The Bogan family
In an email to their customer mailing list, Crystal and Joseph Bogan of The Grilled Cheeserie shared some big news about their beloved sandwich shop empire. After several years of operating under the umbrella of Fresh Hospitality, the Bogans are taking the opportunity to regain full control of their company. Fresh has served as a landlord, incubator, business consultant and financial support organization for a host of Nashville restaurant companies, including Biscuit Love, Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, Vui’s Kitchen, Hugh Baby’s, 55 South, Greko Greek Street Food and others through the years.
With the chance to move forward as an independent, The Grilled Cheeserie has been forced to make some difficult decisions. They already closed their Franklin location earlier this month and have announced that Oct. 31 will be their last day of operation at Hunters Station in East Nashville. They will retrench the business at their Hillsboro Village flagship at 2003 Belcourt Ave. and with their roving food truck.
That food truck introduced Nashville to The Grilled Cheeserie’s fine-dining-inspired gooey cheesy sandwiches more than a decade ago, and their two trucks frequently hosted the longest lines at any gathering of mobile food vendors. The Bogans took advantage of this popularity to grow into their first brick-and-mortar location in the former home of Sunset Grill in 2017. The expanded space allowed for an even more creative menu and the addition of popular specialty milkshakes.
Now that they've hunkered down in a single restaurant and truck, Joseph and Crystal admit that the future is a little scary but still exciting. They also worked hard to take care of their employees.
“We are heartbroken to say goodbye to the community we have made at both locations," say the Bogans in their email announcement. "We have worked hard to ensure any staff we could not keep have opportunities available to them with our industry friends who are so lucky to have them on their teams.”
In spite of the economic headwinds of the past couple of years, the Bogans vow to emerge better than ever: “We are focusing on getting back to our roots: family and service to our customers, community and team members. We know that growth is not linear. It ebbs and flows; with your continued support we hope to make 2023 a year of renewed growth and exploration.”
Really, there’s no need to wait until next year to get started with all that. Head down to the Village and order a sandwich and a shake while you congratulate this beloved couple on starting their next chapter.
