Call it a rematch. The University of Iowa football program heads to the Music City Bowl in Nashville. Iowa faces the Kentucky Wildcats in a rematch of last season’s Citrus Bowl that Kentucky won in the final minutes. The game between the 7-5 Hawkeyes and 7-5 Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference takes place on New Year’s Eve at 11 am CT at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans. ABC will television the game.
For Hawkeye fans interested in traveling to Nashville to watch the game in person, here’s everything you need to know.
more:Iowa football heading to Music City Bowl, where the Hawkeyes’ 2020 game was canceled by COVID
Tickets
On ticketmaster.com, Music City Bowl tickets range from $25 to $139 based on seat location. A few sections are sold out.
How do I get to Nashville?
Airlines flying into the Des Moines International Airport unfortunately do not offer direct flights to Nashville. American Airlines, Delta, United and Southwest all offer connecting flights. According to Google Flights, a nearly four-hour flight with a connection that leaves on Friday, Dec. 30, and returns Sunday, Jan. 1, would cost close to $530.
Des Moines road trippers can hit the road for a 10-hour drive southeast across Iowa and through Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky to Tennessee. According to the AAA gas calculator, a vehicle that gets 25 miles per gallon can expect to spend about $164 roundtrip for the nearly 1,400 miles between Des Moines and Nashville.
more:How to watch Iowa football vs. Kentucky in the Music City Bowl
Lodging
Nashville has a range of hotels, and depending on how close to the stadium you want to stay, a price to match the convenience. Hotels near Nissan Stadium include the Conrad Nashville, Studio 154, Dream Nashville and Hyatt Centric in downtown Nashville, while a Comfort Inn and La Quinta are less than a quarter mile from the stadium.
more:Love hanging with cats, on a roller rink or on a farm? Join us in exploring Iowa’s Off Hours
Where to eat and drink in Nashville
Nashville can go toe-to-toe with any excellent dining city in the country. The Tennessean has it’s own list of essential restaurants that includes Audrey and June from chef Sean Brock with tasting menus that explore Southern flavors (try his burger restaurant Joyland for chicken and biscuits at a lower price point), chef Philip Krajeck’s Folk with pizzas and seasonal dishes, or The Catbird Seat, which the Tennessean calls “an extraordinary three-hour culinary adventure.” Go for the real deal Nashville hot chicken at Hattie B’s.
Listen to just about every type of music imaginable in Nashville as well. Head to the Springwater Supper Club & Lounge, one of the oldest bars in Nashville, for a honky tonk with pool and beer. At Attaboy Nashville, just tell your server your mood and the bartender will conjure up a drink. Check out the Tennessean’s list of good cocktail bars as well.
What else is there to do?
If you bring the kids, head to SoundWaves, an upscale indoor-outdoor water attraction at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Here find more than four acres of slides, a wave pool, FlowRider wave simulator, rapid and lazy rivers, an adults-only area, and more open year rounds.
For the history buff, go to The Hermitage, the home of America’s seventh president Andrew Jackson. The attraction sits on more than 1,000 acres and includes a mansion, gardens and grounds, and the Jackson family tomb.
The shopping buff will enjoy Fifth + Broadway, where they can check out the 55,000-square-foot National Museum of African American Music as well.
Head to the “Smithsonian of country music” aka The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for 350,000 square feet of artifacts, two performance theaters, and rotating special exhibitions. Stroll through “Sing Me Back Home” for a history lesson on country music.
Have you really been to Nashville if you don’t go to the historic Grand Ole Opry? See music stars of past, present, and future or take a backstage tour for a glimpse inside the Opry’s 18-themed dressing rooms.
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitteror Instagram, or drop her a line at [email protected].
5 restaurants illegally kept cash, credit card tips from employees, federal officials say
Updated: 2:18 PM EST Nov 30, 2022
Five restaurants – four in the Upstate – have been cited by the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division for illegally keeping money from their employees.According to the WHD, employers at the five Japan House restaurants reportedly kept $80,212 in back wages from 52 workers .The employers gathered the money by illegally keeping credit card tips and cash received by cashiers and paid cooks a fixed salary even if they worked over their 40-hour workweek, the WHD says.The WHD says that the five Japan House restaurants have also failed to record the number of hours worked by some of their non-exempt employees. Four of the five restaurants cited are in the Upstate, with locations in Boiling Springs, Inman, and two in Spartanburg. Another restaurant cited is in Lake Lure, North Carolina. “Today’s workers have the ability to choose employers who pay full wages and respect workers’ rights. Food service industry employers who comply with labor laws and appreciate the dignity of work will have the greatest appeal to workers, whether they’re joining the workforce or looking for new job opportunities,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina, said. “We encourage employers and employees to contact the Wage and Hour Division with any questions or concerns regarding pay practices.”Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE.
ATLANTA —
Five restaurants – four in the Upstate – have been cited by the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division for illegally keeping money from their employees.
According to the WHD, employers at the five Japan House restaurants reportedly kept $80,212 in back wages from 52 workers.
The employers gathered the money by illegally keeping credit card tips and cash received by cashiers and paid cooks a fixed salary even if they worked over their 40-hour workweek, the WHD says.
The WHD says that the five Japan House restaurants have also failed to record the number of hours worked by some of their non-exempt employees.
Four of the five restaurants cited are in the Upstate, with locations in Boiling Springs, Inman, and two in Spartanburg. Another restaurant cited is in Lake Lure, North Carolina.
“Today’s workers have the ability to choose employers who pay full wages and respect workers’ rights. Food service industry employers who comply with labor laws and appreciate the dignity of work will have the greatest appeal to workers, whether they’re joining the workforce or looking for new job opportunities,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina, said. “We encourage employers and employees to contact the Wage and Hour Division with any questions or concerns regarding pay practices.”
Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE.
Gucci will be moving into 204. S. Galena Street. Carolyn Sackariason/The Aspen Times
As winter season kicks off, the downtown commercial landscape has experienced some moves in the retail world with new arrivals and the changing of locations, yet several restaurant spaces will remain dark until next year.
Almost a dozen spaces that used to be restaurants in downtown Aspen will remain closed this winter season, including a handful that have been closed for several years.
The historic building at 201 E. Main St., known to most as the former Main Street Bakery. Anna Stonehouse/The Aspen Times
The longest that have remained closed are Main Street Bakery, which ceased operations in 2016 and is owned by prominent landlord Mark Hunt, as well as the former Over Easy and Aspen Brewing Co. space on Hopkins Avenue, which the Hillstone Restaurant Group purchased in 2017.
The building that used to house the Aspen Brewing Co. and Over Easy was purchased by the Hillstone Restaurant Group and has been empty since 2016. Carolyn Sackariason/The Aspen Times
Brian Biel, vice president of the restaurant group, which owns the White House Tavern next door, issued a similar statement last week that the company has made in previous years.
“Hillstone is working with the city of Aspen to pull out its building permit and expects to start work on a new project soon,” he said via email.
Hunt told The Aspen Times this past February he hoped to start construction within a few months, but that has not happened.
The space next to the empty Hillstone property that was most recently occupied by Tatanka, which is closed in 2021, is supposed to open by next summer as a Thai restaurant and a Japanese concept underneath, according to commercial real estate broker Angi Yang with Setterfield & Bright.
The former Aspen Sports Bistro and prior to that, Hops Culture, located on the Hyman Avenue mall, is under contract and will not be open this winter.
The restaurant space in the Golden Horn building on the corner of the Mill and Cooper pedestrian malls won’t be open until next winter, according to John Terzian, who represents the Los Angeles-based h. wood Group.
Two spaces in the Golden Horn building on the Mill and Cooper malls will be empty until next winter. Carolyn Sackariason/The Aspen Times
The hospitality group plans to open its third Nice Guy restaurant, which also has locations in Los Angeles and Dubai and pays homage to the era of mafia bars and restaurants and has an old-school Italian menu.
The group took over the space a year and a half ago, after the previous restaurant, Maru, closed in 2019.
The original plan was to be open in 2021 but delays due to the pandemic and permitting processes have slowed down, Terzian said.
He envisions it to be a great place for locals and tourists to hang out in a 1950s era Frank Sinatra and Palm Springs type of scene, with a warm living room feel and live music every night.
“We are super excited about it,” Terzian said last week.
The future proprietors of the Red Onion, Craig and Samantha Cordts-Pearce, planned to be open sometime this winter and now it’s likely sometime in 2023.
The space, also owned by Hunt, is part of almost an entire block on the Cooper Avenue mall being redeveloped into an RH storefront and a jazz center operated by Jazz Aspen Snowmass that has been under construction for years.
Having that much empty space on one block is concerning for Aspen Mayor Torre, who said last week that the vacancy rate in the commercial core, whether the places are spoken for or not, is damaging to the town for many reasons.
“When we have space that is not being utilized in our downtown core, that means that goods and services are not getting to both residents and visitors, and it’s all based on who we are as a town and who are we serving and how’s it coming back to us,” he said. “On top of that, there are tax implications with all these vacant spaces.”
Torre earlier this fall got support from his fellow council members to have staff investigate the possibility of a commercial vacancy tax.
Hunt’s other properties that used to house restaurants Aspen Pie and Nakazawa on the Mill Street mall are closed, as is the longtime Mexican restaurant Su Casa around the corner at 315 E. Hyman Ave.
The Cordts-Pearces, who also own the Wild Fig, will take over the former Nakazawa space and will also manage the Popcorn Wagon.
The spaces on the corner of Galena Street and Durant Avenue that housed Victoria’s Espresso and The Ski Shop will remain closed while Michael Goldberg, owner of the adjacent Belly Up, plans a new
