Most hardware stores can sell you a plumbing fitting. A few might even recommend someone to install it.
But how many will serve you a burger and entertain you with live bluegrass while you’re there?
At Joelton Hardware, Feed & Farmacy, northwest of downtown Nashville, all three are part of the business.
And the combination is even stranger than it sounds.
In a March 2025 feature, Edible Nashville described fiddles hanging near lawn mower belts, a drum kit sitting above bolt cutters, and a stuffed coyote keeping watch over PVC pipes and painter’s tape.
Yes, you can actually buy the hardware.
And yes, there’s a kitchen and a stage for live music.
Located at 5538 Clarksville Pike in Joelton, this unusual Tennessee business has turned an ordinary neighborhood hardware store into a gathering place for food, music, and the occasional home improvement emergency.
The story of how it happened is almost as interesting as the store itself.
This Is Still a Real Hardware Store
First, let’s clear something up.
The hardware isn’t there just to give the restaurant a quirky theme.
Joelton Hardware still sells the things people need to fix, maintain, and improve their homes.
You’ll find PVC fittings, electrical supplies, plumbing parts, gardening supplies, hand tools, and animal feed, among other essentials.
So if you need a replacement plumbing fitting or supplies for the garden, you can shop for those here.
But look around, and you’ll notice that this isn’t your typical hardware store.
The shelves share space with musical instruments, dining tables, and a performance area.
According to Edible Nashville, customers have been able to browse hardware while waiting for their food.
It’s an unusual arrangement. One minute you’re shopping for household supplies. The next, you’re deciding what to order for dinner.
And unlike a restaurant decorated with antique tools, this place is still operating as a genuine neighborhood supply store.
That distinction is part of what makes it interesting.
How Two Local Musicians Turned a Hardware Store Into Something More
The history of Joelton Hardware goes back much further than its restaurant.
The original business opened in 1964 as Cochran’s and later became Swain’s Hardware.
But the transformation into today’s unusual combination began in 2016.
That’s when Kris McCarthy Houser and her husband, Eliot Houser, purchased the business.
The couple already had strong connections to the Joelton community. They had moved to the area in 2006, where they maintained a small homestead and developed interests in growing food, raising animals, and supporting local agriculture.
Music was another important part of their lives.
Both were musicians and songwriters, and they regularly spent time making music with friends.
According to a 2021 profile in Hardware Retailing, Kris became interested in the store partly because she wanted better access to animal feed and products that supported local farmers.
Initially, the couple weren’t necessarily planning to create a restaurant and music venue.
They were trying to make a neighborhood hardware business work.
And that wasn’t particularly easy.
Then an opportunity appeared.
A larger retail space became available in the same shopping center, offering about three times as much room.
The couple decided to move.
But rather than arrange an elaborate moving operation, they enlisted friends and transported the hardware inventory down the sidewalk using old grocery carts.
Imagine moving shelves of plumbing supplies and tools with grocery carts.
Not exactly the glamorous side of owning a business.
But the bigger space gave them room to try something different.
Kris wanted to sell more local food and support area farmers. The couple also had a natural connection to Nashville’s music community.
Eventually, those interests came together.
The store expanded its food offerings, developed a kitchen, and made space for musicians to perform.
The name Farmacy reflected Kris’s belief in the connection between good food and good health.
By 2021, the restaurant and live-music operation were taking shape, giving residents new reasons to visit a business that had already served the area for decades.
The result was something that combined three interests that don’t usually share the same address.
Hardware, food, and live music.
The Farmacy Kitchen Is Another Reason to Visit
Of course, an unusual setting only gets a restaurant so far.
People still want something good to eat.
At the Farmacy Kitchen, burgers are one of the main attractions.
According to the business’s official website, its burgers are made with locally sourced, grass-fed beef.
The kitchen also uses locally sourced vegetables when available and offers seasonal specials and homemade desserts.
One of its more distinctive choices involves the fryer.
French fries, fried chicken, fried pickles, and fried mushrooms are cooked in beef tallow, rather than conventional vegetable frying oil.
That’s worth knowing before you order.
The fries are not vegetarian, even though they’re made from potatoes.
The restaurant’s 2025 reference menu offers a glimpse of the food visitors could expect.
It included a Hardware Burger, a Specialty Burger topped with pimento cheese and jalapeños, and a Cluckin’ Good Chicken Sandwich available grilled or fried.
There was also a Nuts & Bolts Burger made with a black bean and sweet potato patty.
Those selections come from the 2025 menu, so current availability and prices may differ. Anyone avoiding animal products should also check ingredients and preparation methods with the kitchen.
The restaurant’s approach is summed up by a phrase on its website: “Farm to table when able.”
Rather than promising that every ingredient comes from a nearby farm, the business emphasizes local sourcing when practical.
It’s a natural extension of the owners’ original interest in agriculture.
And it gives people who have absolutely no reason to buy a plumbing fitting a pretty good reason to stop by anyway.
The Hardware Store Also Has a Live Music Calendar
Here’s where the store becomes even more unusual.
Joelton Hardware doesn’t simply have a guitar hanging on the wall.
It has an actual performance space and a calendar filled with live music.
And the variety might surprise you.
The venue hosts everything from bluegrass and country to jazz, rock, blues, and songwriter performances.
You don’t have to drive into downtown Nashville to find an evening of live music.
In fact, this is exactly the kind of neighborhood music experience that makes exploring Nashville beyond Broadway worthwhile.
On October 27, 2026, for example, the calendar lists jazz from Trio Clave at 5 p.m., followed by bluegrass with Tim Graves & The Farmhands at 7 p.m.
The following evening features Gene Dunlap with Jonell Mosser & zBand, while the Earl Erb Trio is scheduled for October 29.
That’s quite a lineup for a business that also sells plumbing supplies.
And there’s another appealing detail.
Most performances have no cover charge.
The business says tips for musicians are encouraged, although special shows may require tickets.
The difference matters because some performances are more formal than others. For example, the November 6 Bonepony show was already listed as sold out on the October 25 calendar.
There’s Even an Open Community Jam
Not every music gathering involves sitting down to watch a scheduled band.
The store also hosts community jam sessions.
An Open Community Jam is listed for Saturday, October 31, from noon to 5 p.m.
It’s another example of how music has become part of the business rather than an occasional extra.
And Joelton Hardware isn’t the only place keeping Nashville’s informal music traditions alive.
The city also has smaller venues such as the Station Inn, which appears in our guide to Nashville experiences visitors remember long after returning home.
Both offer a different side of Music City from the giant stages and crowded honky-tonks.
Musicians interested in Joelton Hardware’s community jam should check the arrangements beforehand, since the listing doesn’t specify instrument requirements, sign-up procedures, or experience levels.
The Supper Club Takes Things a Step Further
For something more organized, Joelton Hardware also hosts the Studio Mama Supper Club.
The November 2, 2026, event features the Earl Erb Trio from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Instead of an ordinary dinner with background music, the ticket includes a family-style, multi-course meal, live performance, and Belle Meade Bourbon whiskey tasting.
Guests are instructed to bring identification.
This is a separately ticketed event, so it isn’t covered by the venue’s usual no-cover approach.
Details and booking information are available through the official supper club listing.
It’s another unexpected use for a building where you can also shop for a replacement pipe fitting.
What to Know Before Visiting Joelton Hardware
If you’re planning a visit, the easiest approach is to choose an evening with music you’d like to hear and make dinner part of the outing.
The business advertises free parking, which is a welcome change from many Nashville music destinations.
Here are the essentials.
Joelton Hardware, Feed & Farmacy
- Address: 5538 Clarksville Pike, Joelton, TN 37080
- Phone: 615-953-2374
- Parking: Free
- Website: Joelton Hardware official website
- Live music: Official event calendar
Farmacy Kitchen Hours
According to the business’s website, the published kitchen hours are:
| Day | Kitchen hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 5–9 p.m. |
| Wednesday–Saturday | Noon–9 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
Monday hours need special attention. The homepage lists Monday hours for the hardware store, but the event calendar also contains notices saying the business is closed on Mondays.
The November 2 supper club is a separately scheduled Monday event, not evidence of regular Monday restaurant service.
It’s best to call before making Monday plans.
Also, some musical performances continue beyond the kitchen’s posted closing time. If you’re hoping to eat during a later show, confirm when food service ends.
For a relaxed dinner and a performance, allowing approximately 90 minutes to two hours is a reasonable starting point.
Check seating availability for popular performances, especially if you’re bringing a group. The business can also answer questions about accessibility, dietary needs, and specific hardware inventory.
And because music schedules and menus change, consult the current calendar before heading out.
A Hardware Store That Found More Than One Way to Serve Its Community
What makes Joelton Hardware interesting isn’t simply that someone decided to put a restaurant inside a hardware store.
It’s how the different parts of the business came together.
A neighborhood store that began in 1964 eventually found new life through two owners who cared about local agriculture, food, and music.
The tools never disappeared.
Instead, they ended up sharing space with burgers, musical instruments, and the people who come to enjoy them.
Today, someone can visit Joelton Hardware to pick up an everyday household item, meet friends for dinner, or hear a local band.
And occasionally, all three reasons might overlap.
There aren’t many places where a hardware errand can turn into an evening of live music.
But in Joelton, Tennessee, that’s exactly the kind of place this neighborhood store has become.
