Our History

Bailey and Cato a family tradition of cooking and get togethers. As a young boy, I can remember seeing the smoke coming from my Auntie Mattie (Mickey) Cato’s backyard, smelling its aroma in the air. That’s where you could always find my dad, Robert “Bubba” Bailey Sr., smoking ribs on the grill.

The event lasted three days: a fish fry on Friday, BBQ on Saturday, and a southern-style dinner on Sunday. We welcomed all to join family, friends, and neighbors. Today, we share our tradition and love of cooking with the Nashville community through the Bailey and Cato Family Restaurant.

In 2000, Robert and Linda Bailey opened the first location of the Bailey and Cato Family Restaurant in Riverside Village. The restaurant quickly became a Nashville staple with a reputation for some of the finest soul food in the city. In 2018, the restaurant relocated to the Madison area at Due West Plaza, where it continues to thrive as a Nashville establishment, and Bailey and Cato has recently expanded into its second location, at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage.

“The service was good and the food was prepared very well and it tasted as if my Mom cooked it,it was worth the money and had to bring some home.”

David J.