Roderick Bailey
The Silly Goose — chef Roderick Bailey's East Nashville restaurant, which has operated to general acclaim for the past six years — has shut down, and all indications are the closure is permanent.
The restaurant, which is closed on Mondays, failed to reopen for business today, and doors are locked. Food was seen being removed from the kitchen for donation.
Bailey didn't immediately respond to the Scene's requests for comment, but we'll keep you posted when we know more.
Bailey, a Culinary Institute of America grad, opened The Silly Goose at 1888 Eastland Ave. in 2009, dazzling Scene restaurant critic Carrington Fox, who wrote:
Our meals at Silly Goose delivered the perfect balance of creativity and volume to leave us energized, looking forward to the next meal — and wishing it could be a meal prepared by Bailey.
Though The Silly Goose closed temporarily in 2011 (the restaurant's Facebook page cited an "untenable business situation"), it seemed to possess the kind of loyal customer base and recognition to weather all storms.
Two years ago, Bailey won the Southeast region title in The People's Best New Chef competition, run by Food & Wine magazine. Local fans include Bites' Lesley Lassiter, who wrote last year about Silly Goose's preserved lemon and goat cheese polenta, calling it "quite simply one of the best things I’ve ever tasted."
With the current boom in restaurant openings, it seems inevitable that some older restaurants will be pushed out, but it's shocking to lose one like The Silly Goose.
