A long, flat, pink building stands at the corner of Broadway and 17th Avenue South in Midtown. The building houses Sub Stop, a Nashville institution that has existed for over 40 years, with 27 of those years in the pink building. This Friday, May 29, Sub Stop will open for its very last day of business. Not long after that, the building will be demolished.
As reported by our colleagues over at Nashville Post, Atlanta-based development company Novare Group was long eyeing the 1.36-acre lot at Broadway and 17th. And as reported by the Nashville Business Journal, Sub Stop is unable to relocate, and the business itself is now up for sale. Novare has plans to close on the acquisition this summer, and in place of the little pink building, the company will build a 25-story, 352-apartment complex by the name of SkyHouse.
You probably wouldn’t call what Sub Stop does particularly innovative or game-changing — they’re not turning out gourmet, prize-winning sandwiches. But they are indeed making quality, consistent subs — great bread with a great consistency, topped with large portions of meat and cheese, made to order. They slather on the condiments, pile on the toppings. These aren’t your puny little hoagies of the Subway tradition — these are eat-half-now, save-half-for dinner tube-shaped behemoths.
But more than the subs themselves — or the soups, or the colossus-sized fountain sodas — what makes Sub Stop unique is its character. Owned and operated by the Grizzard family, the restaurant has long displayed weird bits of Music City-related memorabilia on its walls and in its waiting area — magazine covers featuring Taylor Swift, bits of trivia about Johnny Cash. Tacked on the counter, you could frequently find the sorts of dad jokes and riddles and goofy factoids some member of your family might forward you. Is it eye-roll-inducing material? Sure. But it's endearing in the way the "Frog Parking" sign in your Uncle Harold's garage is endearing. It's familiar. It's good-natured. It's sweet.
"It's a sign of the times," Sub Stop owner Jeff Grizzard tells NBJ in the afore-linked article. "That's the way Nashville is going, and there's no way we can stop it."
That may be the case. But that doesn't mean we can't salute a Nashville institution on its way out, and buy one last colossal, mayo-coated meat-and-cheese tube. Farewell, Sub Stop. Thanks for the grub.
I know there are plenty of other Sub Stop fans here on Bites. Anybody else want to share thoughts or memories?
