Eric Church is opening up about the importance of his new Nashville bar, Chief’s. The six-story restaurant and music venue was in many ways a gift to Church’s loyal fans, especially those who have been with him since the humble beginning of his career, long before he had any success.
“It’s really important to me to be able to share Chief’s with some fans that probably early on never thought something like this would happen,” Church says in a video shared on social media. “They were on the ground floor, and we wanted to give the fans a place to come to and feel that it’s been built with the level of care and love that I think our career deserves.
“I hope they know that that’s their place, because it’s been a long journey,” he adds, “and this is the personification, the [building] of what that journey has been.”
At its heart and soul, @ChiefsBroadway is the place for the fans who were there with Eric at the ground level. They helped build his career brick by brick, so it’s only right that this place belongs to them. pic.twitter.com/5170Jbshbj
— Eric Church (@ericchurch) May 7, 2024
When announcing the opening of Chief’s, the North Carolina native said it was a full-circle moment for him, and a reminder of how far he has come in more than two decades.
“I remember driving through downtown Nashville over 20 years ago with a pawn shop guitar, riding shotgun in a beat-to-hell truck just trying to chase a dream,” Church said. “Chief’s is the culmination of catching that dream. Like everything else we do in our career, I wouldn’t even attempt a project like this if I didn’t think it would be the best, so that’s what Chief’s will be: the best.”
Church is also performing at Chief’s. The 47-year-old is currently in the middle of a 19-show residency, Eric Church: To Beat The Devil, an important way for him to celebrate Chief’s place in Music City.
“These shows at Chief’s will be one of a kind, only for Chief’s and with some songs that will only ever be performed during these shows,” Church explained. “It’s the most unique show I’ll probably ever do, and I’m excited to enjoy this chapter of what Chief’s will be.”
In an unprecedented move, especially as part of a city that boasts numerous celebrity-owned bars, Church gave the building to his fans, literally. The singer-songwriter mailed members of his fan club, the Church Choir, each a deed to one of the bricks in Chief’s, giving them a small ownership in the place he built to honor them.
“My songs are mine, until I release them, and then they’re never mine again. And this building’s a lot that way,” Church said of his decision. “It’s been mine in the building of it, in the cultivating with the stories, the challenges, and the successes. But once Chief’s opens, it’s not mine anymore. It belongs to the Choir. It belongs to the fans. It belongs to the patrons. It belongs to the stories they create there. It belongs to the music they listen to there and share from there.
“So, my story ends where theirs begins and that’s the essence of what you do musically and what we’re trying to do at Chief’s,” he added.
Chief’s is located at 200 Broadway. Find more information at ChiefsonBroadway.com.