Nashville property tax records show that Acme Seed & Feed is not the only popular bar on Lower Broadway whose property tax bill quadrupled in 2025, as the establishment appears to share that honor with Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk South, while at least two more businesses saw their taxes double or triple.
Acme Seed & Feed recently drew headlines after their property tax bill increased from about $129,000 in 2024 to $589,000 in 2025, with the business’ owner recently warning that the 356 percent property tax increase may prompt serious changes for his customers, employees, and the musicians who perform there.
Though Acme Seed & Feed was the most dramatic example of a one-year property tax hike reviewed by The Tennessee Star on Wednesday, the rate of change was only slightly more impressive than the 330 percent increase in tax bill for Honky Tonk Central, whose local property taxes went from $81,000 in 2024 to $348,000 last year.
Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk South also saw its property tax bill more than triple, rising from about $209,000 in 2024 to $765,000 for 2025, while Friends in Low Places saw the greatest dollar-amount increase, sharply rising by $442,000 in one year, from roughly $397,000 in 2024 to $839,000.
Other business owners in the city have reported similar increases, including the owner of Arnold’s Country Kitchen, who on Wednesday told Fox 17 that his business’ taxes increased by more than $130,000 last year.
A notice published by Nashville last year stated that the city’s property valuation was set in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in lower-than-normal property taxes. According to the statute, they were reassessed for the 2025 tax year, when Broadway was surging financially.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell, facing criticism for earlier remarks about the economy’s evolution in response to property tax hikes, on Tuesday released a fact check containing his full remarks on the topic.
According to O’Connell, the owner of Acme Seed & Feed “has already entertained some significant offers recognizing that value,” and may sell his business.
“So, it’s not up to me whether he is going to keep that business open. It’s up to him as a property owner to determine how to capture the value that’s inherent in the property,” said O’Connell, according to his office.
He later stated, “I think this is a tough one because you look at businesses all along Broadway, all along 2nd Avenue. You look at the volume of transactions that are there and the prices people are willing to pay for property, and it’s tough. It’s competitive. It’s a place where a lot of people want to be, and the market evolves.”
The sharp increase in taxes comes as Tennessee’s state legislators move toward passing a constitutional amendment to prohibit the state from instituting its own property tax in the future. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) endorsed the legislation earlier this week.
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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” by Acme Feed & Seed.
I am so glad we got out of Davidson County 5 years ago. The main reason we left was the fast trend to socialism in the county, that has not slowed down. Our much better quality of life and lower taxes is well worth the change we made. The Nashville voters made the decision for this kind of government overreach. Learn to live with it, then.