John Rich
Mar 19, 2020
John Rich of Big & Rich will keep paying employees at his Nashville bar, Redneck Riviera, despite it temporarily closing due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Rich is encouraging his peers who own businesses on Nashville's Lower Broadway to do the same. (Both Dierks Bentley and Florida Georgia Line have already vowed to pay $1,000 to each employee of their now-shuttered downtown Nashville bars.) Additionally, the Redneck Riviera bands are now streaming performances live from the building and accepting tips via Venmo. Rich himself will stream a weekly concert, and all of his tips will go directly to the bands and songwriters who normally play at the bar.
Rich told The Tennessean, "Are you going to tell 75 to 80 people, 'Sorry guys, good luck out there?' No. I actually know my bartenders and my servers and my sound guys and managers ... and it's just not going to happen." Rich also plans on calculating the average that his tip-based employees make based off of figures from the past two to three months, and will pay those employees that amount. For more information on Rich, visit BigAndRich.com.