A few words about the Hobnob Corner and building...
The Hobnob has served as a meeting place for tourists & locals alike for decades. Its prime location in the center of Nashville’s commerce invites a steady stream of customers… Of course, an interesting menu and good service factor into the Hobnob’s success.
Being the oldest commercial building in Nashville, much has changed about the building and its surroundings since 1868. The current tenants, Warren Cole and his wife Betsy, hope that their work in the restaurant embodies a century old tradition of the building housing businesses where local people gather to exchange the latest information about the day…
Meet the Coles!
The Coles have run the Hobnob Restaurant for 29 years in the Taggart building, the oldest commercial building in Brown County. Warren and Betsy bought the business from another couple, Bob and Liz Hamilton, in December of 1979. Warren was working at the Walnut Room restaurant in Columbus and Betsy was teaching. Warren was more interested in operating an upscale restaurant like the Walnut Room but thought the Hobnob might provide foundation for other ventures.
Warren’s roots in Brown County food service started in the early ‘70s when he was in law school at Indiana University. He worked part time at the Rocking Horse, a tiny place where Michael's Flowers is now, on Jefferson Street. “A lot of what I learned there and did there is carried on in this place as much as we can,” said Warren.
The Cole’s and their family enjoy the demanding pace of the restaurant business. Warren said it is a great way to “discharge energy.”
Check out the Menu... Dinner Menu Breakfast Menu Kids Menu
At that time the Coles took over the Hobnob, it served a very simple breakfast and lunch menu. The back room’s kitchen served pizza at night. The food was bland, the service was lacking, and the interior needed work, but the place was busy.
The Coles immediately started making radical changes to the menu when they took over. The menu reflects Warren’s longtime interest in food. “I’ve always liked to go to restaurants. I have always been interested in food, cooking and memories of it. That kind of thing permeated my life way back.”
“We try, with the extent that we can, to make things here, to do them from scratch with interesting ingredients within the limits of a very high volume kind of business,” explained Warren.
They serve fresh locally-grown vegetable as the season permits. Organic gardeners Dale and Sandy Rhoads grow many of the Hobnob’s green salad ingredients, squash, basil for pesto, and “stunning” heirloom tomatoes.
The Hobnob is well-known for its special sauces and seasonings. The popular broiled Atlantic Salmon is marinated with mustard herb sauce. The Mandarin Chicken has a tangy sauce made from soy, orange juice, and tomato.
 Our Baked Goods...
All our breads, pastries, and danish are baked here daily. We serve them in our restaurant and sell them at our bakery counter so you can enjoy them at home. We strive for a high quality product by giving personal attention to details of preparation and by using the finest ingredients. We use only pure butter in pastries and danish. More expensive, but better!... the taste will tell you! Come see for yourself…
 Those who make the Hobnob Possible!
Warren guesses that maybe over 3,000 employees have worked at the Hobnob over the years. Out of those, some long term employees have made a difference. Diana Cole started out in the early ‘80s to make a little extra money and now she runs the front part of the business. Working in the back, Ernie Baker for almost 20 years, Melissa Kritzer for 14 years, Sheila Weaver for 14 years, and Teresa Brown has done most of the baking for many years.
Now that some key employees can manage operations, Betsy and Warren do find time to enjoy their hobbies and interests!
A brief history about the Hobnob Corner...
Built in 1873 by Frank Taggart, the structure was first used as a dry goods grocery and sundries store. The original structure now houses the main dining room of Hobnob Corner. It later evolved into Miller’s Drugstore and fountain service. Original oak fixtures filled with authentic apothecary items and the soda fountain counter remain as remnants of the building's past.
In 1899 a new owner of the drugstore redecorated with patriotically themed wallpaper. A swatch may be seen above the front entrance showing the American flag of 1899 with its forty-five stars.
By 1923, the building had passed into the hands of the Miller family, whose descendants still own it today. They operated a drugstore and fountain service until 1973. Since then the building has been known as Hobnob Corner Restaurant!
The Hobnob's growing appeal justified an expansion in 1982. They added space to the back of the building for a bigger kitchen and since then the business has “truly mushroomed.”
Early photographs of the building and streets of Nashville taken by famed photographer Frank Hohenberger hang in the main dining area. The photos remind you of a time when the artists and natives gathered there during the early part of the previous century.
The Hobnob continues to serve as a meeting place for tourists and locals. Its prime location in the center of Nashville suits its elegance and charm…
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