Jackson's Bar and Bistro, which has served Hillsboro Village denizens since 1999, closed its doors this week. Sunday was the restaurant's last day in operation, and the closure announcement is posted on the door:
"Thank you, Hillsboro Village and Nashville, for nearly 19 years of friendly patronage. We had a rough start and a rocky ending, but a ton of fun and success in between — much like life itself perhaps." Finally, the sign adds cryptically, "Farewell though maybe not forever."
When restaurateur Tom Sheffer opened Jackson's at 1800 21st Ave. S. in 1999, it was during a heyday for dining and nightlife in the neighborhood. The Scene's Kay West reported Jackson's imminent opening in 1999, noting that it was located just a couple doors from Fido, the popular coffeehouse that is part of the Bongo Java empire (and which still operates today).
“I think there’s room for all of us," Sheffer told West in '99. "I live in Hillsboro Village and love the neighborhood. Several restaurants thrive there, and I don’t think Fido’s customers are going anywhere. We’ll just offer something a little different.”
Another Sheffer restaurant, Rumba, shuttered in 2012 after a 10-year run on West End, and that rum bar's mojitos and splashy bar menu are still missed by many Nashville restaurant buffs. (Sheffer eventually moved to Birmingham, Ala., where he operates eateries under the banner of Green Apple Restaurant Group.)
Rumba was likely a victim of chain-restaurant dominance along West End, but the decline of the Hillsboro Village neighborhood as a culinary trendsetter is more of a puzzle. It's located within walking distance of both Vanderbilt and Belmont universities, and potentially draws hungry and thirsty workers from nearby Music Row and the VUMC hospital. So it seems odd that Hillsboro Village, the city's buzziest hot spot of dining and drinking in the '80s and '90s, has proven to be a restaurant graveyard in recent years.
The Scene's Chris Chamberlain explored the issue in 2015, after the demise of longtime Village landmarks Boscos, Sunset Grill and Sam's Sports Grill. More recently, the neighborhood was rocked by the sudden closure of Provence Café & Breads, which had operated in Hillsboro Village for 22 years.
It's true that at the same time, new restaurants have opened in the Village, several mixed-use developments have brought a host of new residents to the vicinity, and the neighborhood is poised to get its first hotel, currently under construction at Belcourt and 20th Avenue South.
The Belcourt Theatre, the beloved cultural hub of the neighborhood, is busier than ever after a comprehensive renovation and expansion completed in 2016.
And that's where Jackson's will be sorely missed. Though the menu had grown lackluster, Jackson's remained a key spot for a drink and discussion after a Belcourt screening. There's no word yet on which new occupant will take over the space, but hopefully it will be a bar or restaurant with convivial late-night hours.
Final note: If you're hoping Jackson's closure has opened up any elusive free parking in Hillsboro Village, think again. The pay station in the parking lot continues to operate.
