"Often imitated, never duplicated."
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Located two blocks east of Franklin’s Main Street in an area known as The District, is an historic house, which has been converted into an eclectic music venue and restaurant called The Legendary Kimbro’s.

The building, comprised of a former neighborhood store and a Victorian cottage, make up the now legendary music venue.
There’s a welcoming atmosphere that emanates the minute you walk through the door, whether it be a bartender introducing you to the very different vibe that is Kimbros, or a regular eager to host a tour.

At first glance, Kimbros is hard to peg. A couple of years ago a class at O’more College of Design was assigned the task of ascertaining the thing that makes Kimbros tick. None of the students could really figure it out.
“It defies all conventional business models,” one student reports.
“The layout is hard to define,” says another.

The Kimbros staff happily agrees. The front door leads into a foyer. To the right is “The Red Bar,” a cozy bar made out of vintage radios built around an old fireplace and mantle. There’s a small room toward the back that used to be an old porch and now is dubbed “The Voodoo Lounge”, housing an old piano, photos of Dr. John and various instruments for folks to play. This tiny room is where The Steeldrivers first banded together to play their first show, which was at Kimbros.

Back to the left of the foyer is “The Main Bar” where most of the draft beer is poured. (Kimbros only sells locally made draft beer.) The Main Bar is heavily collaged with fliers from past shows, quotes from patrons, band memorabilia, photographs and other miscellaneous items. A hanging guitar rack dangles from the wall with four or five guitars offered free-to-use to patrons.

A room across from the Main Bar is a parlor dubbed “The Crawl Space” due to the artwork that hangs on the walls each month under an enormous rod iron chandelier for Franklin’s monthly Art Scene.
The other room next to the Main Bar is “The Music Room” with sleek, round tables, an 8-foot projector screen and the main stage with a designated soundman, manning a full PA.

Family and friends of Kimbros completely renovated the room last year, creating a state-of-the-art music venue.
Some of the talent who have graced the stage include: Ween, John Prine, Cowboy Jack Clement, Leo “Bud” Welch, Ivan and Alyosha, Alex Marley, The Steeldrivers, Rodney Crowell, Pokey LaFarge, Regi Wooten, Mary Gauthier, Walter Egan, Lydia Loveless, Tristen, Ex-NFL bruiser Kyle Turley, Shannon "Law Dawg" Lawson, Roger Cook, Nanci Griffith, Ron Block, Joshua Black Wilkins, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Kenny Vaughn, Shawn Camp, Phil Keaggy and King Billy.
Kimbros opened in 2005 as a picking parlor by songwriter Ron Kimbro. In 2007 Will Jordan became a partner and changed it to a music venue. Jordan, a veteran photographer and writer, also owns neighboring Carpe Diem, Franklin’s only record shop. In 2014 Kimbro retired handing over the reins to Jordan.