From Melrose to Music City: How Craig’s Is Redefining Hospitality Across Coasts

Craig’s has long been one of Los Angeles’s most quietly magnetic restaurants — unflashy on the surface but impossible to ignore once you’ve eaten there. What began as a Melrose Avenue spot with a straight-forward menu and an almost old-school approach to hospitality has, in the last decade and a half, become a template for how neighborhood dining can be both glamorous and welcoming. That tension — blending comfort food, consistent execution, and an atmosphere that makes everyone feel seen — is exactly what owner Craig Susser has taken with him to Nashville, where a newly opened Craig’s is already reshaping expectations in Music City.  

The original Craig’s is an exercise in restraint. Its classic American and Italian-accented dishes — think chicken parm, pigs in blankets, approachable pastas and seasonal vegetable plates — aren’t trying to shock; they’re trying to be reliably delicious night after night. The menu, driven by longtime chef Kursten Kizer, is calibrated to land in a sweet spot between upscale comfort and crowd-pleasing familiarity, a strategy that has kept tables full even as trends in LA dining cycle through obsessions with minimalism, hyper-locality, and buzzy tasting menus. That dependable, slightly nostalgic cooking is part of what made Craig’s a celebrity favorite without ever aggressively courting celebrity culture.  

But more than the food, Craig’s reputation rests on a philosophy of hospitality that flips the traditional fame-seeking playbook. Susser has repeatedly said that the restaurant’s aim is to be a “safe space” for guests — celebrities and regular diners alike — and to prioritize warmth and discretion over spectacle. That ethos has been central to Craig’s identity in Los Angeles: a place where an A-list patron can sit beside a family out for a birthday without either party feeling like part of a show. It’s a low-key, high-care approach that turns every service into a demonstration of how restaurants can build communities, not just follow trends.  

Taking that model to Nashville was less a leap than a logical next step. The Gulch — a dense, walkable neighborhood in Nashville that blends music industry offices, tech startups, and a robust dining scene — offered the perfect urban environment for Craig’s brand of convivial, well-executed American cooking. Announced in 2025 and opening later that year, Craig’s Nashville occupies a prominent Gulch address and intentionally mirrors the LA flagship in both menu and atmosphere, while adapting details to local tastes. The move was framed not as a bid for national celebrity or franchising horsepower but as an attempt to plant the same community-minded restaurant into another city that values craftsmanship and hospitality.  

Nashville’s Craig’s keeps the blueprint familiar — white tablecloths in places, a polished yet relaxed dining room, and the same roster of signature plates — but it also proves how a transplanted concept can catalyze change. First, it nudges local restaurateurs to remember that consistency and a clear point of view matter more than constant reinvention. In a market that can sometimes reward novelty above steadiness, Craig’s sends the message that doing a handful of dishes extremely well builds loyalty and long-term cultural capital. Second, by refusing to lean on music-centric gimmicks or turn the dining room into a stage for celebrity spotting, the restaurant challenges a stereotype: that Nashville’s best openings must either be honky-tonk themed or celebrity vehicles. Craig’s demonstrates that refined, guest-first hospitality can find an eager audience in the city.  

There’s also a subtle lesson in urbanism and place-making. Craig’s success in LA has always relied on being both a destination and a neighborhood kitchen; it’s a place people will travel to for the table, but it’s also a place locals rely on. That dual identity helps stabilise neighborhoods by providing steady foot traffic and consistent employment, while also contributing to a sense of civic pride. In Nashville, that translates into cross-pollination: the Gulch gets a kitchen that raises the dining bar without displacing the unmistakable character of the neighborhood. For cities trying to balance growth and authenticity, Craig’s offers a model for expansion that privileges cultural fit over aggressive scaling. (For practical confirmation of the restaurant’s Nashville address, reservation availability, and timing, see the Nashville listings and local reporting.)  

Of course, bringing an LA institution to another city isn’t without risks. Replicating chemistry is harder than copying a menu; it depends on staff training, supply chains, and an ongoing commitment to service standards. But Craig Susser’s public comments suggest he understands this: the move to Nashville was about translating values as much as recipes, and he reportedly leaned on local voices (including friendly advice from Nashville artists) to keep the concept authentic rather than performative. That humility — listening as much as exporting — may be the single biggest reason Craig’s has the potential to “reform” how restaurants think about growth: expansion doesn’t require dilution if it’s done with care.  

The wider lesson from Craig’s migration is promising for the industry. In a time when restaurants often chase viral moments and ephemeral trends, Craig’s reiterates a steadier posture: invest in the basics (food, service, atmosphere), respect both regulars and newcomers equally, and choose expansion strategies that honor place. If more restaurateurs took that cue, cities could benefit from openings that strengthen neighborhoods rather than flatten them into interchangeable dining districts. Craig’s LA and its Nashville outpost are not just two restaurants with the same name — they’re a small blueprint for durability in modern hospitality.