Check out the article below, featured in The Williamson Herald
Next Puckett’s location is Columbia
By VALERIE NUTT, Staff Writer
vnutt@williamsonherald.com
When lunchtime hits on any given weekday it can be a challenge to find an open table at Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant in Franklin, it’s that busy.
However patrons wait without complaint while the staff, who seem to be on a first-name basis with half the town, find a place for them to sit.
“A little over a year ago we started to feel like our feet were finally on the ground in Franklin,” said Andy Marshall, who owns both Puckett’s locations — the original is in Leiper’s Fork — with his wife, Jan. “We started saying, ‘What’s next?’”
The couple found their answer in Columbia’s historic downtown district.
“What really convinced Jan and I was a visit about a year ago when Columbia was in the middle of a restoration effort in their downtown district,” Marshall said. “They got us really excited about the direction of their downtown area. We decided to get in on the ground level.”
At the end of this month the Marshalls will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the original Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant in Leiper’s Fork, a venture that started out as a community grocery, where the flavorful, homestyle cooking was too good to keep out of the spotlight.
Three years ago they expanded their vision to include a location in the historic, downtown district of Marshall’s hometown, Franklin.
Their vision of “real food, real people and real atmosphere” will continue in Columbia. Plans will be submitted in next week to transform the former Pigg & Parsons building in the town’s revitalized historic district into a larger scale version of Puckett’s Franklin location.
The structure, a former clothing store, boasts about 45,000 square feet of usable space, including an alleyway adjoining the building where patrons will be able to sit and enjoy their meals outside.
All that extra room means “more elbow room” to Marshall, a bigger stage, and that Puckett’s in Columbia will be able to stay open to the public when they are accommodating private parties. Their Franklin and Leiper’s Fork locations must close to the public when they host private events.
“I fell in love with the building,” said Marshall, adding that he plans on keeping the building’s old hardwood floors and original ceiling in place, and leaving brick walls exposed inside.
If he receives the city’s go-ahead Marshall said he hopes to have the new location open by the end of spring, just in time for a long summer season in Columbia.
“We’re very excited about it,” Marshall said. “There’s a tremendous amount of talent in Columbia. We hope to staff the entire operation with people from there to keep true to our vision of a real community place.”
Marshall said he was also surprised to find that several of the musical acts who appear regularly at his Leiper’s Fork and Franklin locations actually live in or close to Columbia, and have said they fully support his vision for their historic down town.
“I think we’re a great fit for the area,” he said.
When asked what was next for Puckett’s Marshall laughed and said, “One thing at a time.”
“My goal is just to choose one area at a time and make sure that we’re a good fit for the community and that they want us there,” he said.
So far the Marshall’s unique approach to a grocery restaurant mix has found quite the niche in historic communities in Middle Tennessee.
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Check out this awesome article on Puckett's
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Hey, Andy! I've been to Puckett's in Leiper's Fork a couple of times and always enjoy it. I ate at Puckett's in Franklin for the first time this past Saturday. It was great! What a terrific menu and the atmosphere is wonderful. Congratulations to you!
I enjoyed it so much on Saturday that I'm bringing my team from LifeWay there for lunch today.
Just wanted to say . . . you've got a real gem in Franklin. Best wishes to you.
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Just want to say how very much we enjoyed your "store." My husband and myself, along with 2 other couples visited the Franklin area the last week of May, and someone suggested we try Pucketts.
We enjoyed touring through the town, but I have to say, visiting your store, and enjoying lunch there, was the high light of our stay !! Lunch was delicious, your staff were the most friendly and hospitable we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. We also had the pleasure of meeting the proprietor, Andy.
We ejoyed lunch so much,we made sure we visited the store another time before heading home !!!
Someone told us that on Friday nights, you have live music with song writers and dinner. Is this every Friday, or special date and times ?? We would love to come back for this, so is there a way that we can get your schedule for this ?Thank you again for making our stay in Franklin so enjoyable. We look forward to coming back.
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Andy,
We were just up there to visit friends of ours who recently purchased 88 acres. We had lunch at Pucketts and LOVED the food, Miss Vickie, everything. The apple cobbler was to die for! :) We have fallen in love with the area and are thinking of moving up there also.
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Dear Puckett’s & Staff,
Thank you each for your service and labor the evening of Daniel Trasks’ humbling and heart rendering surprise Party. This mother and family are most appreciative for your help in making it so Memorable.
Thanks so much!
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Andy
On behalf of Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman, and myself...
Thanks SO much for everything last night. It went off without any problems. Your staff was fabulous...the food was outstanding! We appreciate you putting up with us...I hope we didn't make them stay too late. All in all, a huge success. We were especially impressed with your restaurant, the ambiance and the great attitude of your serving staff. You are all a delight to work with!
Until we plan our next party...keeping you in mind, for sure...
Kindly,
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Andy:
A great night deserves some comment. Just wanted to report that last night was really fun. Just arriving and hearing that you'd sold out was great news and really pumped us up. The sound (Alan) was the BEST ever. He really dialed us in great. All of us were very comfortable with the monitors and sound in general. Terrific work. The food was fantastic (especially the Tilapia). Loved it. As always the staff (everyone) were very accomodating to us. Puckett's is my absolute favorite place to play. I'm ready to return anytime. Just let me know whenever I can help you with a show.
Thanks Andy!!
Byron Hill
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Hi Andy,
I brought my boyfriend in yesterday and he says that now he is hooked on the hamburgers and is already craving another one today! My mom and aunt are coming in from New Orleans this weekend and we are coming in for lunch on Saturday.
Just want to pass on the compliments - although I am sure you get plenty!
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Thank you!
What a great time we had. We’ll be returning to Puckett’s again for sure! Great food, great service and great music!
Sincerely,
The Brown’s and Leiter’s
Cincinnati, Ohio!
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To John and staff at Puckett's:
Thanks so much for the effort
you made in helping us get a table at Jimmy Wayne?s After Hours show
Friday night! Even though we called you
what felt like a hundred
times over the weekend in hopes of a cancellation, you never lost
patience with us. This was our first time at Puckett?s, but definitely
won?t be our last. The food, music and atmosphere was GREAT!! A
special thanks to Claire, our waitress, who did an outstanding job
taking care of us! To John, we could never thank you enough!! Keep up
the good work, and we look forward to seeing you all again in the near
future!
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Hi Andy,
Thanks so much for a great evening last night. Your place is wonderful. My friends enjoyed themselves so much.
The tilapia was awesome!
Thanks again.
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Hey, Andy! I've been to Puckett's in Leiper's Fork a couple of times and always enjoy it. I ate at Puckett's in Franklin for the first time this past Saturday. It was great! What a terrific menu and the atmosphere is wonderful. Congratulations to you!
I enjoyed it so much on Saturday that I'm bringing my team from LifeWay there for lunch today.
Just wanted to say . . . you've got a real gem in Franklin. Best wishes to you.
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Just want to say how very much we enjoyed your "store." My husband and myself, along with 2 other couples visited the Franklin area the last week of May, and someone suggested we try Pucketts.
We enjoyed touring through the town, but I have to say, visiting your store, and enjoying lunch there, was the high light of our stay !! Lunch was delicious, your staff were the most friendly and hospitable we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. We also had the pleasure of meeting the proprietor, Andy.
We ejoyed lunch so much,we made sure we visited the store another time before heading home !!!
Someone told us that on Friday nights, you have live music with song writers and dinner. Is this every Friday, or special date and times ?? We would love to come back for this, so is there a way that we can get your schedule for this ?Thank you again for making our stay in Franklin so enjoyable. We look forward to coming back.
God Bless you,
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Dear Puckett’s & Staff,
Thank you each for your service and labor the evening of Daniel’s humbling and heart rendering surprise Party. This mother and family are most appreciative for your help in making it so Memorable.
Thanks so much,
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Andy,
Thanks for the August dates. We had a blast. Hopefully it was win-win. If you can use us again sometime, please let me know. Thank you for being a songwriter supporter.
Sincerely,
Scott Whitehead
_____________________
HOMETOWN NEWS
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I just want to say that we just moved to the Nashville area and absolutely love Puckett’s. So much that now our parents request to eat there when they come in town to visit.
This Sunday, I ordered the Chicken Broccoli w/basil soup. That was the best soup I’ve had in a long time and was wondering if I could get the recipe? I would love to be able to make this at home.
Thanks again for the delicious food!!
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Andy:
Hi. We had a great show and a great time on Friday. Thanks for treating The WannaBeatles like part of the Puckett's family. The The WannaBeatles love Puckett's - yeah, yeah, yeah!
Best.
Dennis
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Hey Andy....its Briana. Great Job on sound last nite. I had alot of people tell me the sound was AWESOME!!
Briana
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Hi Andy,
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed playing Puckett's Grocery in Franklin Saturday night. Alan, Wood, and I had a wonderful time entertaining your audience. Sound system is so clear...I could hear every nuance. And your food is superb!
Thanks again Andy and looking forward to performing there again soon!
Best,
Mike Loudermilk
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Greetings from Debrecen Hungary!
We've already received word over here in Central Europe how good your home cooking food is!
We checked out your web site and believe me........if made us hungry over here in Hungary..... just to read the menu !
Blessings to you!
Syble Smith Courtney
Debrecen Hungary
www.edsybleaskforthenations.blogspot.com
www.ichurch.extra.hu
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Andy,
Thank you so much for allowing our basketball team to host our banquet at Pucketts. All the staff was so helpful! The food was great! Blessings on your Day and your Business!
Karen Anderson (for CPA)
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Andy,
Just wanted to let you know that everything was perfect last night! Jeff was surprised and loved every aspect of the party. The food and service were wonderful. All of our friends commented that it was the best party they had been too. Several people were excited about the possibility of hosting their own party at Puckett’s. The musicians were great. I felt so bad that so many people were bailing out early. I guess that is part of being old, having kids to get to bed, and being in the middle of UT country where everyone wanted to catch the game.
Again, thank you for everything. Please let all of your staff that was involved know how much we appreciated everything. And again our apologizes to the musicians for the small crowd that stuck around. It certainly was not a reflection of their talent.
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Hi, my name is Wendy, I'm from Indianapolis, Indiana. I paid your store a visit on Sunday, April 27. I wanted to let you know that my mother, Aunt, and I had a great meal and a great time in your store. A young lady by the name of Samantha served us. I think she thought we were crazy when we told her we had driven all the way from Indiana for a Fried Bologna Sandwich fixed just the way Tim McGraw likes it. Jarod was a pleasure too! As we checked out, we had a great conversation about some of the celebrities in your area. We spend four days in Nashville and the surrounding area, and after eating at Neely's BBQ, Merridee's Bread Basket, and the Brentwood Grille (all of which server good food)... we all decided that the ambiance, the staff, the hometown atmosphere, and of course the food at Pucket's Grocery was the best we had our whole stay. Everything from the fried bologna, to the fried okra, and the peach cobbler were all great! We wished we had time to go back for more before heading home to Indianapolis.
I wanted to let you know that we enjoyed the down home charm of your store. Thank you for the good time.
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Good morning, Andy.
Tony Marvelli here - I performed with Tara LaDell Tuesday evening on bass.
Just wanted to drop a note to thank you for providing a great venue to
perform music! I did not want to interrupt your dinner as I was leaving.
This was my first time performing there and I must admit, was the best
experience performing in a "Nashville area" venue since I moved here in
1996. Your GM, Dale, was very cordial and professional. Andy, your audio
tech, was very accomodating and top notch. Two thumbs up!!
I will make sure to shake your hand when I stop by again.
I know my fiancee and I will certainly frequent the restaurant as a paying
customer just for the atmosphere alone. I hope that she and I will have the
opportunity to perform there in the near future.
Thank you again.
Tony Marvelli
Bassist/guitarist
myspace.com/tonymarvelli
myspace.com/justsabrina
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... and more to come thanks to the best customers in the world! We thank you all for your kind words, and look forward to hearing from you all in the future!!! |
