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"  Want a taste of Nashville&amp;#039;s past? Just reserve a table at Merchants. While Southern classics like house-made pimento cheese and pulled-pork sandwiches weren&amp;#039;t always served at this downtown landmark, the building&amp;#039;s been around since 1870.  Originally constructed to house a hardware manufacturer, a wholesale drug company, and a pharmacy, the three-story brick building morphed into Merchants Hotel 22 years later. Over the years, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, and other music legends bunked here while in town to perform at Ryman Auditorium, once home to the Grand Ole Opry.   During Prohibition, the structure contained a speakeasy affiliated with Al Capone; in the 1970s, it was a honky-tonk. But 100 years of business took its toll on the place\u2014which was slated for demolition in the 1980s, until it earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. The restaurant opened soon after.  Now when you come for a meal, you&amp;#039;ll see old receipts, menus, and advertisements lining the walls upstairs, remnants of the people and companies that did business here. And downstairs, the marble bar top and black-and-white tiles date to the days when kids lined up at the counter for ice cream sodas at the pharmacy (except on Sundays when the treat was forbidden and sundaes were dished up instead). With so much history to take in, you might have trouble focusing on what to order.   Merchants   401 Broadway   Nashville, Tennessee   615-254-1892  ----- Plus: See more state souvenirs from CL Across America \u00BBThe ultimate summer checklist \u00BB35 new uses for old things \u00BBWhat&amp;#039;s hot to collect now \u00BB65 wow-worthy home makeovers \u00BB "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/a5582/merchants-restaurant-nashville/>