then _ & now
g a l l a t in 's f o o d s c e n e
Mary’s Place owners Tyler Clark (left) and Renee Clark (right) with City Councilman Jimmy Overton, a regular at the restaurant.
How does the restaurant scene in Gallatin today compare to what was available 25 years ago? The difference is night and day.
R
enee Clark, owner of Mary’s Place Restaurant on North Water Ave., remembers how things were. “There wasn’t much back then,” she said, “just a few meat-and-three places.” Renee knows a thing or two about the restaurant business. She took over running Mary’s Place in 2013 after the previous owner, her mother-in-law Mary Lucille Clark, passed away. For the Clarks, running a restaurant has always been a family affair. Often working in partnership with her sister, Arlene, Mary had owned and operated restaurants in Gallatin since 1990. Everyone in the family pitched in. For Renee, picking up where Mary left off was a natural next step. “I always dreamed of having a restaurant of my own,” Renee said. “My customers are like part of my family.” Gallatin City Councilman Jimmy Overton also remembers a very different dining landscape 25 years ago. “If you wanted a nice dinner, you had to go to Hendersonville or Nashville,” he explained. “There was nothing here in town.” As the city’s population has grown, many regional and national chains have set up shop here. Today, you can get (Continued)
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