A New Jersey legend is setting up shop in Nashville. Jon Bon Jovi has officially announced plans to open a massive bar and restaurant in the city’s Lower Broadway entertainment district.
JBJ’s Nashville is scheduled to open this spring, though an exact date has yet to be revealed. The venue purports to be the tallest and second largest bar by square footage on Lower Broadway.
“We’re looking forward to having a place in Nashville that we call home,” Jon Bon Jovi said in a statement. He went on to note Bon Jovi’s “deep roots in Nashville,” saying, “We have had wonderful times in Nashville recording several albums and working with some of the finest people in all the music business. I can’t wait to toast all of Broadway and get to know our neighbors!” Late last year, Bon Jovi and his band filmed a music video for a new Christmas song at popular karaoke dive Santa’s Pub south of downtown.
JBJ’s Nashville will be located at 405 Broadway — the site of the former Merchant’s restaurant — with entrances on Broadway and 4th Avenue. Development of the bar was spearheaded by the Nashville-based investment company Big Plan Holdings.
Jon Bon Jovi, center, and the band’s David Bryan (to his right) join Tara and Josh Joseph, and Eric Russell, CIO of Big Plan Holdings, at the Nashville bar site. Photo: Katie Larson/Big Plan Holdings.
Lower Broadway has always been a music hub in Nashville, partly because of its proximity to the famous Ryman Auditorium, the onetime home of the Grand Ole Opry. Legendary, longstanding honky-tonks like Robert’s Western World and Tootsies Orchid Lounge are still in operation, but the strip has been radically overhauled in recent years as Nashville has become a major tourist destination.
To that end, Bon Jovi is far from the first artist to open a bar on Lower Broadway, but he is the first bona fide rock star. He follows in the steps of country artists like Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, and Dierks Bentley, who have all lent their names to honky-tonks. Kid Rock, the country-rock rapper, also has a venue downtown, and Garth Brooks opened his aptly-named Friends in Low Places Bar and Honky-Tonk last year.
As for Bon Jovi, the JBJ’s Nashville news comes days after the musician was honored as the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year. The honor from the Recording Academy’s charitable arm came with an all-star tribute concert to kick off Grammy weekend, which featured performances from Bruce Springsteen, Jason Isbell, Shania Twain, Jelly Roll, and more.
Bon Jovi, the band, is also celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. A documentary about the group is set to premiere on Hulu in April.