Food and Drink

COVID-19's stranglehold on the live music industry turned Andy Atkins' life upside down.

• His work at a stage and lighting production company evaporated, so he started working odd jobs building decks and fixing motorcycles.
• But Atkins' favorite way to pass the time was testing out burger recipes with his friend Cody Driggers.

Flash forward: Several months of tinkering led to a burger recipe that formed the bedrock of one of Nashville's up-and-coming business ventures — Bad Luck Burger Club.

Nashville's food scene continues to get more star-studded with celebs such as Justin Timberlake and Miranda Lambert opening new restaurants this fall.

👋 Axios Local's Emma Way here! I'm visiting the Axios Nashville crew next week from Charlotte, and there are a lot of new restaurants I want to try since my last trip here pre-pandemic.

• The spots on my short list are Instagrammable and trendy. I'm out to see if they live up to the hype.

Flying under the radar of Nashville's growing foodie scene is a barbecue hut in Joelton where patrons wait in long weekend lines and food often sells out by early afternoon.

Why it matters: Wise Guy's barbecue is a throwback to an era before Nashville had a bevy of buzzy BBQ joints in trendy neighborhoods.

• Located on Coopertown Road 19 miles northwest of downtown, Wise Guy's eschews the typical BBQ business model, operating with limited hours and leaning heavily on word-of-mouth marketing.
• Open just two weekends a month (including this one), the setup is spare: a few picnic tables next to a small hut where owner Kelli Guy and her team take orders.