News Room
Goldbergs team up with Tower on another restaurant project
By J.R. Lind - Nashville Post
May 19, 2010
["Since Tower Investments purchased 411 Broadway in 2005 (the old Heilig Meyer furniture store, which sat vacant for 12 years) and the adjacent Merchants Restaurant, Tower renovated both buildings. There are now 7 new businesses that employ nearly 100 full and part-time staff." ~ Steve Marks - content not part of original article]
Merchants marks third JV between restaurateurs and real estate investors
Nashville restaurateur brothers Max and Ben Goldberg are taking over one of downtown's most beloved dining spots.
The Goldberg's company Strategic Hospitality, already operating redneck-chic Paradise Park, rooftop venue Aerial and swanky speakeasy The Patterson House, now runs Merchants at the corner of 4th and Broadway.
The building itself is owned by Tower 401 Investments LLC, an arm of the powerful Tower Investment land group, which also owns the Aerial and Paradise Park properties. Tower originally purchased the Merchants property in 2006 for $2.125 million, then sold it to DM Realty, a firm operated by another member of Tower's Marks family, in 2008 for $4.5 million. Late last year, DM quitclaimed the property in favor of Tower 401..
The Goldbergs plan a redesign for the restaurant to be completed by late summer, tentatively the end of July, with the first floor with "a comfortable and classy black and white theme, and the second floor will retain its formal feel but will be updated to display more sophisticated surroundings."
"We're still working out all the details for the new look for each floor," said Ben Goldberg. "But we are confident that once the restaurant is redesigned and we can roll out the new menu, Merchants will be on the short list of best places to eat in Nashville."
The Goldbergs have signed former Capitol Grille sous chef Clayton Rollison as executive chef at Merchants.