Tennessee’s 1st legal cannabis restaurant opens soon in Nashville

NASHVILLE — Craft Cannabis founder Michael Solomon is expanding his legal cannabis empire with the addition of a soon-toopen restaurant.

Buds & Brews, a, Nashville-based eatery, is slated for a spring 2022 opening. Tennessee’s first cannabis bar and restaurant will have an American sports theme.

The restaurant will serve classic meals that can be enhanced with legal, hemp-derived THC condiments that Solomon considers high-end.

“… our extraction process is solventless — like it’s fresh squeezed,” he said.

But what does it taste like?

Using a coffee analogy, Solomon likens hemp to decaf and marijuana to its caffeinated counterpart. Condiments, which are manufactured and pre-sealed off-site, are designed to be mixed.

“We took the 25 most commonly used condiments, and we infused all of them,” Solomon said.

Sweet treats and mocktails, like the popular smokey margarita, will also be available.

Solomon, who was born and raised in Middle Tennessee, started the seed-to-shelf cannabis business Craft Cannabis after his job took him to California, where he gained experience in cannabis cultivation. There, he worked alongside the Green Goddess Collective dispensary as a licensed medical grower.

In 2017, Solomon returned to the Volunteer State. The following year, the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 was passed, allowing industrial hemp that has a THC concentration of no more than 0.3%.

Craft Cannabis creates cannabis products in its network, operating with full transparency that Solomon says he is proud of.

“We are a grower, manufacturer and retailer,” he said. “We grow hemp, and we extract it, and we sell it.”

By 2019, Craft Cannabis birthed “The Holistic Connection” retail brand.

“We grew over 1,000% in 18 months,” Solomon added.

The Holistic Connection currently has brick and mortar stores across Middle Tennessee, with plans to expand in less than two years to 17 additional locations, including Atlanta, Chattanooga, Franklin, Knoxville, Lenox Village, Midtown, Nashville and Rivergate.

Solomon hopes to give Nashville residents and tourists, experienced or new to cannabis, a safe and legal place to enjoy and experiment with different tastes.

Buds & Brews took approximately a year and a half to launch. Early in the process, Solomon and his business partners analyzed the constant demand for edibles, suspecting it would be an indicator for the eatery’s success.

They’re eager this spring to find out.