Nashville’s beloved Arnold’s Country Kitchen reopens for Thanksgiving
An owner said they will likely open again for a six-week period in January.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A decades-old Nashville restaurant that closed its doors for good in Jan. 2023 reopened solely for Thanksgiving week.
Arnold’s Country Kitchen, which started off 8th South in 1982, served its famous meat-and-three meals to customers from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
Kahlil Arnold, chef and one of the owners of the family restaurant, said their original plan was to close on their own terms.
“We thought as a family -- collectively -- that we were going to each go do our own thing,” he said. “Some of us were going to retire, some of us were going to be opening new restaurants -- hopefully me.”
However, he said it didn’t work out that way. The sale of the building fell through, among other factors.
“The way I look at it is this building wasn’t done with us. The family of Nashville wasn’t finished with us,” he said, “so we’re here to kind of bring back old-school cooking to the Nashville community.”
Arnold said there wasn’t a better week than Thanksgiving to host this “pop-up” of sorts.
“Just like Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year for us because that’s our food. Food you want to sit around and you see family at the table. It’s food you think of when you think of Thanksgiving food,” he said. “It is heavy, rich, seasoned, family food. And that’s what Arnold’s is about. It’s about sitting around a table full of family members.”
Customers lined down and around the parking lot waiting to get a meal on Wednesday. Some of them said they’re hopeful Arnold’s will reopen for good.
Kahlil Arnold said they are making plans to open again, but temporarily. He said they’re considering opening for a few weeks in January.
“I’m definitely going to do some more stuff here. It might be a week to six weeks’ worth of stuff. Who knows,” he said. “But I mean, there’s a lot of stuff in the works.”
The restaurant will be open for Thanksgiving, but reservations are already full. Arnold’s will donate all extra food to Room In The Inn.
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