For a 20-something, shaggy-haired Randy Rayburn in the mid-’70s, Midtown’s Rock Block was a haven from the workaday routine and the ever-present twang of country music.
He could strut into Exit/In wearing his characteristic motorcycle vest, catch a Jimmy Buffett, Mac Gayden or Willie Nelson concert and mingle with others who didn’t fit into the mainstream Nashville scene on the edgy two-block strip of Elliston Place in Midtown.
After the show, he and his friends could keep the party going at the Gold Rush with drinks and TexMex food — including their signature “bean roll.”
Now, Rayburn is a successful restaurateur who is part of an effort with downtown developer Tony Giarratana to bring back the energy that the Rock Block had from the 1970s to 1990s. They reopened Elliston Place Soda Shop in 2020 and are now working on plans to bring back Gold Rush.
“In the mid-1970s (Rock Block) was just a really fun spot compared to the more traditional places in Nashville,” Rayburn said. “It really became the hangout of those people in the music industry who were up-and-coming.”