Joyland Nashville: Why Sean Brock's Burger Closed
Sean Brock's Joyland grew from one East Nashville carryout in 2020 to four restaurants. All had closed by August 2026. Here is what happened.
Photo: Breville USA, CC BY 2.0
No. Joyland Nashville is closed for good. Sean Brock’s burger counter shut both of its Nashville locations around Sunday, July 12, 2026: the original at 901 Woodland St in East Nashville and the second at 4013 Charlotte Ave in West Nashville. The last Joyland restaurant, in Birmingham, Alabama, closed after service on August 2, 2026. Below: what Joyland was, how the Crustburger was built, why four restaurants closed in six months, and where to go for a burger in Nashville instead.
Status as of October 25, 2026: permanently closed. Joyland East Nashville (901 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37206) and Joyland West Nashville (4013 Charlotte Ave) closed around July 12, 2026. Joyland Charleston closed in February 2026 and Joyland Birmingham closed on August 2, 2026. We could not confirm whether the Joyland food truck at Southall Farm and Inn is still running.
Is Joyland Nashville closed?
Yes. Joyland Nashville closed permanently around July 12, 2026, and both Nashville locations shut at the same time. The Tennessean reported the closures that day. Axios Nashville, Nashville Scene, Nation’s Restaurant News and Nashville Post followed over the next few days. Paul Mishkin, one of Brock’s partners in the expansion, blamed “ongoing partnership challenges that ultimately made the current operating model unsustainable” (Nation’s Restaurant News).
I looked for a statement from Sean Brock himself and found none. Every reason for the shutdown given here comes from Mishkin or from press reports on the court cases, not from Brock.
Sean Brock and Joyland: a chef’s first solo project
Sean Brock founded Joyland in Nashville in 2020, and it was his first solo restaurant project. Wikipedia describes it as “the first of his solo restaurant projects, featuring high-quality fast food” (Wikipedia). The idea was simple: a fine-dining chef cooking the food of a roadside counter.
Few chefs in the South had a longer list of awards. Born Homer Sean Brock in Pound, Virginia, in 1978, he was executive chef at Husk in Charleston from 2010 to 2018, and Husk added a Nashville location in 2013. He won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast in 2010. A year later, Bon Appétit named Husk the Best New Restaurant in America. His cookbook Heritage won the James Beard Award for American Cooking in 2015.
That is why Joyland got attention. A chef with James Beard awards was selling crinkle-cut fries and malt shakes over a counter in East Nashville.
What was on the Joyland menu?
Joyland served Southern diner and gas-station classics: burgers, fried chicken and biscuits. Springer Mountain Farms, the Georgia poultry producer that supplied its chicken, describes a menu built on diner classics, an “all-day biscuits” section, burgers and fried chicken, all inspired by Brock’s love of Southern gas-station food.
- Crustburger: the signature, described in detail below.
- Joyburger Deluxe: the restaurant’s other main burger.
- Joystick: fried chicken on a stick, a cross between Japanese kushikatsu and Mississippi-style chicken-on-a-stick.
- Fried chicken sandwich with Joy sauce.
- Buttermilk biscuits, also served at Brock’s sister restaurant Audrey.
- Crinkle-cut fries and malt shakes.
Joyland named Gifford’s Bacon and Springer Mountain Farms chicken among its suppliers (Nashville Scene). I found no menu prices I could verify, so this page quotes none.
The Joyland Crustburger: how it was made
The Joyland Crustburger was a thin patty with American cheese and onion on a flattened potato bun, toasted in a skillet until golden and crispy. That is how The Infatuation and Nashville Scene describe it, and the crisp crust gave the burger its name.
Most smash burgers get their crunch from beef hitting a hot griddle. Brock put the crunch in the bread instead. I think that was the best idea at Joyland: a plain cheese-and-onion burger got a texture distinctive enough to name it after. Brock was clearly proud of it. He announced Joyland Charleston while cooking Crustburgers at the 2024 Charleston Food & Wine Classic.
Crust burger recipe: making one at home
Joyland never published an official Crustburger recipe, and we have not tested one yet. To get close at home, start from what the sources confirm: a thin patty, American cheese, onion, and a potato bun pressed flat and toasted in a skillet. Until we have a tested version, my colleague Julia’s Five Guys Little Bacon Burger copycat recipe is the nearest tested burger recipe on the site.
Joyland locations and timeline, 2020–2026
At its peak, Joyland had four restaurants in Nashville, Birmingham and Charleston, and all four closed in 2026. The table gives each one’s opening and closing dates as reported by local press.
| Location | Address | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Nashville (original) | 901 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37206 | 2020 | Around July 12, 2026 |
| Birmingham (Avondale) | 3719 Third Ave. South, Birmingham, AL | 2024 | August 2, 2026 |
| West Nashville (Sylvan Park) | 4013 Charlotte Ave, Nashville, TN | November 19, 2024 | Around July 12, 2026 |
| Charleston | Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC | February 14, 2025 | February 2026 |
Sources: Nashville Today, CHS Today, Bham Now, WBRC, AL.com via Yahoo, Tennessean via Yahoo.
Map of the two former Joyland Nashville locations: the original at 901 Woodland St, East Nashville (marker), and 4013 Charlotte Ave in Sylvan Park, West Nashville. Both closed around July 12, 2026 (Map: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)
2020: a pandemic opening in East Nashville
The first Joyland opened in 2020 at 901 Woodland St in East Nashville, in a converted former coffee shop. It opened during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it started with carryout and delivery only. Secondary sources disagree on the month (some say spring, others August). No primary source settles it, so I give the year only.
Bungalows and stone retaining walls in the East Nashville Historic District, the neighborhood where Joyland opened its first carryout counter in 2020 (photo from 2010, not of the Joyland site) (3573×1272) (Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EastNashvilleHD.jpg)
2024: partners, Birmingham and West Nashville
In 2024 Joyland expanded with two partners: Nick Pihakis of the Birmingham-based Pihakis Restaurant Group, and Paul Mishkin, founder of Southall Farm and Inn in Franklin, Tennessee. Joyland Birmingham opened that year at 3719 Third Ave. South in Avondale, in the space that had housed Rodney Scott’s BBQ and, before that, Bottletree Café. West Nashville followed on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at 4013 Charlotte Ave, as the third Joyland.
A Joyland food truck also operated at Southall Farm and Inn, 2200 Osage Loop, between Franklin and Leipers Fork, parked at The Rambling Pad near the greenhouses. I could not confirm that it still runs after the 2026 closures, so it is not listed as open and no hours are given.
2025: Charleston and a mixed review
Joyland Charleston opened on February 14, 2025, on Calhoun Street, in the former Hero Doughnuts & Buns space. On March 31, 2025, The Infatuation gave the Nashville restaurant 7.7/10, calling Joyland a solid casual spot with consistency issues. That is a respectable score, not a rave.
2026: four closures in six months
All four Joyland restaurants closed between February and August 2026. Charleston went first, in February. Both Nashville locations followed around July 12. Birmingham was the last one open and closed after service on Sunday, August 2, 2026, as general manager Jake Blankenship announced.
Joyland timeline, 2020–2026: how long each of the four restaurants stayed open, from East Nashville (2020) to Birmingham, the last to close, on August 2, 2026. The 2020 and Birmingham 2024 bars start at the beginning of the year because no exact opening month is confirmed (Chart: Burger Breton, own work, CC BY 4.0, data from The Tennessean, Nashville Today, CHS Today, Bham Now and WBRC)
Why did Joyland close?
Joyland closed during the financial crisis of its operating partner, Pihakis Restaurant Group, which faced more than $23 million in lawsuits and claims in 2026. AL.com counted about $23.4 million across at least 11 court actions in Alabama and South Carolina, mostly over unpaid debts, rent and bills. The group closed restaurants in four states that year (AL.com via Yahoo).
The only on-the-record reason for the Nashville closures came from Paul Mishkin, who cited “ongoing partnership challenges.” Here is my read. The 2024 expansion tied a chef’s personal project to a restaurant group whose finances later unraveled in court. Joyland had no independent footing left, and all four restaurants went down with the group within six months.
Who owned Joyland?
Sean Brock founded Joyland and was the chef behind the concept. From 2024, Pihakis Restaurant Group and Paul Mishkin of Southall Farm and Inn were his operating partners in the expansion. Brock’s ownership share and his exact role after that deal were never made public, so this page calls him founder and chef, nothing more.
Sean Brock restaurants in Nashville now
I could not confirm that any Nashville restaurant is serving under Sean Brock’s direction as of October 2026. Brock opened Audrey, with June upstairs, in October 2021, and Bar Continental in September 2023. Outside Tennessee, Wikipedia lists Darling, which he opened in West Hollywood in August 2025. I found fewer than two reliable sources on the current status of Bar Continental and Darling, and reports of changes at June and Audrey are not confirmed yet. Check each restaurant’s own website before you go.
Best burgers in Nashville now that Joyland is closed
Joyland is gone, but Nashville still has burgers. Our best burgers in Nashville page collects every Nashville guide we publish, with only venues and facts we could verify. If the thin, crisp patty was what drew you to Joyland, my best burgers in Denver guide names the smash burger I rank first in that city. For another place built around one famous burger, read our Fergburger Queenstown profile. Every city guide is listed on the Restaurants hub.
How we built this profile
Joyland closed before this article was planned, so I never reviewed it for Burger Breton, and this page carries no rating. I built the timeline from dated local reporting: Tennessean, Axios Nashville, Nashville Scene, Nashville Post, Nation’s Restaurant News, AL.com, Bham Now, WBRC and 6AM City. Biographical facts come from Wikipedia and Sean Brock’s official site. I checked every source on October 25, 2026, and left out anything supported by only one secondary source, including menu prices and the month of the 2020 opening.
Joyland Nashville FAQ
Is Joyland in Nashville still open? No. Both Nashville locations, East Nashville and West Nashville, closed permanently around July 12, 2026. No Joyland restaurant has been open since August 2, 2026. The status of the food truck at Southall Farm and Inn is unconfirmed.
Why did Sean Brock’s Joyland close? Partner Paul Mishkin cited “ongoing partnership challenges” that made the operating model unsustainable. The closures came as Pihakis Restaurant Group faced more than $23 million in lawsuits and claims. I found no public statement from Brock about it.
What was the Joyland Crustburger? A thin patty with American cheese and onion on a flattened potato bun, toasted in a skillet until golden and crispy.
Where was Joyland in East Nashville? The original Joyland was at 901 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37206, in a converted former coffee shop.
How many Joyland locations were there? Four at its peak: East Nashville, West Nashville, Birmingham and Charleston. A Joyland food truck also ran at Southall Farm and Inn.
Who owned Joyland: Sean Brock or Pihakis Restaurant Group? Brock founded Joyland in 2020. In 2024 he partnered with Nick Pihakis of Pihakis Restaurant Group and with Paul Mishkin of Southall Farm and Inn to expand it. The ownership split was never made public.
Is the Joyland food truck at Southall still operating? I could not confirm it. The truck was parked at The Rambling Pad at Southall Farm and Inn, 2200 Osage Loop, but its status after the 2026 closures is unverified. Contact Southall before you make the trip.
Where can I eat Sean Brock’s food in Nashville now? Brock opened Audrey (with June upstairs) in 2021 and Bar Continental in 2023, but I could not confirm their current status as of October 2026. Check their official sites before you go.
