NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jack Cawthon, whose barbecue joint helped bring people back to Nashville’s Lower Broadway long before the honky-tonk boom, has died at age 80 after a long fight with cancer, his restaurant company announced Wednesday.
Cawthon spent more than half a century in food and hospitality. He rose into management at the Nashville City Club, Hillwood Country Club and Richland Country Club, then struck out by launching Cawthon’s Caterer in 1976. Sensing that the city lacked traditional barbecue, he blended Tennessee and Texas styles, with beef brisket and a lineup of regional sauces.
The first Jack’s Bar-B-Que opened in 1991 at the corner of Broadway and First Avenue in a modest building overlooking Riverfront Park, and the company describes it as the first casual restaurant on a then-struggling Broadway. A Trinity Lane location followed in 1992. After losing the downtown lease in 1994, Cawthon bought a building farther up Broadway near the Ryman Auditorium.
That spot became known for its three neon pigs soaring over the street, a sign that went up in 1997 and later showed up in movies, commercials and music videos. In 2004, Metro Council honored Cawthon for his work as an entrepreneur and civic leader.
After 31 years downtown, Jack’s sold the Broadway building last year to the owners of Robert’s Western World, and that restaurant closed in August 2025. Cawthon’s son now runs daily operations, and two locations remain open, on Charlotte Avenue and on Trinity Lane. The company said funeral arrangements will be announced once they are final.
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