The New Old Nashville

“The Preds got their name from this site,” restaurateur Wayne Dice said during a late lunch at his new venture, Back 40. “They found the saber-tooth tiger in this building when they were constructing it the 1970s. That sense of history is important to me.” 

Occupying the long-vacant rear side of UBS Tower since its soft opening in January, Back 40 brings a much-needed dining spot to the intersection of Union and 3rd.  But, more importantly, it’s not merely the latest in a line of concepts from out-of-towners. It’s an attempt from Dice, who has long admired Nashville from afar, to pay tribute to the version of Music City he fell in love with in the first place. 

Even though he just moved full time to the Nashville area from Las Vegas a few months ago, Dice can regale his patrons with stories of Nashville’s past with the best of the city’s lifetimers. That’s because it has loomed large in his mind since he was a teenager. “When I was 18 years old and fresh out of boot camp, my parents came and got me, and we wanted to come to Nashville,” Dice said. “What I remember about Nashville that night that has stuck with me is The Stock-Yards, which was a Nashville staple at that time. I look back at The Stock-Yards and how it was run, just remembering that night there. I wanted people to have that experience here. I wanted to open something that was similar, that was not a honky tonk, but a place you can come and enjoy a good meal, have live music and have a great service and a great ambiance.”

Like Dice, many longtime Nashvillians have felt a gaping hole as the city has evolved into a destination for foodies. This lack was most recently apparent in last week’s New York Times feature on the city’s 25 best restaurants right now that—a shout out to Bolton’s and Sean Brock’s latest venture aside—is a mishmash of high concepts and trendy global flexes du jour (Laos today, Kurds tomorrow).

Those that call the city home and just want a good meal beyond Sperry’s and Jimmy Kelly’s are often out of luck because there are few other eateries that even attempt to reflect everyday Southern tastes. There’s the sea of country superstar-endorsed Broadway eateries spearheaded by cosplaying out-of-town developers; the local institutions like Prince’s and The Pharmacy brimming with an onslaught of tourists that even newer scaled-down locations at Assembly Food Hall cannot abate, and the sacrosanct urban posturing and international pastiche of spots adored by food writers who make martyrs of plebeian mainstream critics like Brad Schmitt in the hallowed pages of the Scene. 

Fortunately, Dice has proven himself the type of restaurateur who understands a city exists beyond its tourist districts and lofty residents of the Downtown Corridor. After a decades-long career in Vegas law enforcement, Dice had the opportunity to take his love of food professional. “In 2017, I was asked to invest in a brunch place in Las Vegas, and I wanted to hear the details on it,” Dice said. “Once I was told that Scott Cummings, the season 12 winner of Hell's Kitchen, was going to be one of the partners. I immediately was like, ‘Okay, when do I sign the check?’”

While the restaurant proved successful, COVID’s long-term effect on Vegas led many investors to sell their shares. Thus, Dice found himself the last man standing. “I had to get more involved and started learning about the restaurant industry and the hospitality side of things, and that's what I fell in love with,” Dice said. “I knew that my career in law enforcement was going to end in a few years. I was kind of looking forward to retirement, and I needed to do something after retirement. I couldn't think of a better thing to do than run a restaurant.”

In developing the concept for Back 40, Dice chose to honor his own family’s heritage as early pioneers of the Pacific Northwest. Nodding to the nickname for the place behind the main house where ranchers would cut loose after a hard day's work, Back 40 hopes to prove the equivalent for Nashvillians. “When I lived in Las Vegas, I never wanted to go down to the Strip unless I had family or friends in town. Otherwise, I avoided it,” Dice said. “I’d rather eat at some of the local places off the Strip with absolutely amazing food. That's what I want to do with this place.”

With a robust menu that includes a variety of coffees and cocktails, Back 40 offers the mix of high-quality ingredients and comfort foods long missing from downtown. Power lunchers can change up their routine with the Southern Caesar salad topped with pork belly and a housemade dressing that never overwhelms the greens. While the Cajun Chicken Alfredo has become an early customer favorite thanks to its andouille, Back 40 can also claim one of the city’s best soups–a mix of honeynut squash, chicken, orange peel, and black pepper that is hearty enough to serve as a meal on its own while providing a nice energy boost on a mid-winter day. 

Other highlights include bacon-wrapped meatloaf, brisket with cornbread crumbles, and the dried aged pork chops. “My grandparents were from North Carolina, so I remember growing up on collard greens. The mac and cheese was a big thing in our family back then, and the pork chop was a huge part of growing up,” Dice said. “I remember my grandmother used to make the best pork chop. When I hired my executive chef, he asked me a lot of questions about the type of food I ate growing up.”

As Back 40’s chef partner, Texan John Baez has worked his way through the South’s culinary traditions in restaurants from Austin to Vegas, where he began his collaborations with Dice. While Baez’s influence working with executive chef Ken Massey is ever present on Back 40‘s menu—especially in its integration of beef dishes and Cajun spice, Dice set out to hire the best talent already in Nashville as well. 

Pastry Chef Caitlin Bussard is a longtime Nashvillian whose acorn squash cheesecake and Tennessee Budino (a boozy, whiskey-caramel custard with smoked salt) offer a fresh take worthy of an after-dinner indulgence. However, Bussard’s signature is her cornbread, including Joe’s Corn Cake, which she soaks in sweet milk, peach jam, and buttermilk creme. “This is me being able to bring my family onto the plate,” Bussard said. “It's named Joe's Corn Cake because it's for my dad. It's a homage to my father, who passed away in 2017. Every summer, we would come down here to Tennessee. And he would always do buttermilk and cornbread. It brings me back to those summers when I would get to spend lazy days hanging out with my grandparents and dad.” 

As his general manager and mixologist, Dice enlisted James Murray, a fixture on the Nashville food scene since he first moved here in 2001 who has racked up numerous awards for his cocktails. While the bar menu boasts the expected whiskey-based drinks, Murray’s favorite is the Time Moves Slow. “I take overripe bananas, almost rotten bananas. Six bananas for every one liter of a Jamaican rum,” Murray said. “Macerate it for about three to four days, hand press it and strain. It makes a beautiful banana cordial. Then, I take a champagne; I'll do a one-to-one, reduce it by a third, make a semi-rich champagne syrup. We'll put about an ounce of that in. We’ll do some lemon juice. Take a lime point and light it on fire. Make it beautiful. Eye-popping, you know?”

Despite all the work he and his team have put into Back 40, Dice still believes that Nashville’s legacy and his long-overlooked location are as integral to the restaurant as its endlessly impressive menu. “With all the glass in here, you’re not confined to a room. You've got such a great view of the buildings: government buildings across street, county courthouses. You’ve got Nissan Stadium. I think that's what people have really appreciated.” 

Back 40 is located 315 Deaderick St #225, Nashville, TN 37238, with a direct entrance off 3rd Ave. It is currently open with a limited menu until its grand opening in March and is taking Valentine’s Day reservations.