Mansion at Fontanel Opening Venue, Restaurant, More
The famed Mansion at Fontanel, Barbara Mandrell’s former estate, is being turned into an entertainment attraction that will include an outdoor music venue, restaurant, microbrewery, distillery, walking trails, memorabilia museum and more. The property’s main house is a 27,000-square-foot log cabin that will be refitted for special events such as weddings and corporate meetings, as well as public tours.
The 135 acre property is owned primarily by Marc Oswald and Dale Morris, who list Kenny Chesney, Gretchen Wilson, and John Rich among their management clients.
According to the Tennessean, it was an uphill battle to get civic approval for the project from Fontanel’s surrounding Whites Creek community. The music venue was a particular sticking point but was approved when limitations to the number of events, and sound decibel level were agreed upon. It is expected that the outdoor venue will hold about 2,500 people, with lawn chairs or picnic blankets for seating. Plans call for the venue, restaurant and mansion to open in late spring or early summer.
The newspaper reports that others on board with the development include Tower Investments and Tom Morales‘s TomKats catering, which owns Loveless Cafe and more.
Nashville’s last outdoor venue, Starwood Amphitheater, closed in 2006.
See all the details at www.fontanelmansion.com.
This is GREAT but has anyone actually looked up the
definition of “fontanel”?*
Always wondered what Barbara was thinking. . . .
*n. a pit or bodily hollow
It means the soft spot on a baby’s head. Barbara chose this name because of her three children. Many of the things featured in Fontanel (at least when she lived there) were designed to represent their children including the outdoor fountain with the bears as part of it.