in 2004, brown opened a music club and restaurant with his father in the lake oconee area of georgia, called "zac's place" where the fare was southern-style cooking. a developer bought the restaurant and, in turn, the zac brown band bought a tour bus and began touring full-time, playing rock and country clubs, as well as folk and jam band festivals. the release of the zac brown band's first independent album, "home grown", occurred during the same year.