LIFE

Boscos closes after nearly 20 years in Nashville's Hillsboro Village

Jen Todd
jtodd1@tennessean.com

After nearly two decades of serving Vanderbilt students and beer lovers of all ages, Boscos Restaurant & Brewing Co. has closed in Hillsboro Village.

Jerry Feinstone, one of the owners, called the move a business decision that comes amid challenges increasing sales after a decline during the Great Recession.

"For us, it seems like once they started construction and started ripping down the building next to us, that drove people away thinking there was no parking and some people not knowing whether our building was under construction," said owner Andrew Feinstone.

When Boscos opened at 1805 21st Ave. in Hillsboro Village, Jerry Feinstone recalls it being only Nashville's second brew pub. The opening came three years after a separate company with similar principals opened Boscos Germantown near Memphis as the first licensed brewery in Tennessee.

Today, craft brewing is all the rage with Jerry Feinstone counting roughly 16 breweries in the Nashville area.

The Gulch's emergence as an entertainment hub likely played a role in decline in business at Boscos Nashville, he said.

With Boscos Nashville closing, Jerry Feinstone and his associates in Memphis will now focus on a restaurant called Boscos Squared on Overton Square in that city and a production brewery called Ghost River Brewing Co. that sells its beer through distributors.

"When we have enough beer, we'll sell beer in Nashville also," Jerry Feinstone said about Ghost River. "Right now, we can't make enough beer to get out of Memphis."

Sunday was the restaurant's last day at 1805 21st Ave. S. The Memphis and Little Rock locations are still open. For details on those locations go to boscosbeer.com

If you are a 2014 Mug Club Member, you will be able to pick up your mug today or Tuesday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The Cool Springs location closed earlier this summer.

Getahn Ward contributed to this report.