More than six years after opening his Filipino and sushi restaurant Sunda in the Gulch, acclaimed restaurateur Billy Dec has expanded his Nashville empire with the opening of The Blueprint Underground Cocktail Club in Printers Alley. Trading on the history of the 156 Printers Alley address as a former blueprint supply shop, the new club is an offshoot of Dec’s celebrated Chicago venue, The Underground Cocktail Club, which has been named the hottest nightclub in the Windy City for years.
Dec intended to open a club to accompany Sunda years ago, but he took his time to find the right spot. Located near the north end of the alley, the club has a cool underground vibe. With light installations illuminating the alley and the entrance and an open patio exposed to the narrow pedestrian pathway, it shouldn’t be too hard for locals and in-the-know visitors to find this spot.
Inside, the club exudes big-city vibes with large booths available for reservation and bottle service for ballers. A small stage hovers over the back of the long bar, providing ideal sight lines for just about everyone in the bustling bar area. On opening weekend, luminaries like Colbie Caillat and Macy Gray hopped up on the stage to entertain the assemblage of VIP guests. Even the green room where artists wait to take the stage is top-tier, thanks to a partnership with Gibson Guitars.
The planned musical entertainment will be a mix of DJs, bands and solo artists playing an eclectic mix of tunes. The food menu is a mashup of Nashville and Chicago, appropriate for the two main headquarters of the Dec empire. Offerings like The Magic Puff will exhibit Music City twists on Chicago’s famous pizza puff, and The Chosen One dresses up the humble chicken nuggets with crème fraîche and a decadent dollop of caviar.
Cocktail options include The Heaven Lee, an homage to the famous exotic Printers Alley dancer, and two large format, four-serving cocktails: The Blueprint Bathtub, a specialty gin cocktail served in a mini-bathtub, and the Printer’s Press, a reposado tequila and orange espresso martini served in a French press.
Locals have long yearned for a hip cocktail and music lounge like the kind they might have encountered in Vegas, Miami or Chicago, and The Blueprint Underground Cocktail Club may just fill that bill. Current hours are Thursday through Saturday, 5 p.m. until 3 a.m., so go check it out!
