Sean Brock's Husk Nashville Closed Following Electrical Fire

Sad news out of Nashville early this morning: Husk, chef Sean Brock’s acclaimed hyper-Southern restaurant, is closed following an electrical fire.

The Nashville Scene reports the fire broke out sometime after the restaurant closed on Wednesday night; firefighters arrived just after midnight to extinguish it, but were called to the scene again around 5 a.m. when the blaze reignited.

Thankfully, no one was injured, and the fire was contained to only the upstairs portion of the restaurant, a converted 19th-century mansion. The Scene notes that “the kitchen and the bar, which houses a prized collection of antique bourbons, were not affected.”

Brock established the first Husk in Charleston back in 2010, following it up with Husk Nashville in 2013. In a 2014 review, Eater critic Bill Addison wrote of Brock — who won a Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast in 2010 and was featured on the PBS series Mind of a Chef — “Of all the chefs and writers who have salvaged, heralded, and personalized Southern cooking in recent years, Brock has the most extreme curiosity. ... No regional heirloom seed is too obscure, no breed of pig too ornery.”

UPDATE Sept. 9 8:35 a.m.: Reached for comment, David Howard, president of Neighborhood Dining Group, says the damage to Husk was less severe than initially thought and Husk “will not be closed long; read the full statement below:

We appreciate the outpouring of local and industry support following the fire on September 8 at Husk Nashville. Thankfully no one was injured and the damage is not as extensive as initially thought. The fire was limited to the electrical room, dish room and roof, and no damage was done to the main dining room or kitchen.

Contractors are assessing the damage and have begun demolition/rebuilding. We should have a better idea of a timeline for reopening in the coming days. We will not be closed long and want our valued staff to be able to work again quickly.

• Husk Burns Overnight, Closed Indefinitely [Nashville Scene]
• A Tale of Two Husks: How Sean Brock’s Sister Spots Stack Up [E]
• All Husk Coverage [E]