Kitchens Close to Avoid ICE at Steve Smith’s Broadway Bars Conservative bar owner lost prime weekend service at Honky Tonk Central, The Diner and Kid Rock’s because of heavy ICE presence

Downtown kitchens shuttered over the weekend to avoid immigration agents in at least three locations owned by conservative restaurateur Steve Smith. Smith, the wealthy owner of Broadway establishments including Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Rippy’s, has been a public conservative presence in Nashville, notably mounting local opposition to COVID-related restrictions on public gatherings. He's also a Trump supporter and donor. Recent panic at his restaurants indicates that his own Broadway empire — and the wealth it has generated — relies directly on employing immigrants not authorized to work in the United States. At the instruction of managers, restaurant employees without legal...