While many of us, this writer included, were on Commerce Lexington's leadership visit to Austin, Texas, this summer in search of ideas in that city's fabled entertainment districts, what was Jamie Schrader up to back home in Lexington?
"What I was working on here in Lexington was finalizing the lease with the Tin Roof for that hot corner on Maxwell and Limestone," said the commercial Realtor, in revealing that a sit-down restaurant/music venue combination that has become one of Nashville's hot spots is now on its way to a prime location along Lexington's "town and gown" corridor between downtown and the UK campus.
Tin Roof founder Jason Sheer has leased the location of the former Huddle House and is now pursuing permits and licensing to begin construction on what he anticipates will be an investment approaching $600,000. "The building will not be recognizable as far as what it is now. We are certainly going to grow the building and improve it dramatically," he said.
Sheer opened the first Tin Roof in Atlanta in 1995, inspired by a driving desire to be around live music. Little did he know then that scratching that itch would lead to some big changes in his personal life. "I said, you know what? If I'm going to go to a place and have some drinks and stuff, I don't want to just listen to XM Radio, or CDs, or whatever it may be; I always have loved live music. And I actually married a musician. She was playing at my place in Atlanta, and that's how we met."
Now a father of three, Sheer has evolved his concept into a business model becoming popular around the country, serving up food by day and live music by night. "We're a full-fledged restaurant. We serve lunch and dinner from a full menu. We make all our own marinades, homemade guacamole, fresh grilled salsa. The menu mainly consists of a large variety of pressed sandwiches. ... We also have a large quesadilla section on our menu, and they tend to get interesting, as well, with a large variety of ingredients. Of course we have lots of giant salads. Everything on our menu is homemade, everything's fresh; we don't have a microwave. We have chefs in the kitchen, not just some kids slopping something together."
Then, after sundown, things change. "At night, we turn into a bar and we've got live music," Sheer said. "It's been a very popular place in Atlanta, in Nashville and in Franklin (Tenn.). We provide a full stage and lights, mostly acoustic music, so you can sit and socialize and listen, too. The way we design these places, if you want to watch the music and have it right on top of you, you can certainly sit right next to the stage. But if you want to get away a little bit and still be a part of the atmosphere and hear the music, you can do that."
The concept brings to Lexington a key to connecting the UK campus with downtown while helping to revitalize the local music scene, creating a launch pad for local artists. "We're looking to find a new stable of artists. And hopefully we can help launch some careers, because we're just lucky to have been a part of some great starts here in recent years. Trent Tomlinson was our Monday night act. Big and Rich was our Tuesday night act until they blew up, huge. David Nail was an act. That list goes on.
"We're going to pull people from right there, whether it's kids who are just starting out at UK and are playing music or people from the community," Sheer said. "We'll certainly get some of our more popular bands that have become somewhat legendary in Nashville to travel up to Lexington. On top of that, we also have been very lucky in Nashville to be considered a very legitimate music venue. We have worked with every label and all kinds of publishers in town."
The Tin Roof is not a franchise. Sheer invites key employees to become percentage owners in new locations. So Wes Stephens and Tim Gibbons are making plans to move to Lexington to run the new venue. "Wes was a manager and still is at the Nashville location, but now he's going to be an owner in Lexington. He and Tim Gibbons are going to be doing this together. Tim was a bartender for years, and now he's going to be one of the percentage owners," Sheer said.
Schrader said after meeting Sheer and learning about his concept, he immediately thought of the Maxwell and Limestone location. "I knew that corner was perfect for it. And I knew that it was going to be a huge success and an exciting project, based on what the city is trying to accomplish with the development of more live entertainment spots."
Jason Sheer's basic operational philosophy? "It's just a fun place. It's fun to be a part of. It's friendly; that's something that I stress. If you're gonna work at the Tin Roof, you're a happy person or you won't last very long." Sheer hopes to swing open the doors in late November.