A $10 million remodeling project on Lower Broadway to house Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe continues on schedule so the beach-themed restaurant and live-music venue can open by Christmas, the building's owners say.

When it's up and running, the cafe will feature music and mementos of the legendary entertainer, who got his start in Nashville and has heartily supported bringing one of his signature restaurants to the city's popular downtown tourist district.

Both floors of the century-old building at 322 Broadway are being prepared for a variety of bars, dining areas and performance stages. Interior framing was under way as the owners toured the site with the architects and general contractor late last week.

"A lot of people are excited this building is coming to life again," said Mark Bloom, a principal in the Corner Partnership, which owns the building and is paying for the renovations.
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The restaurant will be operated by Buffett's Orlando, Fla.-based Margaritaville Holdings, which has nine other U.S. locations and several abroad.

Once a Planet Hollywood restaurant and bar, the Broadway location most recently housed the Global Cafe — an Internet cafe — but has been vacant for more than a year now.

The biggest challenge in completing the Buffett project is working inside a historic building, where crews have found surprises behind walls, under the floors and in the ceilings, said project architect Sara Atherton.

"Opening the walls, we've found all kinds of structural changes that have been made over the years," she said.

That includes steel reinforcements for the original plaster walls, as well as ornate windows facing Broadway on the second floor that had been covered from the inside for years.

The two rows of windows have now been uncovered, and that allow lots of light into a room that had been "dark and dank" before, Atherton said.

At street level, there will be a restaurant, three bars and two areas for live music, including a small stage in the back. On the second floor will be two more bars, additional restaurant space, a small concert hall with seating for about 200, and a separate party room, Bloom said.

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