ABOUT THE PUB
The Front Street Pub was established in 2021. It resides in the historic Depot District of Smyrna, TN. Formerly Smyrna Café and Ron’s Tavern.
In the early 1940’s a lady by the name of Ruth Spain Garrett purchased what would be known as, “The Smyrna Café.” Ruth’s vision was to offer a local bar that would also serve home-cooked meals to local residents and service members. This would’ve been during the time that Sewart Air Force base was beginning in Smyrna. The bombing of Pearl Harbor had lead the US to enter WWII and the US War Department had ordered the construction of a Bombardment Air Base near Nashville. The Smyrna Café would serve as a hangout spot for more than 50 years by Ruth and her family. Around 1980, Ruth’s son and daughter-in-law (Winfred & Sue Spain) took over Smyrna Café. Winfred, a state worker, who would keep his day job and Sue, his wife, would run the bar/café. By this time, Smyrna Café had earned a nickname by the locals. Smyrna Café had become known as, “The Snake Pit.” While the family wasn’t particularly happy with the nickname, the name “Snake Pit” had already been etched into the soul of the Town of Smyrna. As told by Sue Spain on how the nickname evolved, she explains that rowdy service men would hang out here and sometimes a little too long. The next day they would show up late to drill or to their military jobs causing their superiors to encourage their soldiers to stay away from that, “snake pit.” While the stigma of the “Snake Pit” has not been easy to live down, it is noted by many long time locals that this bar was always owned by good people who worked very hard.
Around 1996, a gentleman by the name of Ron Russell, a drywall business owner, had approached Winfred and Sue Spain about the possibility of selling Smyrna Café (aka Snake Pit). By this time Winfred had retired from the state and Sue was ready to be retired from the bar business. They sold the bar to Ron and for the next 25 years the place would be known as Ron’s Tavern. During Ron’s time, he worked hard at living down the Snake Pit stigma. It became important to him that people not refer to it as “Snake Pit” and he made it known that rowdiness would not be accepted. He went on to echo that sentiment all 25 years of ownership.
In late 2019 Ron had fully retired from the drywall business and decided he was ready to retire from the bar business. In December of 2019 he approached his brother-in-law, Thomas Williams, to offer him the first chance to purchase the bar. Thomas had been somewhat of a regular at Ron’s Tavern, working as a bartender at times and as karaoke host. After contemplating that idea for a couple of months, Thomas and his wife Rachel decided to purchase. Ron’s Tavern became The Front Street Pub in January 2021. Thomas and Rachel wanted to keep the hometown local bar feel while offering up a variety of good food, cold beer, and adding a music edge to the place. While the bar had carried quite the stigma for a lot of years, it was important to them to prove that this bar could be relevant and a part of the community. Since its beginning in 2021, this bar has earned local business awards and numerous county business award nominations. It has become the home to many local musicians and locals. Some of Nashville’s country music stars have also been a part of the Pubs journey. Country singers Buddy Jewell, Jeff Bates, Craig Campbell, Jesse Keith Whitley, William Michael Morgan, and Brady Seals have all hosted concerts here. The Pub will continue to serve the Town of Smyrna with good food, cold drinks and lots of talent for as long as they can. Their motto will serve as their beacon, “Enter As Strangers, Leave as Friends!”