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If you’re headed to Nashville International Airport (BNA), be sure to pack your appetite. Recent expansions and major renovations have lured some beloved local names as well as a few well-known national spots to BNA’s concourses, including the first-ever Tennessee Titans-licensed restaurant, a popular Portland donut shop, and a hot chicken behemoth — and even more places are on the way. For once, a layover might actually sound exciting.
Here’s an alphabetical list of the best places to eat and drink at Nashville International Airport, whether for a sit-down meal or a grab-and-go snack. For an updated list of all available dining options, check BNA’s website.
400 Degrees Hot Chicken: Aqui Hines brings her wildly popular version of Nashville Hot Chicken to Nashville International Airport. Deep fried with varying heat levels ranging from 0 to 400 degrees — this Nashville staple serves up some of Music City’s best hot chicken, homestyle sides, local craft beers, and cocktails. [Concourse C]
8th & Roast Coffee Co: A traveler’s best bet for caffeination, this coffee shop was born in Nashville in 2009, and it was the first local option to give a reprieve from that pesky Starbucks line. [Concourse C and D]
Acme Feed & Seed: Broadway’s multi-level honky-tonk has made a home at the new Central Marketplace at BNA with local brews on tap, menu favorites like the hot chicken sandwich, and a stage for live performances. [Central Marketplace]
Arrington Wine Bar & Grill: The hilly Tennessee winery owned by Kix Brooks has a place in Concourse A where it offers travelers a taste of locally-produced wines by the glass with salads and prosciutto and mozzarella on toasted ciabatta. [Concourse A]
Bar-B-Cutie SmokeHouse: Nashville’s own family-owned barbecue brand (it claims to be Nashville’s oldest original barbecue restaurant) has staked a spot at BNA. Meats smoked onsite are served in sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner alongside country sides, local beers, and cocktails. [A/B Rotunda]
Bongo Java: The grandfather of Nashville coffee has arrived at the airport, with hearty breakfast options all day and rotating vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free items. [Concourse C]
Fugitives Public House: Named after a literary magazine published by Vanderbilt scholars in the 1920s, Fugitives serves traditional pub grub (burgers, truffle tots, and jalapeño poppers) with beer on tap. [Concourse A]
Green Beans Coffee Co.: The only dining option located before heading through security, coffee chain Green Beans Coffee offers bakery items and specialty coffee drinks. There’s also live music to welcome you to BNA or send you off in true Nashville fashion. [Pre-security]
Hattie Bs: Nashville’s hot chicken behemoth has planted its flag at BNA bringing with it varying degrees of spiced chicken strips (“southern” to “shut the cluck up”) and its infamous sides — don’t skip the banana pudding. [Concourse C]
Kijiji Coffee: Edward C. Stevenson and his wife, Linda, helped revitalize historic Jefferson Street in their neighborhood of North Nashville when they opened the city’s first Black-owned coffee shop in 1997. The local roaster mostly focuses on wholesale now, but you can find two Kijiji kiosks at BNA. [Concourse A and B]
Little Harpeth Brewing: This local craft brewery focuses on German-style lagers like pilsners, a rarity in this day and age of all things IPA. The large airport taproom serves a rather extensive food menu (check out the sandwiches) and a couple of gluten-free options. [Concourse B]
Ole Red: Country music superstar Blake Shelton’s honky-tonk has quickly become an essential stop for entertainment with solid food on Broadway, and the growing chain brings that Music City energy to BNA too. In addition to live music, you’ll find biscuits and tater tot poutine for breakfast, redneck nachos, burgers, and chicken-fried steak for later, and a bunch of over-the-top cocktails and shots. [Concourse C]
Party Fowl: This upbeat local sports bar chain offers unusual hot chicken dishes (like a Nashville hot deconstructed Cobb salad or hot chicken Cuban sandwich) to pair with local brews and boozy slushies at a full bar. [Concourse D]
The Pharmacy Burger Parlor: Load up on wursts, burgers, ice cream sodas, and milkshakes at this outpost of East Nashville’s OG beer garden. [A/B Rotunda]
Pig Star by Peg Leg Porker: Pitmaster Carey Bringle’s Memphis-style barbecue at Peg Leg Porker is some of Nashville’s best — the Gulch restaurant’s wings and pulled pork are popular choices, and Eater named the dry ribs one of the country’s 23 essential barbecue dishes in 2016. Sit down with smoked meats and a cocktail at the BNA location, called Pig Star. [Concourse B]
Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant: With roots from the 1950s as a grocery store in Leiper’s Fork, Puckett’s huge new airport location represents quite an evolution. It serves Southern classics, known for its fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. [Concourse D]
Pyramids Cafe: Since 1993, this has been a vegetarian-friendly Mediterranean option in the home of hot chicken. [Concourse C]
Slim & Husky’s: Owned by Tennessee State University alums Clint Gray, Derrick Moore, and EJ Reed, the pizza at Slim & Husky’s marches to the beat of its own drum, earning it a James Beard Award nomination along the way. [Concourse C]
The Southern Steak & Oyster: BNA scored another classic with this one, a locals’ favorite downtown for deviled eggs dripping with Louisiana hot sauce, barbecued shrimp, chicken with collards and country ham gravy, and of course steak and oysters. [Concourse D]
Swett’s BBQ: Seven decades of family expertise inform the comfort food at Swett’s, which serves meat-and-three specialties like country-fried steak, meatloaf, candied yams, fried cornbread, and peach cobbler. [Concourse C]
Tailgate Brewery: This award-winning craft brewery with an East Nashville taproom specializes in small-batch brews and pizza. The new airport taproom features 12 craft beers on draft, whole pies, and pizza by the slice, including cauliflower pizza, and breakfast sandwiches. [Concourse C]
Tennessee Brew Works: Hit the BNA location of this Nashville brewery for top-notch beers and burgers. [A/B Rotunda]
Three Casks: Opened in partnership with the Tennessee Whiskey Trail, 99% of the bar at Three Casks is locally made spirits, with burgers, sandwiches, and in-house barbecue rounding out the offerings. The taps only pour out Tennessee beers and there’s a window for to-go cocktails or bottles. [Concourse C]
Tootsies Orchid Lounge: Get a little taste of Nashville’s boot-scootin’ Broadway scene at the BNA location of this iconic purple honky-tonk, a steady sit-down spot for bar fare, drinks, and of course, live music.[Concourse C ]
Titans Press Box: The Titans Press Box is the first Tennessee Titans-licensed restaurant — it offers a bit more of an upscale experience from its perch in the Central Marketplace with made-to-order dishes, cocktails, and an expansive wine list. [Central Marketplace]
Voodoo Doughnut: This doughnut export from Portland is known for its off-the-wall flavor combinations — like the Oh Captain, My Captain topped with Cap’N Crunch cereal. You’ll also find vegan doughnut options on the menu. [Central Marketplace]
Yazoo Brewing Company: It’s hard to be mad at the proliferation of brewery taprooms at the airport; this is another local winner where you can have a beer at the bar, get one to go, or grab a six-pack. [Concourse C]