Nashville’s busy Lower Broadway has many bars and music venues bearing the names of well-known country music artists.
When Eric Church decided to build one of his own, he was determined his would be different. He asked his good friend and real estate developer, Ben Weprin (founder and CEO of AJ Capital Partners) to help him design it.
“It had to be different, it had to be special, just the way Eric has built his career,” Weprin explains, “with a really strong foundation, brick-by-brick. But totally unique.”
From the outside of Church’s six story bar, restaurant, and music venue, you can see stained glass windows reflecting images of some of his greatest heroes like Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jordan, and many others.
Inside, each floor is full of images, posters, photos, artifacts, and much more, all related to Church’s music journey, his North Carolina roots, his background, and his story.
Located at the corner of Broadway and 2nd Avenue, this 1890’s era structure once housed the old Cotton Eyed Joe. It’s now called Chief’s which is Church’s nickname and also connects him to his grandfather who once served as the Chief of Police of Church’s hometown of Granite Falls, North Carolina.
“It was important this building was ours,” Church says, “and not just something we attached our name to. So, we own the building outright and have been part of all of the decisions and creative choices along the way in terms of bringing this historic property back to life as Chief’s.”
“It’s been an incredible collaboration and partnership,” Weprin says. “Eric is such a spokesperson for my generation, we came up at the same time, the same way. He’s a smart, thoughtful, entrepreneur, and obviously a world class creator.”
Weprin, whose company built Nashville’s Wedgewood Houston, Graduate Hotels in Nashville and elsewhere, and world class resort hotels and other properties across the U.S. and overseas, was excited and honored to help Church create this one-of-a-kind venue.
Weprin says over the past three years he and Church have communicated non-stop through meetings, phone calls, and thousands of text messages to bring Chief’s to what it is today.
“We’re good collaborators because I get up at 5am and Eric goes to bed at like three in the morning, so we covered a lot of ground.
The two became friends after a chance meeting in 2015.
“It started at an event I played for Peyton Manning at the Governor’s Mansion,” Church recalls, “a fundraiser for Pat Summit’s Alzheimer’s Foundation. After it was over, we were all hanging out, myself, Peyton, a few other people, and I happened to look out after we’d been there longer than we should have and thought, ‘I wonder if that pool is heated.’
This was a suit and tie event and Church says his wife, Katherine, immediately shook her head, implying, “Don’t do it.”
Eric proceeded to remove the jacket of his Tom Ford suit with the intention of doing exactly what she warned him not to.
“When I looked over beside me,” Church says, “one other person had taken off his jacket and said, ‘You go, I go.’ And it was Ben Weprin.”
The two hit the water and have been friends, as well as fishing, hunting, and golfing buddies ever since.
Weprin, who knows every bit of Church’s background and history, was the perfect choice to help create Chief’s. He’s been instrumental in showcasing Church’s life and career through every aspect of the building.
“The details here really matter, and everything has a story,” Weprin says. “You see the elevator where it says, ‘Ride the Lightning?” That’s from Eric’s song that got him a record deal. He moved here, got rejected, and was about to leave, when he played ‘Lightning” for an executive. The song was inspired by Eric watching The Green Mile. Lighting relates to someone going to the electric chair. Then, the movie Shawshank Redemption, the inside of those elevators are like the inside of the characters’ cell in Shawshank.”
From 3500 concert posters to North Carolina sports memorabilia to lines from songs, and so much more, there is symbolism everywhere.
“Eric tried to play on Broadway when he first moved here and got rejected,” Weprin says. “He got pushed over to Printer’s Alley where he played at Fiddle and Steel for tips on a stool.”
The original sign now hangs on the wall at Chief’s.
While most of the downtown Nashville clubs bearing those country artists names rarely see the artists themselves, Church plans pop-up shows in the future, and is kicking off his grand opening with a 19-show residency at his Neon Steeple ticketed music venue located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of Chief’s. Inspired by the Ryman, it comes complete with church pews for seats. Tickets for the shows were made available to dedicated fans.
“These shows are going to be completely unique from anything we’ve ever done, in a setting that allows us to really curate an experience from start to finish,” Church says. “A huge inspiration to me was seeing Springsteen on Broadway (in New York), and how vulnerable he was in that space, sharing stories he’d never told before. It really got the wheels turning on how we could create a new, really special show of our own and this venue is the perfect place to bring it to life.”
Church’s influence is also apparent when it comes to food and drink. He joined forces with James Beard Award-winning Pitmaster Rodney Scott out of South Carolina. So, Chief’s rooftop restaurant (Hell of a Q) and a first-floor walk-up window will feature Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ.
The bars throughout Chief’s will serve a variety of spirited beverages including Church’s recently released Whiskey JYPSI
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After pouring heart, soul, and a lot of hard work into a building project that became so much more, Church and Weprin are pleased to now share Chief’s with the public.
“Ben is the best storyteller in the world through space,” Church says. “He has this superpower and I trusted him. I feel like we’re pretty good at storytelling through song: he’s the best at storytelling through space. I trusted him implicitly to bring what was in my head and heart at Chief’s to life, and he did just that.”
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