The Jack's building is seen in white.
The Lower Broadway building housing Jack’s Bar-B-Que has sold to the owners of Robert’s Western World for $15 million and possibly a per-foot record — with the venerable barbecue business having now ceased operations and the honky-tonk to expand into its space. The two-story structure at 416A Broadway has housed the restaurant for 31 years.
According to Metro records, Jack Cawthon purchased the property in April 1996 for $475,000.
A release notes the new owners are husband and wife JesseLee Jones and Emily Ann Jones, who own Robert’s Western World. That business operates in a building sitting adjacent to the Jack’s Bar-B-Que structure and offering an address of 416B Broadway. The Joneses plan to use the ex-Jack's space in some manner for RWW.
The Davidson County Register of Deeds website noted the $15 million sale price Tuesday. In addition, the Joneses have landed a loan, valued at $15.7 million, from Pinnacle Bank.
Scene sister publication the Nashville Post was unable to determine the square footage of the Jack's space, with marketing materials noting the space could be about 5,000 square feet. At that size, the deal would be the equivalent of approximately $3,000 per square foot, which could be a record for such a Nashville transaction. The December 2024 sale of the nearby Margaritaville building also was for about $3,000 per foot.
Of note, the 416A and 416B Broadway buildings were once connected by large archways.
With the sale and subsequent business closure, Cawthon will focus on his Jack’s Bar-B-Que locations on Charlotte Avenue in Midtown and on West Trinity Lane north of downtown.
“Our Charlotte store will now serve as our downtown location, with the added benefit of free parking,” says Cawthon, who is often credited with helping spur the first wave of revitalization of Lower Broadway in the early 1990s. "We’re also excited to refocus on catering; we were one of Nashville’s largest caterers in the 1980s, and we see big potential in that market again.”
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The release notes the restaurant's smokers and the iconic flying pig exterior sign at the Broadway building will be relocated. Cawthon’s decision to sell followed “friendly conversations” with the Joneses regarding Robert’s planned revitalization and third-floor expansion, which had been paused in order to pursue the real estate transaction.
Cawthon originally opened a Broadway location in 1991 near Riverfront Park. In 1994, after being displaced by the construction updates to the building housing Hard Rock Cafe, he relocated to 416A Broadway, buying the property two years later.
The release notes the Joneses are committed to preserving and improving their honky-tonk’s history, character and legacy, and will share renderings of the planned updated space “in the coming months.”
Relatedly, Robert’s will continue its relationship with Jack’s as the preferred caterer for private events. Fans can expect a new collaborative item on the RWW Honky Tonk Grill menu featuring Jack’s signature brisket.
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“Emily and I are incredibly grateful to Jack for his vision and tenacity,” JesseLee Jones says in the release. “He paved the way for so many of us on Lower Broadway. We’re honored he entrusted us with this legacy, and we’re excited to reunite 416A and 416B into something truly historic for Nashville and for Robert’s.”
Cawthon says he and the Joneses are committed to “preserving the music and traditions” of Lower Broadway.
“I couldn’t think of a better historic Broadway institution to entrust with the building,” he says. “I’m excited to see what Robert’s will do with an expansion. The building will remain in good hands.”
Hawkins Hogan PLC provided legal guidance to the Joneses in the transaction. Lance Bloom, vice chair and partner with the Nashville office of Toronto-based Colliers, represented Cawthon.
This post was originally published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
