Founded in 2019, Columbus, Ohio’s Nashville-inspired restaurant and bar Bristol Republic serves up “competition quality BBQ smoked in-house daily, ice cold craft beer, over 150 rare Bourbon and Whiskeys and live music.” It also offers a tempting brunch menu, complete with brunch cocktails like the New Fashioned (Knob Creek 9yr, Bacon Wash, Maple Syrup, Smoke & Sea Salt Bitters).
And now, Brian Swanson, the restaurateur behind Bristol Republic, is gearing up for a new restaurant project in Wynwood.
“I’ve been looking at Wynwood for two or three years,” Swanson told What Now in a Monday morning phone call. “I love that location, the Jungle space. There’s so much going on around it. I couldn’t pass it up.”
Swanson has secured about 10,000 square feet of space in Wynwood Jungle, a retail and restaurant space from Black Lion Investment Group. The retail center is also about to be home to much-anticipated rooftop restaurant and lounge Fabels Miami, which opens November 3.
The restaurant concept Swanson will open in that space is still under development, the restaurateur said, and further details are not available at this time. It could be another Bristol Republic location; it could be an entirely new concept; it could even be—why not, in that much space?—several new concepts. Only time will tell.
One thing Swanson emphasized in conversation with What Now: Bristol Republic has met with success in Columbus by focusing on its Nashville-meets-Columbus vibe. It’s not a one-size-fits-all concept, in other words, but one tailored to fit the location. The project in Wynwood, Swanson says, “could be Nashville-meets-Miami.”
No projected opening date is available for the Wynwood Jungle project. Be sure to check in for more details as this story develops.
