OGLES CHALLENGERS
HENRY TO RAVENS
MARCH 21, 2024 | VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 11
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50 years in, Sperry’s thrives on not changing a thing BY MARGARET LITTMAN
Officials at the BNA Hilton ribbon-cutting ceremony
PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
BNA celebrates opening of on-site Hilton hotel BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
On-site dining room
PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Nashville’s newest hotel, the 14-story Hilton BNA Nashville Airport Terminal, celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 7. The hotel is located steps away from the airport terminal and marks the culmination of BNA Vision, the multi-year airport renovation. “This hotel has dramatically improved the experience for all our visitors who traverse through Nashville,” Nashville Airport Authority Vice Chair Jimmy Granbery said. Amenities include the Aviators Restaurant, Coffee Cafe, Music Lounge, Sky Pavilion and rooftop pool, fitness center, numerous meeting rooms and large ballrooms, as well as a variety of rooms and suites, all of which are tastefully decorated with subtle nods to the aviation destination that is BNA. >> PAGE 5
Whatever you’ve heard about Sperry’s, it’s probably true. This month, the Belle Meade English pub/steakhouse/special-occasion magnet turns 50. And Nashvillians have a lot of opinions about it. You might have heard that the restaurant has remained basically unchanged over the past 50 years. It’s been in the same small building on Harding Pike, with the same decor and the same menu (don’t come here looking for avocado toast or flash-fried Brussels sprouts), since 1974. That is true. You might have heard that it’s a place people go for anniversaries only. And it is indeed a special-occasion restaurant — a place to celebrate birthdays, weddings and good report cards. But that’s not all Sperry’s is. Yes, it is a place for people of a certain age. But new generations are flocking to the restaurant, which now has two locations (the original in Belle Meade and a second in Cool Springs), as well as a Sperry’s Mercantile market with dishes to go and another Mercantile and a new coffee shop to open soon in Bellevue. As the restaurant hits the big 5-0, it’s worth a look at how they got here and what’s up next. (Spoiler: still no avocado toast or flashfried Brussels sprouts.) Brothers Houston and Dick Thomas opened the business in 1974 on the site of what had once been Garden Gate Garden Center, owned by Houston’s wife Sue. They named their new restaurant after their great-grandfather, Burton Sperry. It wasn’t anything particularly fancy — steaks, seafood and what has been purported to be the city’s first salad bar. The Nashville dining scene then was nothing like the embarrassment of riches it is today, and the menu, plus the existence of a dance floor and a full bar, made Sperry’s the go-to for a night out. >> PAGE 4 While the brothers had
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