Kid Rock recently opened his new restaurant, The Detroit Cowboy, in Nashville, and like many of Music City’s other celebrity-owned establishments, the space features plenty of memorabilia from throughout the singer’s career.
Speaking to Music Mayhem, Kid Rock discussed said memorabilia, explaining that it includes highlights from his careers including celebrations of his music along with moments highlighting other major artists and their interactions with the singer.
“The memorabilia is stuff that I’ve been fortunate enough to been gifted, worked hard for, tons of milestones in my career,” he said. “It’s very eclectic because I’m kind of a musical chameleon, as most people know. Love it or hate it.”
Kid Rock went on to list some of the pieces that appear throughout The Detroit Cowboy restaurant, including “pictures with me and Eminem and Bob Seger that people haven’t seen or sharing a hug with Barry Gordy and some Motown stuff to gifts from Johnny Cash and great letters from Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers and George Jones. And there’s a picture of me in there and one of my musical heroes, Sly Stone from Sly and the Family Stone. Some great sports memorabilia.”
He added that he hopes patrons of The Detroit Cowboy enjoy viewing the extra touches. “Hopefully interesting stuff that just makes dining and hanging out a little more interesting for people,” Kid Rock said. “I’d rather share it with people than just have it in my house for me and my family.”
There’s a different kind of decor in the section of the restaurant known as The Eagle’s Nest, a private area where Kid Rock and his friends or other VIP guests can dine without being seen.
“I said, ‘Well, if I’m going to put this place on the map, or at least attempt to, give it my best shot, it’s going to be tough for grandpa to hang out without taking a lot of pictures,’” he said. “Which I don’t mind, but doing it all night is very tough. So, part of the deal, it’s not a financial thing for me. My day job’s pretty good. It was more of a passion project. So I was like, ‘If I’m going to do this, could I create a space for myself, friends, other VIPs, extremely private when we want it to be.’”
The Eagles Nest has its own entrance and bathroom and is “probably the funkiest place you’ll find, dining with taxidermy and old neons everywhere.”
“That’s something you wouldn’t really associate with a five-star restaurant,” the 54-year-old Michigan native mused. “But I wanted to make it for myself and my friends, and it’s still fun. We can dip into the restaurant, but if we just want to have dinner and talk with each other, we can do that without taking a picture. Everything’s turned into a picture these days.”
For Kid Rock, The Detroit Cowboy is more than just a restaurant, it’s a place where he can be himself — the restaurant’s motto is “Go where you’re celebrated, not tolerated.”
“I had a restaurant in Detroit years ago, and this was when cancel culture kind of came to the forefront and some very bad actors kind of put some pressure on the people I was in business with,” Kid Rock recalled. “They were doing a lot of good things in the city, and they thought it might be hard for them to operate. They were going to give them trouble. I said, ‘It’s cool, man. That’s kind of mailbox money for me.’ I said, ‘I won’t renew my lease. I said, but can I have my signage?’ So that signage is hanging up here.”
For more information or to make a reservation, visit their official website.
