Craig Campbell loves country music and coffee, which is why he is now opening a new coffee shop, The Grindstone Cowboy, with his wife, Mindy. The new eatery will open in Eagleville, Tennessee, located about 45 minutes outside of Nashville, early next year.
“We love coffee and I’ve always wanted a coffee shop and there’s not a drive-thru coffee shop within 20 minutes of here,” Campbell tells The Tennessean.
The historic building, which will also serve as a live music venue, is in the heart of Eagleville, in a 185-year-old building, which Campbell had been interested in for a while, but it wasn’t available. When the owner offered to sell it, the country music singer and his wife quickly bought the property. Although they have no regrets, the Campbells do admit that the renovations were a bit more extensive than they anticipated. Still, they are moving full-speed ahead with their plans, including a way for customers to purchase their drinks without leaving their car.
“We love coffee and I’ve always wanted a coffee shop, and there’s not a drive-thru coffee shop within 20 minutes of here,” Campbell says.
The coffee will come from Franklin-based Frothy Monkey, with soups, sandwiches, salads, paninis, protein shakes and even coffee-inspired cocktails on the menu. Pastries will also be available, from Marcy Jo’s Bakery in Lewisburg.
Of course, Campbell plans on focusing a lot of his attention on the music aspect, creating a space similar to the Bluebird Cafe, with songwriters singing some of their own hits.
“Music is another big deal with what we’re trying to do here,” Campbell said, adding, “Like a hitmakers show. It will be the songs you recognize and the guys who wrote them … As a songwriter and as a performer, I hate nobody paying attention. So when you come in and sit down, you’re here for the show, you’re not here to talk to your friends. You’re here to listen to some really good music.”
Campbell isn’t just focused on The Grindstone Cowboy. The 42-year-old just released ”Never Mine,” with the video including Mindy, and announces he is working on a massive double album as well.
“I’m always writing and creating and recording music,” Campbell told Everything Nash. “But specifically something I’m pretty excited about is, I’ve been working on some new music for the last three or so years. And so, we’re about to put a double album out. There’ll be anywhere from 25 to 30 new songs that we release probably in the fall. We’ll do the first half and then the second half. The first half should be somewhere in October.”
All of Campbell’s music, as well as a list of his upcoming shows, can be found by visiting his website.