Written by Christie Crawford
Clarksville, TN – According to Clyde’s of Clarksville’s General Manager Derek Hall, “you don’t need to go to Nashville to get good food.” The restaurant, barely open a year, features a casual fine dining experience, the type of food that you would expect with white linens but without the prices and formality.
Hall, whose lifelong career in the food industry includes 18 years at Morton’s Steakhouse in Nashville, brings his hospitality knowledge to Clyde’s, including a pledge of being “a step above” in menu and service from comparative restaurants.
Born in Nashville, Hall’s experiences were in food establishments there before he moved to McEwen, TN when he became a single dad, in order to give his children a better lifestyle. He found himself working at Cracker Barrel, where the hours were more conducive to raising children, when he met restaurant consultant David Wyatt who was working with Dock 17.
Wyatt, a former J. Alexander’s employee, immediately clicked with Hall and Wyatt bought him the restaurant opportunity at The River Club golf facility. Named for one of the owner’s father Clyde Purvis, the restaurant is locally-owned and is community focused – one of the key attractions for Hall.
What Hall emphasizes is that although the golf facility is held by private membership, the restaurant is open to the entire community, and has a meeting room ideal for company and or organization lunches and dinners. Through these events, Clydes’ has built its clientele, only relying on word-of -mouth advertising and online ratings such as YELP. Sales are still building as the one-year anniversary approaches.
Clyde’s menu is put together by both Wyatt and Hall and emphasizes Southern dishes with modern input. One of his signature dishes that he was told “ would never do well in Clarksville” is seared yellowfin tuna dipped in sesame seeds and served in a ponzu or Japanese citrus sauce.
Derek added a strong steak menu including a new teres major cut of beef for a truly edible steak sandwich, and a buffalo cauliflower appetizer, which have both become restaurant favorites. The menu is always evolving and he hopes to add a charcuterie board item to enhance the typical fare in the near future.
When asked what new experiences could be expected, Hall mentions that he would like to work with a local bakery with a strong reputation for dessert and bread items. He would also like to fully utilize his large deck overlooking the golf course by weather-conditioning it to make it available 365 days a year.
No expansion plans are in place, but Hall says that, if it were the right spot it could be feasible to the owners. He stresses that the restaurant maintain it’s small-town feel and that it be community oriented. Golfers are a priority customer and the bar will keep its attractive pricing for post golf activities.
Community Tuesday is an important event for Clyde’s as schools, sports organizations, and and an event dear to his heart – Rossview-After Prom, benefit from a donation of 10% of all proceeds from 4 p.m. to closing.
As the anniversary date approaches (official date September 29) Hall hopes to bring his family’s
Clydesdale horses back for the community to enjoy. These horses are especially friendly and excellent with kids, as they normally participate in local fairs in Tennessee. Although the Clydesdales are set to visit at Clyde’s, it is clear that Hall is not horsing around when it comes to good restaurant fare.
