Alan Jackson Pays Not-So-Little Bitty Price For Iconic Nashville Honky-Tonk

Matt Sayles/AP

Alan Jackson has been a mainstay on country radio since the late ’80s, and now the country star is hoping his new business venture does the same for a Nashville hot spot.

According to The Tennessean, the “Little Bitty” singer paid a not-so-little bitty price for the building that was home to The Wheel, a honky tonk on Nashville’s Lower Broadway. Jackson paid $5.75 million for the three-story, 6,000 square foot buiding along with The Wheel and The Wheel Cigar Bar whose doors closed Saturday night. 

The Wheel’s former owners Robert Lee and Libbi McCullough Lee said Jackson “plans to keep it country.” The building will undergo some renovations including the addition of a rooftop patio and elevator before AJ’s Good Time Bar opens later this year. The bar will be named after Jackson’s 2008 chart-topping hit ‘Good Time.’ 

The price Jackson paid for the property set a new record for building’s in that part of Nashville. Lance Bloom, a senior associate for Nashville commercial real estate agency CBRE says, “Lower Broadway commands the highest prices because it’s simply the bullseye heart of the number one tourist destination in the region. The business that these stores and bars do is staggering.”

AJ’s Good Time Bar isn’t the first Nashville business deal for Alan Jackson. In 2014, he was a primary investor in the venture that turned the Acme Farm Supply Store into Acme Feed & Seed, a 3-story complex that includes a restaurant, honky-tonk, cocktail lounge, and rooftop bar. 

At the grand opening of the new Acme Feed & Seed, Jackson explained why he got involved in the project. 

“I love old things,” he said. “I love old cars, old boats, old music and old buildings. I’ve always loved that building, since back when it was still a farm store. It was sad to see it empty so I am proud to be a part of this.”

Jackson also shared that Lower Broadway holds a special place in his heart, which may explain his most recent purchase of The Wheel.

“I’ve loved Lower Broadway since I first came to Nashville and it was still a little bit shady.”

Congratulations to Alan Jackson on his new business venture!