Popular Variety Show Begins Construction on Diner Restaurant and Entertainment Venue in Nashville’s Bellevue Area
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. (September 16, 2015) – Gabriel Communications, television
personality Larry Black and his fellow cast members on the
nationally-popular comedy and music variety show, Larry’s Country Diner,
hosted a groundbreaking ceremony this morning on a new 6,700 square
foot venue that will host their popular TV tapings, a full-service diner
restaurant, gift shop and concert venue for performances from some of
country, bluegrass and gospel music’s biggest stars.
Located at 7734 Highway 70 South in Bellevue off of exit 196 on
I-40W, the custom-designed facility will be a replica of the diner
portrayed in the television show, which airs nationally on RFD-TV. It is
slated to open in late spring 2016, and will include a 135-seat
restaurant and entertainment venue meant to encapsulate the full Larry’s Country Diner
experience – “where the cameras are always rolling, and we don’t care!”
The concert venue will host scheduled and impromptu performances by
music artists who live in Nashville, and those just passing through.
Bill Bass, project manager for Larry’s Country Diner at its
parent company, Gabriel Communications, said the venue is expected to
attract hundreds of new tourists and locals of all ages each month, and
bring approximately 20 new jobs to the Bellevue area. “It is difficult
to tell at this point whether we will hire more or less, but we
anticipate the impact on the local community through tourism to be
measurable.”
Larry’s Country Diner, which began in 2009 and has
traditionally been taped at Northstar Studios on Dickerson Pike, plans
to continue to grow the operation as popularity for the brand and the
show continues to increase over the years.
“When we first started this show, we had the vision of creating
something that no one else had done – something that was full of
family-friendly humor, old-fashioned values, and great music popular in
the good ‘ole days and today. Witnessing its tremendous growth over the
past six years that’s allowed us to build a real-life diner where the
food is served hot and feels right at home when you walk in is a dream
come true,” said Larry Black, founder and owner of Gabriel
Communications.
In true Larry’s Country Diner fashion, the groundbreaking ceremony was complete with giant forks, which served as shovels, and homemade pie.
Councilwoman Sheri Weiner, who according to Black was involved from
day one in helping to clear the hurdles to keep the project on track,
attended the ceremony and said, “Larry’s Country Diner represents belief in a commitment to the future of Bellevue by bringing their destination alive at exit 196.”
Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., was also present to show his support.
“This is another great addition to the city’s offerings. It is
particularly noteworthy because of the Bellevue location and the direct
connection to the TV show. Spreading the wealth and our attractions is a
very good thing for the city,” he said.
Fans of Larry’s Country Diner are invited to personalize
commemorative bricks that will pave the diner’s entrance with names,
slogans, logos or memorials in memory of loved ones. For information on
how to dedicate a brick, please visit http://www.larryscountrydiner.com/product/larrys-country-diner-brick.
Gabriel Communications has hired MCR Group as the general contractor
for the project. David Grisham of AESH Design will serve as the
architect, and Garry Batson of Batson Engineering is the civil engineer.