One of Nashville’s Oldest Restaurants, Iconic Burger Destination Brown’s Diner, Has Sold

The iconic burger joint housed in a former trolley car in Hillsboro Village, Brown’s Diner, has sold to a new (of yet, unconfirmed) owner.

Jim Love, who has owned the beloved restaurant for 47 years, typed up the news in a letter that’s been making the rounds on social media, shared by many Nashville natives and chefs who have frequented Brown’s for decades.

Those who long to remember the Nashville of yesteryear have always sought comfort in the form of cheeseburgers and non-fussy vibes inside Brown’s Diner. First opened in 1927, Brown’s holds Nashville’s oldest beer license.

Love plans to retire and says the restaurant will close temporarily starting December 31, but says the diner’s new owner has restaurant experience and intends to keep Brown’s “the same as it is now”. He also assures that all current staff will continue on when they reopen. Love says he’s excited to retire but has mixed feelings, sad to leave the business and employees he is passionate about.

See Love’s letter in its entirety below.

Rumors say the diner was purchased by owners of a local barbecue restaurant, and Eater Nashville has reached out for comment. Stay tuned for more information, and to see a reopening date when customers can return for that iconic burger in hopefully, a still familiar setting. Until then, pop in between now and NYE for a takeout burger and one last glance inside the space for nostalgia’s space.

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