Tanya Tucker, on Nashville's future, her Lower Broadway cantina featuring a $300 cocktail

On the menu at Country Music Hall of Famer and Grammy-winner Tanya Tucker's just-opened Tequila Cantina pop-up bar on the second floor of Nudie's Honky Tonk on Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville, there's a 60-ounce Cosa Salvaje tequila cocktail, meant to be drunk by four people, that costs $300.

However, that's not the only reason someone should visit 409 Broadway soon.

The location allowed for an event that created the spectacle, for another year, of the "Delta Dawn" vocalist riding a world-champion black Friesian stallion down multiple blocks of what is growing into the busiest downtown thoroughfare in America.

"There's finally more girls on the boys' block! The scene here is turning into a good kind of crazy."

That's what Tucker exclaims while sitting on her tour bus before sitting astride Lauw the Magnificent and discussing the power of expanding Lower Broadway's profile to feature two party-ready Texans — Country Music Hall of Famer Tucker and Miranda Lambert, whose name is emblazoned on the Casa Rosa bar just a block away.

"We've gotta get Shania Twain here, though. That needs to happen next," says Tucker, with nary a hint of irony in her voice.

Tucker and Twain are more frequently in conversation of late after a chance meeting at the Ryman Auditorium as both attended the 2022 ACM Honors ceremony.

Generations of country legends on Lower Broadway

"Broadway has to embrace its history as a location around the corner from the Grand Ole Opry and a musical Disneyland where Ernest Tubb had his Midnite Jamboree as much as it has grown into a weekend area where people are everywhere wearing boots and enjoying the culture that the new level of country music's explosion has created."

For Tucker, the current era where stars as renowned for Billboard success as they are "making a good living off a bad reputation" should find that Nashville's desire to encompass its entire history plus soften its perceptions of what defines infamy can coincide.

Nuance in the neon: Nashville has so many honky-tonks, but which is the right one for you?

To wit, Tucker's bar space occupies the same block as hotspots honoring Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Hank Williams, Jr. And yes, Jon Bon Jovi will arrive there soon, too.

"I've been in friendly competition with those guys for years already, though, haven't I? I've got to figure something out, though. It's amazing. I've got a great menu, my taco recipes, tequila, a tortilla chip brand I would like to import from Texas and we're going to revive my old salsa recipe," adds Tucker, immediately revving up her competitive and creative juices.

Presume that, as she did on Thursday afternoon, she will occasionally jump onstage and perform a few hits, like 1991's "If Your Heart Ain't Busy."

What Tucker eventually envisions for Lower Broadway is a type of space where there are as many bars paying homage to 2010s-era country superstars, rock cover bands blaring from front windows and bachelorette parties casually driving "woo"-ing down the street as there are spaces where country's previous decades of iconic legends can welcome their legions of fans and beloved family and friends into shared, communal spaces where hugs and shots of liquor are as frequent as sing-alongs to a century's worth of country hits.

Tucker, now 'included' in Nashville's 'excitement'

The bar continues to expand Icon Entertainment and Hospitality's Bill Miller's footprint beyond bars and restaurants. It ensures that the legacy of America's musical icons, such as Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra, and now Tucker, achieves more permanent relevance.

Tucker and entrepreneur Elle France co-founded the Cosa Salvaje tequila line in 2019. It is currently available in 14 states and Canada. Numerous bottles in the line have art featuring Tucker riding black stallions.

She and her brand are paired with Nudie's 100-year-old building, which Miller owns. It houses millions of dollars worth of rare country music memorabilia and stage costumes, as Cohn designed outfits for Hank Williams, Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Roy Rogers, Elton John and dozens of others, including Elvis Presley's famous gold suit. Cohn's customized Cadillac El Dorado Nudie Mobile also hangs on the wall.

Five decades into her Nashville career, Tucker is excited to kick off what she feels finally marks her "arrival" in Nashville. Before she could legally drink, she had evolved from her Texas origins to a Nashville rise and ended up rocking on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip. Now, after spending years both in and out of town and in favor with Music City, her recent Country Music Hall of Fame induction and now, a cantina opening, she feels "included" in Nashville's "excitement."

"Along with concerts and the new music I'm releasing soon, this bar will keep me busier than a one-legged man in an a-- kicking contest," Tucker jokes. "I'm achieving the ultimate creative visions of my career while remaining viable in the country music industry and Nashville as a city. I'm glad I held onto the dreams I had decades ago because it means so much to still, God willing, have the ability to witness them."

"As long as there's a reason for me to do hard work, I'm going to enjoy showing up, drinking my tequila and riding my big black stallion horse down Broadway in gratitude for allowing me to remain an interesting part of everything that's happening."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tanya Tucker opens her cantina. What should happen in Nashville next