More Than a Meat and Three
Wabash Southern Kitchen Puts a Modern Spin on Southern Hospitality
Just outside the Nashville city limits—past the skyscrapers, past the pedal taverns—you’ll find a place that still sets the table the old way. Plates piled high. People pulling up chairs. The kind of place where the fried chicken’s crispy, the rolls are fresh, and the recipes come with a side of family history. It’s called Wabash Southern Kitchen. And around here, it’s more than a restaurant. It’s a revival.
Wabash was never meant to be just another stop. Not for brothers Taylor and Rankin Clinton, and not for the people of Nolensville. They built this place like a Sunday supper—unpretentious, intentional, and authentic.
The idea started like most Southern stories do: around a kitchen table. Taylor and Rankin grew up in nearby Franklin, where home-cooked meals were sacred—their grandmother passed down kitchen wisdom with every dish, and their mom made sure no one ever missed dinner. Meals were mandatory. So was talking about your day. That ritual stuck. So did the food.
Their family roots stretch deep—New Orleans, Hattiesburg, and a few places in between. Places where you don’t just cook food, you craft it. The Clintons carried those lessons into adulthood. Taylor started washing dishes, worked his way up, and eventually oversaw a portfolio of eight restaurants. Rankin took a different path—West Point, Afghanistan, an MBA from Notre Dame—but the through line was the same: discipline, grit, and a belief that good things should be built to last.
When the time came to create something of their own, they found Nolensville. And they brought everything with them—the recipes, the work ethic, and the memories of riding the Wabash Cannonball at Opryland. That ride gave the restaurant its name. But the spirit? That came from home.
Wabash is Southern, no doubt. But it’s not stuck in the past. They’ve taken the meat-and-three blueprint and flipped it, reimagining it as something they call ‘craft casual’. Think: fried chicken that crackles with every bite, but also a hot chicken quinoa bowl that doesn’t feel like a compromise. Fried catfish and fried okra. Coffee and beer curated like the menu matters—because it does.
And quite possibly the best sourdough rolls you’ve ever tasted. Wabash is already serving up a brunch menu that’s become a local favorite, with fresh cinnamon rolls, warm-from-the-oven biscuits, and a playful twist on chicken and waffles — served with sourdough beignets.
This summer, they’re going even further, rolling out weekday breakfast Tuesday through Friday, building on the weekend brunch tradition. Just in time for warmer days, guests can now enjoy scoops from their ice cream bar — a sweet way to cool off any day of the week — and soon, soak up the sunshine on a brand-new patio. It’s all part of Wabash’s vision to create a place where hospitality stretches beyond the plate.
The decor leans playful: retro colors, nods to Opryland, and tables that say “stay a while.” It’s nostalgic without being a throwback. Familiar, but fresh. And whether you’re grabbing lunch with your kids or catching up over dinner with your crew, it feels like a place that gets you.
They’re not trying to be trendy — they’re trying to be timeless. That’s why you’ll find local partnerships at the heart of Wabash, like their on-tap collaboration with Yazoo Brewing, pouring now. And that’s why they stay committed to offering real value — food that feels thoughtful and satisfying, without the fuss — all in a space that’s warm, familiar, and built to last.
Because at the end of the day, Wabash isn’t about reinventing Southern food. It’s about doing it right, proving that you don’t have to be in the city to build something special; you just have to care enough to cook like it matters. And around here? It always does.
For more information, visit
WabashSouthernKitchen.com/
nolensville-town-life
or call 615.283.3581
