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The $10 billion business behind celebrity-fueled Lower Broadway

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7 months ago

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The billion business behind celebrity-fueled Lower Broadway

Good morning! Welcome to Your Week, our subscriber-exclusive newsletter featuring some of our best stories about Nashville and beyond each Sunday.

This is Sandy Mazza, business editor at The Tennessean.

Today we are featuring an in-depth look at the big business behind the $10 billion tourism celebrity-fueled juggernaut that is Nashville’s Lower Broadway entertainment district.

Growth and development reporter Molly Davis asked: “What defines the latest iteration of celebrity-themed bars and restaurants bringing in millions of tourists per year?“

In short: New honky tonks are all about bold celebrity brands.

She learned is that, despite years of rising values for Broadway properties, the strip’s growth is still expected to reach “unprecedented heights in the coming years” because of its growing international appeal.

Molly said: “Visitors to Music City are increasingly coming from Canada, Ireland, Germany and Australia.”

The real estate and hospitality companies that run the establishments, day to day, range from longtime Nashville businessman Bill Miller, a friend of Johnny Cash, to Big Plan Holdings launched in 2023.

The street has become a critical stop for longstanding and emerging country-music stars alike. New honky tonks bear the names of Eric Church, Morgan Wallen, Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, Lainey Wilson and more.

“What this demonstrates, I found, is a newfound worldwide audience for country music, and by extension, an urgent demand for the celebrity bars and restaurants cropping up in the area,” she said.

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