Hot Chicken on the Warpath
🔥 Nashville's spiciest export · Interactions with illegals · Health funding · Affordable parking · Cheekwood in Bloom · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone.
A nice little piece from Tyler Hummel on the expanding footprint of Nashville hot chicken to kick things off today. Megan's got some info on how local law enforcement is dealing with illegals, and Jerod reminds us that Cheekwood in Bloom wraps up this weekend, so see it while you can.
Onward.
Having lived 27 years outside of Tennessee, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to watch the places I’ve lived in grow and change with the times. My hometown of Aurora, IL, has changed dramatically in the past three decades, especially since I moved out as an adult to become a journalist. It’s even changed dramatically in the four years since I moved.
It was curious, then, to return to my roots after years of working abroad to discover that Nashville came back with me. Not only had Nashville slowly transformed into the trendy vacation capital that all my friends wanted to go to and an economic mecca to be migrated to, but its culture was being exported back to the Midwest in the form of hot chicken.
In the past few years, both Dave’s Hot Chicken and Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken and Wings franchises had opened within a short distance of my family’s home. These franchises have ballooned in the past decade, with Dave’s alone having opened nearly 300 locations since launching in 2017. And they aren’t alone. Nashville Hot is a popular spice in grocery stores and restaurants. Popeye’s, Hardee’s, Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, and Buffalo Wild Wings have rolled out Nashville Hot products. Kentucky Fried Chicken celebrated this New Year’s by announcing its hot chicken menu would expand nationwide. As CNBC reports, hot chicken products spiked 65.7% in menu mentions between 2018 and 2023.
Nashville’s cultural impact has ballooned as its exposure has increased, reflected in this newfound national demand for hot chicken. Just as companies are fleeing here for the cultural benefits, food is becoming a symbol of Nashville’s dominance. As the economic center of gravity has shifted from Memphis towards Middle Tennessee, hot chicken has overshadowed Memphis BBQ as the state’s primary culinary export.
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🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
🚨 Tracking Police Interactions With Illegals Immediately following today’s House Floor Session, the House Calendar & Rules Committee will hear a bill that would require law enforcement agencies to submit monthly reports regarding their interactions with illegal aliens. Barring the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, agencies would have to send their information to the Department of Safety.
The legislation has already passed through the state Senate and could help paint a clearer picture of what’s happening on the ground. Several online comments have stirred up controversial debates regarding interactions with illegals involved in vehicle-related incidents across the state. “My friend who has a business had 2 ppl who crashed into her building [in] the last year..no D.L. no insurance.... obviously illegal..both got bailed out..neither one showed up in court,” said one commentator on a NewsChannel 5 post regarding requirements when obtaining a Tennessee driver’s license.
Yesterday, Supertalk Nashville’s Chris Hand was late to his afternoon radio broadcast after getting hit by a non-English-speaking individual driving without a license on I-24 West. No one was injured, but Hand called in live and explained the situation on-air.
After getting the individual to stay on site, Hand alerted Highway Patrol. “They were great, like the officer was fine,” he explained. “I'm not going to knock him at all, but I asked the question…‘Does he have a license?’ and he goes, ‘No, not relevant.’”
The unlicensed driver was released and, ironically, Hand was told that his own driver’s license would be revoked if he didn’t fill out paperwork for the incident report within 20 days. It’s worth noting that the General Assembly recently passed a bill that invalidates out-of-state licenses issued to illegals and creates a misdemeanor offense if those without valid ID are caught operating a vehicle. Though the legislation is not currently in effect, it awaits the governor’s signature to become state law.
🏥 Health Research Impacted By Grant Cuts A team of academic researchers from universities across the country has put together an interactive map to show the impact of federal cuts. The Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project (SCIMaP) implicates how National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant cuts may lead to reduced economic activity and job losses county by county across the United States.
The map shows a $133 million economic loss in Davidson County, and an overall loss of $363 million and 1,567 jobs across Tennessee. Vanderbilt is making its own adjustments, while Nashville is experiencing multiple grant cuts affecting the city’s health department. “We heard that Vanderbilt University Medical Center is reducing its budget by $250 million this morning,” said Mayor O’Connell during last week’s media roundtable. “We got some temporary relief, as a federal judge offered an injunction on more than $11 billion in federal health funds that the administration sought to withhold.”
🚖 Affordable Parking Nashville is making a move toward affordable parking downtown. This week, the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure has been updating paid street parking zones across the city. Not only has the department been working out the kinks in the SmartPark system, but it’s also been reducing rates and extending parking limits.
According to WSMV, a tiered payment system will allow people to park up to 10 hours at a time. In economy parking zones, charges will be as little as $1 per hour. Workers, such as Jake Roberts, a Lipscomb student who makes extra cash doing freelance jobs downtown, are relieved to have an option besides expensive, private garages. “Most of the time I have to park really far away and then walk downtown because I can’t really afford to park downtown as a student,” Roberts told the news outlet.
DEVELOPMENT
✹ CHEEKWOOD IN BLOOM
For longtime Nashvillians, the official start of spring isn’t a week off with the kids or the sundry 80-degree days that dot early April, but the 250,000 bulbs that begin to rear their heads at Cheekwood a couple of weeks after Valentine’s Day. Now in its 13th year, the spring showcase has seen marked growth, nearly doubling its amount of tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils perfectly arranged across the estate’s 55 acres.
Though Cheekwood in Bloom officially began on March 8th and runs through the end of the weekend, March asserting its lion and lamb reputation may have kept many fans of the gardens delaying their visit. But those procrastinators couldn’t have picked a better weekend than this one. In addition to a favorable forecast, April 12-13 will feature music and food trucks in the spring beer garden all day long with plenty of room for couples and families to spread out picnic-style or roam the grounds.
Through November 2nd, Cheekwood will also host renowned pop artist Robert Indiana’s 1970 The American LOVE (White Blue Red) sculpture as part of its Masterpiece Art Series. Conceived as a way for Indiana to express his love of country, the statue will remain an anchor of Cheekwood’s summer gardens as it prepares for its 4th of July festivities.
For those who can’t make it out to the grounds this weekend, Cheekwood also has a stacked Easter itinerary with the Great Spring Art Hunt. Just as many of the bulbs may be losing their luster, the gardens will be home to 36,000 Easter eggs and “larger than life” bunny murals ripe for a scavenger hunt. While Cheekwood has packed plenty into its pre-Easter itinerary, it’s just getting started with its 2025 plans.
More information about Cheekwood in Bloom can be found on its website.
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🪕 Wilson Banjo Co. @ Station Inn, 9, $20, Info
🎸 Ty Segall Solo Acoustic w/ Mikal Cronin @ The Basement East, 8p, $26.71, Info
🪕 90s Country: A Bluegrass Tribute @ Jane's Hideaway, 8p, Info
🎸 Caroline Rose @ The Blue Room, 7p, $32.51, Info
🎸 Emery @ City Winery, 7:30p, $28+, Info
🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Open Mic @ Fox & Locke, 6:30p, Free, Info
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