Early yesterday morning, Dalts American Grill announced via Facebook that the restaurant was closing, effective immediately, after more than 45 years on White Bridge Road. Not surprisingly, local Nextdoor, Reddit, Facebook and Instagram lost its collective mind and many teeth were gnashed.
I had my own concerns: What happened to all those employees who were summarily dismissed right before Christmas? How many gift cards did they sell in the past month leading up to the holidays, and what will happen to those? Didn’t there used to be an apostrophe in the name? (No.)
I'm happy to report that I can now answer most of those questions, and I’m pleased to say that the news is quite good for the most part. First: Those mystery investors that were mentioned? It’s not so mysterious. They're the local star-makers behind Strategic Hospitality: Benjamin and Max Goldberg. That's the team behind three recent Michelin star winners Bastion, Locust and The Catbird Seat. Similarly to how they stepped in to save downtown treasure Merchants (before a restaurant fire eventually shut that door) because they didn’t want to see a part of their hometown fall by the wayside, the Goldbergs saw the opportunity to revitalize Dalts and got involved.
In the announcement of the transition, the brothers say: “Dalts was a canvas for many childhood memories for Benjamin and me, and we believe countless Nashvillians share the same sentiment. With this next chapter, we will establish a place for new memories, solidifying Dalts as the ‘Cheers’ of West Nashville. We are looking forward to creating a welcoming neighborhood restaurant for the next generation of families, and are particularly excited to be partnering with Andrew Sohr, who is like family to us, on this venture.”
Sohr is the founder of Happy Fat Boy Hospitality. It’s a hospitality group based in Nashville that focuses on family-centric investments — including an eco-friendly beach club in Exuma, Bahamas, and The Yellow Bell Harbourside Inn, a high-end boutique hotel on the island.
Sohr reinforces the commitment the group has to restoring and maintaining Dalts’ position in the neighborhood, saying, “Once we learned the current owners were ready to step away, we felt a strong responsibility to continue Dalts’ legacy and ensure it remains a place that means as much to Nashville as it always has.”
While it’s unfortunate that the transition announcement wasn’t able to be handled as efficiently as their Merchants transaction was — and some questions still remain, like employee retention and gift card redemption — the new management group is committed to open communication. The rebuild and rebrand will take some time, so don’t expect to dine at Dalts anytime soon. Still, the new team wants to celebrate the history and employees while we all wait for the opening of Dalts 2.0.
They invite fans to share their favorite Dalts memories, photos and stories by emailing hello@eatatdalts.com. These submissions will be collected as part of a special collection honoring the history of the people, stories and moments that have defined Dalts for almost half a century.
For future updates, visit eatatdalts.com or follow along on Instagram @eatatdalts.
