A family franchise group led by 23-year-old Ohm Patel has signed a three-unit development agreement to bring The Brass Tap to Middle Tennessee, marking the upscale American tavern brand's first footprint in the state. Planned locations in Brentwood, Murfreesboro and Franklin will introduce the craft beer bar and entertainment concept to a suburban Nashville corridor that has attracted significant restaurant investment in recent years.
The Deal
Ohm Patel is joined in the agreement by his father Chan Patel, uncle Sanjay Patel and cousin Shivam Patel — a group whose background spans two decades of U.S. hotel and retail operations. The family plans to open the Brentwood unit first before sequencing into Murfreesboro and Franklin, though final site selections remain in progress. Each location will carry The Brass Tap's full format: an extensive roster of local and regional draft beers, specialty cocktails, premium wines, a chef-driven shareable menu and weekly programming including live music, trivia, karaoke and sports watch parties.
"Our development strategy is built on finding the right partners in the right markets, and Ohm and his family are a perfect fit for Middle Tennessee," said Chris Elliott, CEO of FSC Franchise Co., the Tampa-based multi-brand franchisor that owns The Brass Tap alongside Beef 'O' Brady's and Newk's Eatery. FSC operates more than 250 locations across its three concepts.
Brand Context
The Brass Tap has grown to more than 50 locations across 16 states over roughly a decade of franchising. The brand leans on a suburban neighborhood-bar positioning — heavy on entertainment programming and rotating tap selections — that has found traction in markets underserved by premium craft beer venues. The Tennessee agreement extends that suburban strategy into one of the Southeast's fastest-growing metro areas, where household income and population growth in communities like Brentwood and Franklin have drawn a wave of polished bar-and-grill concepts.
The deal also reflects a broader trend in food-and-beverage franchising: hospitality-fluent families with existing multi-unit operating experience moving into branded restaurant platforms. Ohm Patel, who graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in kinesiology and business before opting for entrepreneurship, conducted due diligence at an existing Brass Tap in Huntsville, Alabama, and attended Discovery Day at the brand's Tampa headquarters before committing. For the family, the three-unit agreement represents both a market opportunity and a generational legacy project built on the foundation of their hotel and retail businesses.
The Brass Tap's entertainment-driven format — trivia nights, tap takeovers, patio community events — positions it squarely in the experiential dining and beverage segment that has outpaced traditional casual dining traffic trends. Operators and franchise investors in the beverage-forward restaurant channel have increasingly prioritized recurring programming to drive weeknight covers and build loyalty, a playbook The Brass Tap has baked into its operating model from the start.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
