According to recent permits, Bad Ass Coffee is opening another location in Music City, this time inside the mixed-use tower One22One with an address of 1221 Broadway. The centralized location is sure to draw in heavy foot traffic of both locals and tourists alike visiting the bustling downtown area. Though a grand opening date has not yet been confirmed, it’s likely to open doors sometime next year.
Cody Rothwell of Rothwell Development Company is the franchisee behind the expansion. This will become the third Bad Ass Coffee location in Tennessee of a confirmed 16 others in the future. The first location opened in White House, Tennessee last year, and the second opened in Hillsboro Village last week, according to its Instagram. Rothwell has signed on to bring 18 locations of Bad Ass Coffee across Middle Tennessee, including four units in Knoxville, two units in Gatlinburg, and 12 units in the greater Nashville area.
The menu at Bad Ass Coffee offers a variety of baked goods, breakfast and lunch sandwiches on Kings Hawaiian rolls, a variety of espresso-based drinks as well as tea, lemonade, and blended beverages.
Bad Ass Coffee was founded in 1989 on the Big Island of Hawaii and has since expanded to over 14 states, boasting a goal of hitting 150 new franchised locations by 2028.
The company derives its name and logo from a native Hawaiian legend. “For generations, the donkeys of Kona, Hawaii could be heard bellowing as they carried precious loads of coffee beans down the steep mountains of the Big Island. The native people of Kona named these hard-working donkeys the ‘Bad Ass Ones’ because of their reliably strong, but stubborn nature in carrying their precious cargo,” states its website.
What Now Nashville reached out to Rothwell, but the franchise owner declined to comment.