For years I've said Jason McConnell is one of the shrewdest restaurateur/chefs in Middle Tennessee. When others were trying to expand their geographic footprint of restaurants far and wide, McConnell remained the largest fish in his small pond of downtown Franklin, establishing three operations that would be successful in any Nashville neighborhood — Red Pony, 55 South and Cork & Cow.
One of those restaurants was carved out of the former bar space at McConnell’s Mexican cuisine concept, Sol. When Sol had run its course, McConnell didn’t panic over the end of an era. Instead he calmly looked at his clientele and figured out that they might love a nice wine-centric steakhouse in the neighborhood. After a very brief shutdown to swap over the concept, Cork & Cow opened to continued acclaim. While other restaurateurs deal with the difficulties of a far-flung empire, McConnell has most of his eggs in three baskets within 350 feet of one another. (He has since opened two more 55 Souths in Brentwood and Spring Hill, but you can’t knock him for giving the people what they want.)
By the time food trucks became ubiquitous and new operators scrambled to find places to park their mobile kitchens where customers could find them, McConnell had already operated a truck for years — except he kept it parked most of the time. He would roll out his kitchen only for special events and festivals where he knew it would be successful as an add-on to his restaurant revenue. He also leased it out to other operators and eventually sold it — makes me think of that old adage about how the second-best day of a boat owner's life is the day he sells it.
But now McConnell faces a big challenge. Red Pony was severely damaged in an early-morning fire on Saturday, Jan. 23. On the restaurant's Facebook page, McConnell and Co. shared that the fire apparently started in an exterior storage area under the deck behind the restaurant, and that was followed by a gas explosion.
WSMV reports that the damage was estimated at more than $300,000, but the Red Pony Facebook post notes that the core of the historic building is still in good shape thanks to the sprinkler system and the quick actions of the Franklin Fire Department.
The restaurant vows to reopen, but the immediate future will be spent dealing with insurance assessments and taking care of the restaurant staff, none of whom, thankfully, was injured by the fire. Red Pony is working on a fundraiser of some sort for the displaced employees and encourages anyone who wants to help in the meantime to patronize one of their sister restaurants or buy gift cards from redponyrestaurant.com.
If anyone can bounce back from a conflagration like this one, McConnell is the one to do it!
