Brick By Brick

Many people will probably never even notice — never even give a second thought to — some of the most impressive details of Chief’s.

For perhaps the majority of customers, Chief’s exists as a facility to house the newest Eric Church residency, a 19-show run of “To Beat the Devil” shows that will build off his very successful Country Music Hall of Fame story-sets from the summer of 2023. The building is a place to grab a drink and a barbecue sandwich or meet some friends on the rooftop.

But the roots of the building go much deeper. No matter what iteration of Broadway you’re most familiar with, the Leslie Warner Building has played a role. Most recently, it was Cotton Eyed Joe’s souvenir shop, an incarnation that might be unrecognizable — no rooftop terrace, and several windows bricked over — from the revitalized structure today.

It might have been easier to just start from scratch on the corner of Second and Broadway. But Church wanted a building with some soul. Nearly 200,000 bricks were hand-removed and then reinstalled, ensuring there’s a connection to the past centuries of Broadway.

Fans wondered why it took Chief’s longer than some other Broadway establishments to go through the rebranding of the building and open the doors. The answer is pretty simple: it wasn’t just a rebranding, it was a revitalization.

That’s why even on the first day it already feels like the building has some history. Legends haven’t played here — not yet, anyway — but it feels like they have. The Broadway Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and the building renovation took care to appreciate that pedigree.

Interior details were selected to complement the building’s history. It’s not just church pews that surround the stage at the Neon Steeple. It’s church pews from 1890, the same era when the building was originally constructed.

Chief’s was built to be fun. The fact that it’s also a nice homage to Nashville’s Broadway history is just a nice — but very intentional — bonus.