Major Nashville Music Venue Sold for Millions, Will Have to Relocate

A major Nashville, Tennessee music venue building has sold for millions, leaving the concert hall to relocate. The Nashville Scene has reported that the building hosting City Winery Nashville was recently sold by the owners for $21 million.

City Winery founder Michael Dorf — who started the chain of venues in New York in 2008 — did not issue a comment to the press but did post on X (formerly Twitter) that the news is "true," but that they have three and half years until they have to move, due to a new lease signing. Dorf added that City Winery will be "looking for a new and improved location," and that the company is eager to "expand and grow" from this big move.

Downtown’s City Winery building sells for $21M , Yes, it's true. We did a 3.5year lease and will be looking for a new and improved location. Exciting how much money one can make in real estate, if only making culture, wine and people happy was as easy. But don't worry, this…

— Michael Dorf (@Michaeldorf) December 15, 2023

The Nashville Scene reports that an unnamed source stated the new owners of the 1.56-acre Pie Town property are, via Evelyn Capital LLC, Nashville-area real estate investors Byran Fort and Taylor Preston. The outlet also stated that — per Nashville Metro records — City Winery Nashville LLC paid $2.65 million for the warehouse structure, which sits at around 26,000 square-feet, in December 2013.

For context, the Nashville Rescue Mission — which is adjacent to City Winery — paid $740,000 for both its current site and the City Winery property, in 1993. Two days after the purchase, the nonprofit sold the City Winery property for $210,000.