One Of The Best Restaurants In Tennessee Can Be Found Inside This Historic Department Store
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Meghan Kraft
Author
Tennessee is a state that holds the key to tomes of American history. It’s a state that has seen its share of heartache and hardship, a state that has had to grow beyond cultural expectation and push towards progressivity. In Nashville, Woolworth on 5th is a restaurant that not only gives a solid nod to the past, but also fortifies its relationship with the ever-changing present.
Woolworth on 5th may in fact be the most histrocially relevant restaurant in the city of Nashville, bar none. The city boasts old-school restaurants in mansions and in historic homes, but this downtown eatery has a history worth studying.
Woolworth on 5th is located in what was once a department store, FW Woolworth, and most recently has housed a Dollar General. You can see in this photo how the bones of the space echo the space's role many years ago: as the location of Nashville's lunch counter sit-ins.
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Nashville played a large role as the location of many lunch counter sit-ins during the Civil Rights movement of the mid-twentieth century.
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A large amount of the space has been revamped and designed around the historic elements of the diner it once was. On the mezzanine level, you can even see holes in the floor where poles stood, segregating the lunch counter space.
When you visit Woolworth on 5th you're sitting in the lap of history. It's a light look back in time, a way to remember the heartache of the world Nashville once encompassed and set our eyes towards a much more progressive future.
You can visit from 8am to 9pm Monday to Thursday, from 8am to 12am on Friday, 9:30am to 12am on Saturday and from 9:30am to 9pm on Sunday.
You can visit for yourself at 221 5th Ave N in Nashville, and don't forget to ask your server about the history of the restaurant. It's incredible!
If you’re looking to continue your adventure through the heart of Tennessee, then you should definitely check out these lovely southern wine trails.
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