Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell approved the Metro Council’s legislation to implement the “legacy business” grants described earlier this year, in response to business owners warning that soaring property taxes were undermining their ability to succeed financially in the city.
After property taxes drew headlines when Acme Feed & Seed warned that a 356 percent property tax hike on its leased property would raise its property tax bill from $129,000 to about $589,000, the O’Connell administration announced a “legacy business” program the mayor said would support Nashville business owners.
However, the legislation O’Connell approved last Wednesday set qualifications for grant money, including a requirement that businesses have operated for at least 15 years.
Though the Acme Feed & Seed building dates to the 19th century, the current business operating at the location was only founded in 2014, after the building sat mostly vacant for more than a decade. Despite the historic building, the 2014 founding appears to make the establishment ineligible for the mayor’s grant program.
Of the four Broadway bars whose property taxes The Tennessee Star examined in February, at least three do not appear to qualify based on the businesses’ age.
Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk opened in 2018, making it less than a decade old. Friends in Low Places, associated with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, is also ineligible because it was founded in 2024.
Honky Tonk Central is the only establishment profiled in February for the property tax hikes it experienced that may qualify, as the company’s website states it was founded in 2011. The company’s filings with the Tennessee Secretary of State suggest it was founded in March 2011, making it narrowly eligible.
However, a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filing for the Honky Tonk Central shows it did not file its application until February 2014, and declared March 2012 was the first time the name was used in commerce. In April 2012, The Nashville Music Guide also described the establishment as a “new honky tonk that has opened on Broadway,” potentially supporting a 2012 founding that would make it ineligible for the “legacy business” program.
The mayor’s office stated that it expects applications to open in November, with recipients notified in February 2027. If Honky Tonk Central opened its doors in March 2012, then it appears it will not be eligible to apply for the grant until March 2027.
In addition to the 15-year requirement, the grant program also specifically excludes any establishment legally classified as a “nightclub,” though it is not clear how Metro legally classifies the four establishments examined by The Star.
Businesses must also be located in Davidson County and have fewer than 101 employees who work 30 hours or more per week. The mayor’s office of economic and community development will decide other criteria.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Acme Feed & Seed Building” by Acme Feed & Seed.
