Crashville on Lower Broad

A Canadian man fell through the ceiling on Saturday night at Honky Tonk Central. He was arrested by Metro Nashville Police Department and charged with felony vandalism. The man, Jesse Kloot (24), is out on bail with a court date set for late May.

Mystery shrouds the exact circumstances under which he found himself in the women’s bathroom at Honky Tonk Central. The case hasn’t reached the DA’s office, where Assistant District Attorney Joey Clifton is specifically assigned to handle Broadway prosecutions. Responding MNPD Officer Heather Flowers wrote Kloot up for felony vandalism. According to the police report, the defendant was heavily intoxicated and had climbed into the ceiling from an adjoining bathroom. Kloot did not respond to requests for comment sent via Facebook Messenger. 

“Since it’s a pending case, we’re probably not going to say much and defer to the DA’s office while prosecution is ongoing,” says attorney Bryan Lewis, who represents bar owner Steve Smith.

Honky Tonk Central has been closed since the incident. Across the street, Tootsie’s — also owned by Smith, an outsized presence on Lower Broad — appears to have some structural issues. While patrons sang along to “Friends in Low Places” at 11 a.m. on Monday, contractors tended to an active construction site on Tootsie’s second floor. The bar pulled permits last week to reconstruct a second-floor ceiling. A trash can blocked a front entrance to the second floor. In the alley, people in safety vests and hard hats were barking orders and clearing debris off Tootsie’s back deck.

“It’s an older historical building, and our construction person is down there doing some work on it,” Lewis says.

Some employees attributed workers carrying plywood to remodeling. One bartender told a patron that the work was in fact due to a collapse — an allegation that separately came through the Scene tip line last week.

Safety issues downtown extend beyond structural integrity. A dozen lawsuits in the past few years have alleged bouncer brutality and slippery staircases at Honky Tonk Central, Tootsie’s, Tin Roof and Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock N' Roll Steakhouse. Eight are still pending. Details can get graphic.