For a chef who currently doesn’t have a kitchen, Sean Brock sure has been a busy man of late. Construction is progressing on his massive East Nashville shrine to the beloved Appalachian food of his youth. Two restaurants, Red Bird and Audrey will anchor a mixed use complex that will include a podcast studio, employee wellness spaces, and an R & D lab for the staff to play with recipes and ingredients.
Brock has also announced that he is converting a former coffeehouse into a new spot named Joyland where he plans to serve food based on his love of Southern gas station cuisine from 7:00 am until 2:00 am. Knowing Brock’s love of fried chicken, biscuits and cheeseburgers, this should be quite a fine addition to the East Nashville dining scene.
Brock has also been announced as the culinary creative force behind the signature restaurant in the upcoming new Grand Hyatt hotel property rising from the ground in the sprawling Nashville Yards complex in downtown Nashville. The restaurant hasn’t announced a name yet, but Brock promises that it will offer his take on updated versions of classic continental cuisine. Think Beef Wellington, tableside Caesar salad presentations, Crab Louie, Lobster Thermidor and Oysters Rockefeller.
In the official announcement of the impending restaurant, Brock sounds really excited to take a visit to the old school. “The idea is to truly embrace and be inspired by the original great American hotel restaurants, to invigorate the spirit of those historic dishes” said Brock. “This will be a place for diners to share a satisfying and leisurely meal together, host a power lunch, or partake in celebration. The restaurant will embody the idea of a celebratory attitude towards eating out, no matter the occasion.”
As if that isn’t enough to keep the chef busy, Eater Charleston recently revealed that Brock is one of the minds behind a new website called SideGig that aims to solve the thorny problem of staffing in the food and beverage industry. Potential employees can search the site to be matched with restaurants and bars that are in need of staffing help. Staffers can search job listings on the app, apply for them and get matched with the gig. SideGig takes a small fee from both sides of the transaction in return for making the connection.
SideGig is already operating in Charleston with its eyes on Nashville as the second city to roll out its services in. Considering the state of staffing in Music City, it should be a very welcome development!
