Tucked just beyond the lively rhythm of Frankie's Pizza and Grill is a place where craftsmanship, memory, and a little Nashville magic come together over a perfectly balanced cocktail. Known as the Barrel Room Bar, this warm, mural-lined retreat has quietly become one of the town’s most beloved gathering spots, and for owner Tanya Prifitera, it is deeply personal.
“I decided to open the bar about five years ago and add it onto the existing building,” Prifitera said. “We had a lot of customers ask us for a full bar over the years, and it just felt like the right time.”
The Barrel Room did not appear overnight. Its foundation was already woven into Frankie's identity. From the beginning, Prifitera envisioned the restaurant with a wine barrel motif that subtly guided the design. “When I first opened Frankie’s, I had a wine barrel theme for the decor,” she explained. “The host stand is made from wine barrels, the pendant lights are the metal on the outside of a barrel, and some of the wall art ties into that theme, too.”
So when the decision was made to create a dedicated bar, the aesthetic felt inevitable. “When we decided to do the bar room, it seemed only right to make it a barrel room look,” Prifitera said.
To bring that vision to life, she partnered with Murals and More, led by artist Michael Cooper, who transformed the space into something far more than decorative. “Michael did a wonderful job with it,” she said. “But while it was being created, he asked me to come up with something that really connected it with me and what I was passionate about.”
The answer came easily. “Well, that was easy for me,” Prifitera said with a laugh. “I’ve loved Dolly Parton since I was a little girl, and being in the Nashville area now, I thought, why not add Dolly into the mural somewhere?”
What emerged is now the soul of the Barrel Room. At the center of the mural, Dolly Parton stands on stage, joined by her longtime friend and fellow icon, Kenny Rogers. “Michael suggested a stage with her on it, and of course she couldn’t be alone,” Prifitera said. “So we added my second favorite, and Dolly’s longtime friend, Kenny Rogers. We’ve even talked about adding a couple more iconic artists one day soon.”
Yet the mural holds a deeper meaning that many guests discover only after lingering a little longer. At the base of the barrels are angel wings framing the Frankie's logo, a tribute to Prifitera’s brother. “The bottom barrels have angel wings on the side of our logo for my brother Frankie, who passed away that year from COVID,” she shared. “He was the one who created Frankie’s logo for me, so adding it to the mural with angel wings was for him.”
Today, the Barrel Room has evolved into exactly what Prifitera hoped it would be, and perhaps more. “The barrel room evolved as a very popular destination in town for craft cocktails and a real ‘cheers’ sort of environment where everybody knows your name,” she said. “No, seriously, it has a very warm and inviting vibe, and it seems to be a weekly stop for a lot of locals.”
Part of that draw is the ever-changing cocktail menu. “We like to change the cocktail list often so we can get creative seasonally,” Prifitera said, noting that guests are just as likely to stop in for a signature drink as they are for a full dinner.
Whether it is a date night, a quiet place to unwind after work, or an evening spent on the calmer side of Frankie's, the Barrel Room offers something rare, a space where design tells a story, music icons watch over the room, and every detail carries intention. As Prifitera puts it, “It’s been a great spot for relaxing, connecting, and enjoying something special, and that’s exactly what I wanted it to be.”