Whenever my caller ID says “Kahlil Arnold,” I jump to answer it. That's because it’s usually some big news. And when he called me Friday, he didn’t disappoint.
After a wildly successful four-day pop-up over Thanksgiving weekend, when lines wrapped around the building for another chance to enjoy the legendary meat-and-three fare at Arnold’s Country Kitchen, the Arnold family has decided to reopen for lunch service. That will happen Monday through Saturday beginning on Monday, Jan. 8.
Kahlil emphasizes that this is not a permanent situation, as the family is still offering their property for sale. “It may be for three months or six months or 45 days,” he says. “It’ll be one last goodbye.”
But there may also be a new “hello” sometime soon, because Kahlil is currently looking for locations all over town with the goal of opening a new iteration of Arnold’s sometime in the near future. “We’re looking for another location to keep it going," he says, "and it could even happen before we sell the building.”
He emphasizes that Arnold’s 2.0 will probably be a little different from the original. “It won’t be exactly the same. The food will be, but we might not have a serving line. We have another generation to pass the torch to now, and my son Barrett wants to carry on the tradition.”
Indeed, during our phone call, Kahlil was instructing his son on how to make chow chow with some leftover vegetables from the restaurant's pop-up week, so you know Barrett is in the honors class when it comes to Southern cooking! The matriarch of the family, Rose Arnold, won’t be around as much during the reopening, but you might be lucky enough to catch her on a future visit.
“It’s a good time for Mom to move on,” explains Kahlil. “She may visit tables and kiss babies, but I’m glad she gets to take a step back.” He’s also grateful for having nearly a year off since the initial closing, as he was able to spend time with family. “We’re pretty stoked. This is beyond what my dad [the late Jack Arnold] could have hoped for. I’m happy I got to spend the past year hanging out with my dad.”
Considering how valuable the real estate where Arnold’s is located is in the current market, selling the property and moving to a smaller space in a different neighborhood makes sense. “We didn’t close because of a lack of business,” Kahlil says, “but in this market, we have to make some changes. So many restaurants started off strong at the beginning of this year, but now it’s gotten so competitive that there are a lot of places struggling. As [Otaku Ramen founder] Sarah Gavigan said, ‘If you love a place, support it and pray that it doesn’t go away!’ We’re fortunate to have been here so long, but a single small business can’t really afford to pay the 'Nashville premium' downtown anymore, where everything is more expensive, from taxes to services to utilities. I couldn’t imagine starting from scratch right now!”
Kahlil’s intention is to stay at least close to home, but it might be somewhere like Franklin, Bellevue or Green Hills. The family is casting a wide net while they search and simultaneously market their own building, so Kahlil offers no promises that a new Arnold’s will definitely open before or at the same time as the original finally shuts down.
But until then, he’s all-in. “We’re excited to see all our old customers, our friends. I’m just going to open up and do what I do!”
By the way, if you’re interested in owning a piece of history, or least the lot and air rights, it’s being marketed by Avison Young, which you can reach at lisa.maki@avisonyoung.com or henry.trost@avisonyoung.com. You’d be buying decades' worth of good vibes and great food legacy.
