Written by Josie Bisto
Country superstar Alan Jackson recently made a big purchase Downtown Nashville. He bought a honky tonk on Lower Broadway. The location, 421 Broadway was formerly home to The Wheel Honky Tonk Bar and The Wheel Cigar Bar. Alan, already a partner with Broadway’s hot riverfront bar Acme Feed & Seed, plans to add a third floor, a rooftop elevator and a rooftop patio to the building before opening later this year.
I always wanted to own a honky-tonk that plays real Country music on Broadway that I could put my name on,” Jackson told The Tennessean.
Setting a record for the most anyone has paid for a building on Broadway, AJ paid a whopping $5.75 million for the building, that’s $925 per square foot. He will no doubt make his money back quickly as the Lower Broadway strip is the #1 tourist destination in the region.
The business that these stores and bars do is staggering,” Associate Lance Bloom of CBRE, a Nashville real estate company stated.
Alan plans to name the bar AJ’s Good Time Bar after his 2008 hit “Good Time”. He is the third Country singer who is scheduled to open a bar on Broadway this year; joining John Rich’s Redneck Riviera and Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row.
Alan’s impressive music career has spanned over 25 years. He has released 15 studio albums, 3 greatest hits, 2 Christmas albums and 2 Gospel albums; selling over 80 million records worldwide. He has had more than 50 singles hit Billboard’s “Top 30 Country Songs”, an astounding 35 reached #1. A Grand Ole Opry Member since 1991, Alan has been nominated for dozens of awards. He has won 2 Grammys, 16 CMA Awards and 17 ACM Awards.
Although his awards are astonishing, Jackson also writes a lot of his own music and has stated “If I had to pick something, I’d rather them remember me for songwriting”.
If you’re planning a trip to Nashville later this year be sure to check out 421 Broadway to check on the progress of AJ’s bar, or be one of it’s first customers after completion.
To keep up with Alan Jackson visit his website and follow him on Facebook and Twitter..
