Kid Rock’s Bar Loses Beer License After COVID-19 Violations

(Twitter @BucklesandBulls)

“I am happy to make money. I want to make more money, make more music, eat Big Macs and drink Budweisers.”  – Kid Rock

Kid Rock’s bar in Nashville is in trouble for ignoring the city’s coronavirus restrictions AGAIN.

Here’s the deal…

Kid Rock’s subtly named Big Ass Honky-Tonk and Rock & Roll Steakhouse has lost its beer license after a photo surfaced showing the venue the singer co-owns with Steve Smith in violation of County COVID-19 restrictions.

Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk defied the city of Nashville when the early March closings were originally mandated calling the Mayor John Cooper’s actions “unconstitutional” before eventually deferring to the city’s wishes and shutting down operations for nearly three months

And now as the city begins to reopen, an Instagram post with an image of the venue in full-on party mode and the bar filled to capacity.

View this post on Instagram

In the time since this picture was shared (not by me, somebody else took it and shared it initially), Steve Smith, his lawyer and his brother John Taylor have compared them opening to the #blacklivesmatter protests and called being fined a double standard, called Covid a hoax and declared Fox News the only arbiter of truth, and most recently they equated their fight against our local government (a government crippled by our state legislation and governor who are all Trump cronies) to LIVING IN EAST GERMANY BEHIND THE BERLIN WALL. That’s all I got, man. Anyway, #blacklivesmatter, #blackmusicmatters, call your reps and ask them to support funding for musicians and the arts so they don’t have to play packed houses and risk their lives, and support @nivassoc so we can get the venues where actually independent original music happens back open again. #covid19 #dogwhistle

A post shared by Jerry Roe (@jerryroe) on Jun 13, 2020 at 10:10am PDT

Kid Rock’s Nashville venue was found to be in violation of the city’s emergency public health order…and its beer license (although interestingly NOT its liquor license) was suspended for five days.

The city’s actions, which Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky-Tonk and Rock & Roll Steakhouse has 14 days to appeal, comes with a fine of $1,000, the maximum penalty for the first violation, and its co-owner Steve Smith was quick to jump ugly…

“The Nashville government is, like, communist. They’ve got us behind a Berlin Wall,” Smith told the Tennessean on Tuesday….

“We met with Mayor Cooper and the doctors weeks ago and explained how having bar service is safer than table service. They’re doing everything they can to put us out of business. The state of Tennessee is already in Phase 4 and they’re talking about holding us in Phase 2. It’s against our constitutional rights.”

As of publication, Kid Rock has declined American Craft Beer’s request for comment on the city’s action…