority owner — and he's bringing the restaurant back downtown.
The new Melting Pot will be located at 315 Deaderick Street, with its entrance at Third and Union, inside the former UBS building, where towering windows will overlook Metro Courthouse and Public Square Park. The restaurant is targeting an opening in early spring next year.
"We were in that location for almost 30 years. So, you know, now you know, let's find another location that we can be in for another 30 years," Kelley said.
For Kelley, The Melting Pot was never just a restaurant. It was where he built a career — and where generations of Nashville families made memories.
"I just turned 21. Loved the restaurant. Fell in love with it so much so that when I graduated college in 2004, I got my degree in engineering. I was like, I'm gonna wait a little bit before I use this degree. I don't want a desk job," Kelley said.
Twenty-five years later, Kelley is the majority owner. But the future he built nearly disappeared on Christmas morning 2020.
"I look at the cameras, and I see just destruction. I see stuff flying through the air, stuff smoldering, and the sprinkler system going off. I'm like, what is going on?" Kelley said.
An explosion tore through the building. The restaurant was destroyed, and 150 employees suddenly faced an uncertain future. But Kelley says walking away was never an option.
"We, you know, love their home on Second Avenue, but sometimes you have to do what's best for everybody, and sometimes that's, you know, deciding you know, what's the next best thing," Kelley said.
Now, that comeback has an address. A new setting, but Kelley says the experience that made The Melting Pot special isn't changing.
"Fondue is a communal dinner. It's about sharing. It's about interacting," Kelley said.
The restaurant plans to bring back that intimate, interactive dining experience — with cheese fondue, chocolate, and memories still waiting to be made. And for Kelley, downtown Nashville is exactly where those memories belong.
"Downtown has always been our home. We don't, we didn't want our home taken away from us. If, you know, we ever were gonna move, we wanted to be on our terms and not somebody else's," Kelley said.
After nearly six years away, Kelley says the restaurant isn't just coming back. It's coming home.
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