As a tenured food writer, the biggest lesson I’ve learned in my career is that taste and favorites are subjective: my must-order dish at a restaurant could be average to a friend, and ingredients like goat cheese and olives may be beloved to many but repulsive to me.
Because of that, I’ve found the most effective way to write about restaurants is to focus less on the non-negotiables and more on the narratives, the why behind what makes each place, each person, and each dish unique in its own right. Does the chef have a rags-to-riches story? What history lies within the building’s walls? Where do the ingredients come from, and more importantly, why?
Answers to these questions help foster a greater appreciation for place and make each bite (metaphorically) sweeter. The idyllic town of Franklin, Tennessee, may delight visitors with its storybook streets and Hallmark-esque allure, but the real people who make this town shine are certainly following no script.
From a bucolic luxury resort plucking produce from the outdoor garden to a strip mall favorite with a passion for helping people live better, meet the people behind some of Williamson County’s must-visit restaurants.
Planning a visit to Franklin? Check out our complete destination guide here.
Herban Market
Many Franklin restaurants are passionate about quality, from maintaining their own gardens to taking great care with ingredient sourcing. Herban Market stands out for its intentional approach to food and its mission to leave diners feeling their best when they leave.
Herban Market’s story was born from burnout: owners Matt and Ashlea Hogencamp were pounding the corporate pavement and navigating life with littles. They were frustrated with the lack of healthy options and transparency in grocery stores, and a lightbulb moment encouraged them to create just that. If you build it, they will come. And come they did.
The multifaceted destination now includes a grocery store, restaurant, coffee bar, olive oil and vinegar bar, and a robust selection of supplements. Chef Bobby Benjamin eventually joined the team to amplify the culinary offerings at Herban Market: while there’s, unsurprisingly, a hearty collection of salads and smoothies, the restaurant also offers things like wraps, pizzas, burgers, and tacos, all sourced with intention.
Why is healthy food so important? “How much time you got?” Chef Bobby answers. They take their sourcing decisions all the way down to the soil: where your goods are grown impacts nutritional value.
“Franklin, to me, has been almost a storybook—it’s beautiful, and the community is great,” chef Bobby adds. “What I’ve been fascinated about is the demand for eating healthy, wanting that nutritional value, wanting to know where your food comes from.”
Southall Farm & Inn
A visit to Williamson County is a one-two-punch of city and country. In a few miles, you can go from corporate offices for massive international brands (Nissan, Kirkland’s, Mars Petcare) to a bustling downtown district lined with charming shops and restaurants, and finally, just a little further, acres of manicured farmland and wide open spaces.
Leiper’s Fork has long been the residential destination of choice for locals who might have a Grammy or five in their inventory, but visitors have unsurprisingly caught on. Then, in 2023, a sprawling resort opened its oversized doors, giving them all a place to land without having to truck back into town each night.
Southall Farm & Inn earned a Michelin Key in 2024, recognizing it as one of the world’s most special places to stay. While the stunning resort grounds, renowned spa, and outdoorsy extracurriculars draw visitors independently, the culinary program here is the sustainably sourced cherry on top.
The property boasts its own greenhouses, gardens, and orchards chock-full of herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Before service each night in the signature restaurant, January, chef Nate spends a meditative moment in the gardens hand-picking garnishes and accompaniments for dishes—menus change daily based on the bounty.
Chef Nate’s passion for cooking sparked in the kitchen with his mom, whose servant heart prepared meals for some 100 churchgoers every Wednesday night. He also recalls his great-grandmother’s basement larder, where stacks of carefully canned and pickled produce were stored for winter. Southall is no stranger to preserving—chef Richard Jones mans the onsite jammery, preserving hot peppers, okra, kimchi, and sauerkraut to sustain the restaurant in lean, cold months.
“The philosophy we’re embracing at Southall is ‘lead with love,’” says chef Nate. “We’re providing nourishment.”
Perenn Franklin
New on the Franklin scene, Reno-based Perenn (like perennial) opened in May 2025 to reveal the interior overhaul of the century: formerly a seafood spot reminiscent of a dockside boat house (it sits just off the Harpeth River), the bakery now looks plucked straight out of Paris. Fine details adorn every inch of the space, from the custom espresso machine to the floral artwork, antiqued booths, and cases full of freshly-baked pastries.
The first outpost opened in Reno in 2018 under owners Aubrey and Tyler O’Laskey, expanding to a collection of three unique locations and a sister rotisserie over the years. Then, with a small familial army including four kids, a dog, a cat, and a beta fish, the O’Laskeys packed up and moved their beautiful brand to Franklin.
“A customer who had recently moved from Reno to Franklin reached out to share how welcoming the community was and encouraged us to come for a visit,” Aubrey shares. “Since we’d been exploring cities for Perenn’s next chapter, we hopped on a plane the following week.”
One stroll down Main Street sealed the deal. Now, coffee meetings, catch-ups, and post-church gatherings have a stunning new option—Perenn Franklin features everything from craft lattes to fresh-baked pastries and, soon, mains like sandwiches and steak frites.
Thompson’s Kitchen
Once upon a time, a boy from Mississippi and a gal from England joined forces in both life and business, and soon enough, an elevated small-town gastropub was born.
“We met in a restaurant,” Gemma says. “He was the chef, and I was the waitress. Old school love, they call it.”
Thompson’s Kitchen in Fairview started as a food truck and catering company during the pandemic. It wasn’t an ideal time to be in event catering, and Rodney and Gemma found themselves with more time to pursue their dream of a brick-and-mortar. They had a secret shopper—a landlord eyeing the pair as a potential tenant—and by November 2020, the plan for a physical location was underway.
The restaurant opened throughout the following year, slowly at first as the pandemic still raged. But soon, they found themselves scrambling to order more tables and chairs to accommodate the growing demand. Today, the popularity remains, mostly thanks to the locals-turned-regulars (around 70% of the business comes from the community).
This come-as-you-are spot dishes up everything from smashburgers and steak medallions to creamy chicken pasta and Korean BBQ. It also offers an impressive kids’ menu and a full bar. For an unexpected treat with a local stamp of approval, add this one to your list.
Culaccino & Culamar
Chef and owner Frank Pullara tapped into his Sicilian roots when brainstorming his first food concept: He wanted an Italian restaurant with an industrial, modern feel to it—something warm and inviting but more intimate than open.
Downtown Franklin isn’t known for its massive construction projects. In fact, the Historic Zoning Commission goes to great lengths to preserve the district’s charming integrity. So, when expansions began block by block on the north side of Main Street, plenty of rules and ordinances were in place regarding what would be permitted. Chef Frank stood in a gravel lot, a framed building with nary a window, and the vision clicked.
Today, Culaccino stays full of locals and visitors alike, sipping aperitifs on a sunny patio and sopping up whipped ricotta with fresh-made bread inside the cozy dining room. The dream was for the restaurant to feel like a comfortable place to land, an extension of one’s home. That dream has certainly become a reality for many now regulars, and soon, the restaurant expanded with a sister concept right across the street.
Culamar takes a coastal approach to Italian cuisine, with oysters and crudo kicking off the party and scallops, snapper, and branzino bringing it home. In addition to its airy interiors, Culamar holds the moniker of downtown Franklin’s first (and, currently, only) rooftop spot. A crisp glass of Italian white pairs great with the sunset, can confirm.
Culaccino means to leave an imprint, like the watermark a glass might leave behind. The hope for these concepts is to leave an imprint on all who visit, a goal well achieved.
See all our stories from Franklin, Tennessee, here.
This story is presented in partnership with Visit Franklin, a Modern South Founding Partner.
