Goodbye Rumours

It's hard, sometimes, to say goodbye to something that can't say goodbye to you.

Rumours Wine Bar in 12South is closing tonight, a victim of a greedy landowner and a developer who has no understanding of the neighborhood and what will and will not work.  But that's another story.  Tonight, I want to write about Rumours and how sad I am that it's closing.  What makes it especially sad is that my friends - Jenn, Christie and Tammy - are being forced out by their landlord just when the bar, their dream, is finally hitting its stride.  In other words, it's not a case of a bar closing due to a lack of business.  Instead, Rumours is being forced to close to make way for a large residential/retail development.  In fact, Rumours is going to be torn down to allow for parking.

That's right - a neighborhood bar and restaurant that's been a significant part of the fabric of my life is going to be razed to make room for a parking lot.  What bullshit.

So many, many happy memories.

I remember the Sunday night J.P. and I met Hal Humphreys at Rumours for dinner.  Our friend and chef, Michael (formerly the owner of "Mirror," also in 12South), was cooking and Jenn was tending bar.  It was the first or second Sunday the bar was open, so we had the place to ourselves.  It was one of those nights that just organically - magically even - turns out perfectly.  Michael invited J.P. into the kitchen while he cooked our dinner (I had an exquisite line caught salmon dish) and fed him apples.  Hal and I sat at the corner table, drank wine and talked to Jenn.  I've got great photos of J.P. in Hal's lap, smiling and laughing.

I remember the December night in 2010 when I hosted my law firm's Christmas Dinner and Party at Rumours.  We reserved the entire bar for a couple or hours, then had the back room to ourselves for dinner.  We drank a lot - and I mean a lot - of wine and had a great evening.

I remember the night Hal and I went to a Nashville Sounds game, then ended up on the patio at Rumours.  Long after closing time, Christie sat on the patio with Hal and me, ringing out bottle after bottle of wine.  It was a beautiful summer night and we hung out, talked and watched traffic pass by on 12th Avenue.

I remember the night I met my former paralegal, Tracie Carter, at Rumour's.  It was the first time she had seen J.P., who was less than a year old and slept in the stroller (the "City Elite") as we had a glass of wine.

I remember the night we celebrated my birthday in the back room at Rumours with my mom and Jude's parents.  Jenn surprised me with an ice cream cake Jude had left with her earlier in the day.

I remember celebrating Kim Green's 40th birthday at Rumours.

I remember the night Lori Reid and I had a glass of wine with Alison Prestwood, a recent graduate from the Nashville School of Law.  Shortly thereafter, we hired Alison and she works at my law firm.

I remember taking my mom to dinner at Rumours.  We sat at a two top table to the left of the bar and had  a wonderful meal and a glass of wine.  I enjoyed getting her our of her suburban bubble and into my neighborhood for dinner.

I remember many, many nights I met Hal at Rumours for a glass of wine after work, on my way home.

I remember the night when Doug Brown was in town and Mike Matteson and I ended up with him at Rumours.  We sat in the front of the bar, by the door and finished off our night by drinking a lot of white wine.

So many happy memories.  For me, Rumours isn't a place.  It's a feeling or something like a feeling.  Something abstract.  Jenn and Christie are going to try to open another Rumours, perhaps in the Gulch, and I hope that happens.  I also hope the new Rumours has the same feeling the old Rumours had.  I'm not sure how realistic that is but I hope it works out that way.

Cheers.