Food History of Nashville

Key eras

1779 to 1880, frontier settlement and country cooking

Nashville's earliest food culture grew on the Cumberland River frontier: country ham cured in smokehouses, biscuits leavened with buttermilk, and game cooked over open fires. By the 1850s the city was Tennessee's commercial hub, with steamboat traffic bringing rice, sugar and produce up the Cumberland from New Orleans.

1880 to 1950, the meat-and-three and Goo Goo era

Lunch counters and boarding houses standardised the meat-and-three plate-lunch format. Standard Candy invented the Goo Goo Cluster in 1912, widely cited as America's first combination candy bar. Black-owned restaurants flourished on Jefferson Street; Swett's opened in 1954. The Loveless Cafe began serving biscuits on Highway 100 in 1951.

1930s to 1980s, hot chicken born and named

Thornton Prince of Prince's Hot Chicken Shack invented Nashville hot chicken in the 1930s, originally as a punishment plate his girlfriend served him for staying out. The recipe stayed local, mostly Black-clientele, for decades. Andre Prince Jeffries took over the family business in 1980 and kept the original cayenne paste recipe through every move.

2000 to 2015, James Beard awards arrive

Hattie B's opened in 2012, taking hot chicken to a wider audience. Arnold's Country Kitchen won the James Beard America's Classics Award in 2009, Prince's followed in 2013. Rolf and Daughters opened in Germantown in 2012, marking the city's shift toward fine dining. Sean Brock opened Husk Nashville in 2013.

2015 to 2026, Michelin stars and the new establishment

The first Michelin Guide American South in November 2025 awarded stars to Bastion, The Catbird Seat and Locust, plus Bib Gourmands to Kisser and others. Sean Brock's Audrey opened 2021. Germantown's restaurant row consolidated around Henrietta Red, City House, Rolf and Daughters and The Optimist.

Immigrant influences

• African American Southern: The foundational cuisine of Nashville: hot chicken, soul food, meat-and-three counters, fried catfish and the smoking traditions that became Tennessee BBQ.
• German immigrants in Germantown: Germantown was settled by German immigrants in the 1850s and remains the neighbourhood name; sausage-making and beer culture persist in the restaurant row today.
• Kurdish refugees (Little Kurdistan): Nashville hosts the largest Kurdish population in the US, concentrated in South Nashville. Kurdish kebab shops and bakeries on Nolensville Pike are an essential thread.
• Mexican and Central American: Nolensville Pike runs the city's serious Mexican and Salvadoran restaurants. Taquerias, pupuserias and panaderias arrived in the 1990s and remain the cheap-eats backbone.
• Vietnamese and Lao: Charlotte Avenue and Murfreesboro Pike host pho counters and Lao food. The Nashville Farmers Market international food hall houses several of the best stalls.

Signature innovations

• Nashville hot chicken (Prince's, 1930s) - became a national dish by 2020
• Goo Goo Cluster (1912) - first combination candy bar in America
• Meat-and-three (mid-1900s) - codified Tennessee lunch counter format
• Country ham with redeye gravy - canonical Loveless Cafe plate
• Music venue dining (Bluebird Cafe, City Winery) - food and music inseparable