The Tennesean - With a nod to Nashville's downtown history, the 21c Museum Hotel announced the name of its forthcoming restaurant and lounge. Choosing one of the building's more famous occupants, the restaurant will be called Gray & Dudley after the hardware and metal fabrication company that once filled the space.
The property, located at 221 2nd Ave. N. and expected to open May 14, is already taking reservations for that date and beyond.
This will be the culinary playground for executive chef Levon Wallace, who came to town to open chef Donald Link's Cochon Butcher before moving back to the 21c family, which he met while running the kitchen of their flagship hotel in Louisville.
Look for more of the trending communal (large/shared) dishes and hearth cooking specialties. It will also be nice to see Wallace cook without a net again, letting his creativity soar and hopefully allowing his west coast roots to shine through.
Wallace says in a statement, "The menu and experience we’re shaping at Gray & Dudley reflects my journey as a chef. It’s my coming of age. I’ve found inspiration in my heritage, my travels and this building, and it all amounts to creating a genuine
experience for guests to enjoy at their own pace and without any level of pretense.”
One dining room will have industrial accents of black steel with zinc and copper along with wood paneling and "double-height" ceilings. The other dining room will be softer and feature marble accents. The space will also have two private dining rooms and be adjacent to the museum galleries that are a hallmark of the 21c brand.