Music City just welcomed a new band to town, but early reviews suggest the trio is a little… robotic.
When the Graduate Nashville opened last week, the 205-bedroom hotel introduced three new drinking and dining spots to the city’s Midtown neighborhood. The undisputed highlight is the Cross-Eyed Critters Watering Hole, a kooky karaoke bar featuring a trio of instrument-yielding animals.
Before you dial ASPCA, it’s worth noting that the bear, pig, and fox providing the backup tunes are animatronic robots (because that’s much less weird?).
According to an email press release, the “super fun” animatronic karaoke bar is the “first of its kind” and the peculiar brainchild of hospitality duo Marc Rose and Med Abrous. (Rose and Abrous are the folks behind Genghis Cohen, Winsome, and The Spare Room cocktail bar at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles; and the Mountaineering Club in Seattle).
The bar appears to be inspired by Chuck E. Cheese — its initials even abbreviate to CEC — but the name was reportedly inspired by an Eric Church song.
The menu is similarly nostalgic, including previous hits like Flaming Hot Dr. Peppers (a $10 mix of hot rum, amaretto, and beer) and Bob’s Your Uncle Cider and Fireball ($12). For our money, the $12 Black Cherry White Claw and Jägermeister shooter is the combo that looks set for platinum success.
Cross-Eyed Critters is open for business Tuesday through Saturday and the trio is taking requests now. Inside sources close to the band say they’re happy to drop jazz interpretations of the Black Eyed Peas, but they absolutely draw the line at “Don’t Stop Believing” or anything by Jon Bon Jovi.
