What can running Subway restaurants teach you about opening a craft cocktail lounge in downtown Nashville?
Quite a bit, according to entrepreneur Sam Patel, co-founder and co-owner of The Hitchcock.
In this episode of the cityCURRENT Radio Show, Andrew Bartolotta talks with Sam about the more than 30-year family business journey that eventually led to The Hitchcock, a locally owned cocktail lounge at 530 Church Street in downtown Nashville.
Sam grew up in the restaurant industry after his father, Suman Patel, opened the family’s first Subway in 1992. Over the years, Sam expanded his entrepreneurial experience across multi-unit restaurant operations, commercial real estate, hotels, retail, and independent hospitality concepts.
Now, he’s taking lessons learned from decades in franchising and applying them to something completely different.
Andrew and Sam discuss growing up in a family business, what fast food gets right about hospitality, transforming a former Subway into an independent cocktail concept, operating in Nashville’s highly competitive hospitality industry, turning first-time visitors into regulars, and why locally owned businesses matter as Nashville continues to grow.
They also explore the importance of preserving the character and history of the Hitchcock Building while creating something new for the next generation of downtown Nashville.
It’s a conversation about entrepreneurship, family business, hospitality, calculated risk, and what it takes to create a place that feels distinctly Nashville.
Learn more: https://hitchcocknashville.com/
