The Sampler: Brownie’s Bean Blossom Restaurant and the Nashville House Return

Good news from the dining front. The local restaurant industry is showing signs of life in the form of two major reopenings in the same recent week.

Brownie’s, that friend of the common local man, as well as the hungry visitor in search of normal country roadside diner fare, is back in business.

And that most esteemed of local restaurants, the venerable Nashville House, has re-opened after a long hiatus and a modernizing makeover.

Ironically, it was only two years ago, late 2018, when the Sampler tearfully penned a “Hail and Farewell” dispatch chronicling the closing and seeming demise of these same two important Brown County eateries. Now, as if in a portentous sign of restaurant rebirth, both re-open in the same week! Thank you to the cosmos and all the would-be deities and divinities of dining out.

Now let people of good cheer dine together.

Luckily for everyone concerned, the Nashville House has come under the leadership of Andi Rogers Bartels, daughter of prominent businessman and former owner Andy Rogers. She grew up in the Rogers business universe, and knows as well as anyone what that celebrated restaurant has meant to Brown County.

Under her careful eye, the Nashville House has updated and improved for the 21 st century while retaining all of the key elements that make it legendary: the woodwork, oil paintings and Hohenberger photos on the wall, and the menu.

“We’re making our apple butter as we always have, and we’re keeping some of our very traditional dishes, like our fried chicken and our ham and our fried biscuits and apple butter,” Bartels said. “But we’ve expanded our menu a great deal to include some sandwiches, salads, and a couple of other options.”

The dining room looks the same, although the beautiful original floor from the 1940s has been refinished.

The former “Old Country Store” space has been divided between the country store, which now has baked goods and coffee, and a new bar. Two large counters were refurbished to become the new bar. They have a three-way license, so pull up a stool and name your pleasure. The bakery and coffee shop is supplied by a new in-house baker who comes every day and bakes fresh breads and cookies and the like.

And just in time for the era of distanced dining: an all-new patio area with lots of outside seating under big, red umbrellas.

Up in Bean Blossom, everyday diners and families seeking a meal out are rejoicing over the return of one of the few “locals” type eateries in the county, Brownie’s.

Ed “Brownie” Brown is gone, but the spirit of the place—easy going, friendly, country—lives on. As the sign on the wall says, “Brownies is the place where family and friends meet.” And I’ve got a feeling that, even if you’ve never been there, you won’t leave a stranger.

The menu is much the same, with many of the old favorite specials up on the white board, like ribeye sandwiches, beef Manhattans and of course, the all-you-can-eat catfish on Friday.

Although some old menu favorites have gone, their place will be filled by new appetizers like hot wings, and pizza.

The Nashville House dining room

And, of course, in answer to the question on everyone’s mind, yes, there will be biscuits and gravy for breakfast. But will it be the same? Will the B&G be up to the old Brownies’ standard? You’ll just have to drive up to Bean Blossom and find out for yourself. Do a little sampling of your own,

In these dark times for the restaurant industry, when so many of our eateries and beaneries have fallen by the wayside through no fault of their own, it is reassuring to see signs of life and resurgence amongst our favorite local dining spots.

It just goes to show, you should never count out a true institution. They have a destiny to fulfill and a place in the natural order of things.

So, Hail and Welcome! Here’s to the two newest old restaurants in the Brown County dining pantheon.

May you thrive, live long, and prosper.