Why Some Of Nashville’s Downtown Bars & Restaurants Could Be In Danger Of Closing Their Doors

Where will all the bachelorette parties go?

Thanks to new property appraisals in Nashville, there’s a concern that a lot of the bars and restaurants located on Broadway and elsewhere in Downtown Music City could shutter. 16.9 million people visited Nashville just last year, and believe it or not, that annual visitor number is expected to gradually increase in the next couple of years. So it’d be a real shame if a number of the honky tonks people are traveling from all over the country to visit close their doors… especially if the reason they are closing their doors could be avoidable.

Basically, the new property appraisals that were completed in 2024 have raised property taxes to heights that have never been seen before. Rob Mortenson, the head of the Broadway Entertainment Association, told FOX17 that the rising taxes could very well spell the end for some of staples of the Broadway scene:

“These are folks that have been there for 40 years on Broadway, and, you know, they can’t pay the taxes. Their option is, I was told, we’re either going to go bankrupt or go to jail, one of the two, because we literally can’t pay the taxes.”

There’s no doubt that Nashville has become a hotspot in recent years. The city’s growth has been astronomical, and that growth has resulted in property value – specifically in Davidson County, where the city of Nashville is located – to rise over 40%. You might think, “Oh, that’s great! People’s property is worth more now.” That might be true, but the hidden negative that comes with it: property taxes rise with property value.

Because of the rising property taxes, some locally owned businesses that are located in the downtown area feel as though they are being taxed like corporations just because they are located in a prime location. Layla Vartanian, the owner of Layla’s Honk Tonk on Broadway, told FOX17 it’s the largest property tax increase she’s seen since she opened up her bar in 1997:

“I’ve never seen an increase of any kind of property tax or any kind of tax in such a short period of time. We’re having an increase of 300-400% on these buildings down here, on our commercial buildings. Even on personal properties, residential properties, the increase is 300% and 400%.”

That’s almost unfathomable.

And that kind of tax hike is going to make it extremely difficult for some bars and restaurants to stay open. Either that, or it’s going to become a lot more expensive to visit Downtown Nashville. Jacob Kupin, a Metro Councilmember, shared that the new appraisals from 2024 have caused some property tax bills to soar into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. One particular business saw their tax bill increase from $500,000 to almost $1 million.

Kupin told FOX17 that some businesses facing skyrocketing property taxes could have no other choice – if they want to stay open – but to pass on the cost to the consumer:

“The building value goes up, the tax bill goes up, and most businesses can’t just eat a couple hundred thousand dollars out of nowhere. That gets passed on somewhere — whether that’s the cost of food, cutting back on employees, or, in some cases, shutting their doors because it’s too expensive.”

All I know from my personal experience going to Broadway bars is that a) food and drinks are already way too expensive and most visitors (including myself) couldn’t afford additional price hikes and b) plenty of bars and restaurants downtown are already understaffed (or at least seem as though they are), so cutting costs by lowering the amount of employees could lead to disaster for the tourist hotspot.

If Metro leaders in Nashville don’t reassess the appraisal process, some of Broadway’s iconic bars and restaurants could have no other choice but to close their doors. And it’ll be the little, locally-owned joints that go first rather than the corporate establishments that have already somewhat taken over the 5-block stretch in the heart of Music City.

For those that say they don’t even recognize Broadway anymore, there’s a chance it gets worse if this property tax problem isn’t alleviated.

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