Jim Myers

jtmyers@tennessean.com

Stepping out of the safe confines of the hollows of Moore County, Jack Daniel's plans to open its first retail store outside of its home in Lynchburg, Tenn. Dubbed the Nashville General Store, it will open later this month in the historic Marathon Village complex.

"We couldn't think of a better place than Nashville," said Tobey Roush, who oversees the licensing of all retail products that bear the Jack Daniel's name and logo. Coinciding with the distillery's 150th anniversary celebration, he called it a great combination of place, timing and luck.

Roush mentioned how they had watched the tourism boom for the area, with stores such as Antique Archaeology and dedicated bus stops bringing a lot of visitors to the row of shops and businesses that were once home to the Marathon automobile factory.

The store will carry a host of merchandise, from clothing to barware and custom-made musical instrument displays, but you won't find a drop of Mr. Jack's original product, Tennessee whiskey. The store would need a liquor license to do that, and if we've learned anything in the past year, it's that selling different things in different places can be a long row to hoe.

More than just a merchandise outlet, though, Roush says there will be displays about the whiskey-making process and the charm of Lynchburg, perhaps motivating visitors to hop in their cars and make the drive south to see the distillery firsthand.

What Roush didn't mention is that Marathon Village is also home to two active distilleries, Corsair and Nelson's Green Brier, which can sell distilled product.

When apprised of the news of the new store, Corsair owner Darek Bell sounded the welcome wagon.

"They have a great brand," he said. "We're excited to have them as neighbors. Along with Greenbrier, we want to have that kind of synergy here."

Down in the next building, Charlie Nelson, who owns Nelson's Green Brier Distillery with his brother, Andy Nelson, echoed many of the same sentiments.

"The fact that Jack Daniel's is moving in is proof that this area is really growing," Charlie Nelson said. "This will bring more traffic to all of the businesses and, hopefully, more whiskey enthusiasts to our distillery and Corsair's."

The announcement is in keeping with the rollout of other promotions for Jack Daniel's 150th-anniversary celebration, including a worldwide barrel scavenger hunt and a gala celebration to be held in October.

The 1,500-square-foot Jack Daniel’s Nashville General Store will be at 1305 Clinton St. and will be open seven days a week.

Reach Jim Myers at 615-259-8367 on Instagram@culinarityand on Twitter@ReadJimMyers.



