Iconic Nashville Restaurant Damaged In Bombing Will Not Reopen

Nearly two months after a bomb exploded in downtown Nashville early Christmas Day morning, and businesses affected by the explosion continue to recover and rebuild. However, it seems that not every business will return. The Old Spaghetti Factory on Second Avenue will not return after its landlord terminated a lease agreement between the restaurant's owners.

The iconic Nashville restaurant has been operating at its Second Avenue North location for 40 years, according to FOX 17. When a bomb went off on Christmas Day, the Old Spaghetti Factory was hit hard. The owners claimed they offered to invest more than $1 million to rebuild and "bring the restaurant back to its original condition" to help "restore this institution to downtown Nashville." Instead, the landlords, LOFTS 160 Nashville LLC, have decided to terminate the lease agreement despite it having 14 years left.

"We are incredibly disappointed by the letter sent by our landlord as they are using this tragic event to terminate our lease," said Dean Griffith, president of The Old Spaghetti Factory. "Our restaurants and teams have endured the most challenging year, which was punctuated by the bombing. We hoped the Landlord would work with us, but they are making a business decision to have us removed."

Griffith continued, "We now have to tell our team members that they may not have a place to work, which is very disappointing. I hope the City will get involved and let them know this isn't right."

The Old Spaghetti Factory is searching for a new location in Nashville to keep the beloved restaurant's downtown presence alive.

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