A new dueling piano bar is coming to downtown Nashville along Second Avenue.
Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar is heading to 152 Second Ave. N., an area of downtown that has been undergoing revitalization efforts following the Christmas Day bombing in 2020, which left many businesses along Second Avenue damaged or destroyed.
Pete’s will absorb former Nashville dueling piano bar, The Big Bang, which closed its doors in 2020. The Big Bang owners Sam Leatherwood and Meredyth Muller have joined the Pete’s Nashville team alongside Pete’s partners Austin Walter, the CEO of Amplified Hospitality Group, and James Hoffman.
“We’ve been flirting with the idea of Nashville for a few years. I personally fell in love with Nashville four or five years ago, and I knew I had to bring a dueling piano concept here,” Walter said. “We thought there was a great opportunity because it’s the live music Mecca of the world.”
Pete’s began in Austin, Texas, in 1992 to provide a party-starting, fun-filled entertainment and bar environment to guests. The Nashville location will be Pete’s sixth spot, following its locations in Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, Frisco and Chicago.
The 10,000-square-foot space is expected to have three bars, a video wall and a VIP section, according to Nashville Business Journal. It will serve Pete’s signature cocktails such as the Dragon Punch and the Bangarang, as well as its 52-ounce schooners and “tasty tubs,” which offer shareable beverages in a bathtub topped with a rubber duck.
“It’s loud, it’s fun, it’s in your face,” Walter said. “The crowd plays a big role in the night. It’s fun and energetic. It’s not like anything the city currently has.”
Walter said the space is currently being renovated. Though it is too early to provide an exact opening date, he said the team is aiming for the beginning of the new year.
“We’re proud to be part of the whole revitalization of Second Avenue,” Walter said. “When the space became available and we had the opportunity to tour it, I thought [it was] a great opportunity for us to be part of it, especially once I did a deep dive into what the city was doing with Second Avenue. That street is going to change night and day from what they’re doing with it. It’s going to be a big attraction, and we’re excited to be part of it.”
