Demetrius Kelley’s journey with Melting Pot began when he was just a child, drawn in by the restaurant’s atmosphere and delicious smells when walking by. Years later, he started working there as a server and quickly realized his passion for the restaurant business. Over time, he worked his way up and eventually became the franchisee of the very location that had fascinated him as a young boy.

In 2020, the Nashville Melting Pot was destroyed in the bombing that took place in the city on Christmas, forcing the restaurant to close its doors. But now, after several years, Kelley is ready to reopen and bring back the beloved dining experience that so many in the community have missed. 

Kelley recently sat down with 1851 Franchise to share his story, reflect on the restaurant’s closure and talk about what guests can look forward to when the Melting Pot returns to Nashville.

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Demetrius Kelley: Background-wise, I'm an automotive business transplant. My parents were in that business for a long time in Michigan in the 90s. Where they were working gave them the opportunity to move to Spring Hill, Tennessee. I moved here to Tennessee when I was 16, and even though I was living in Franklin at the time, I had lots of friends who played Laser Quest. Laser Quest was in the exact same building as Melting Pot, but just two floors above it on Second Avenue. As a kid, when I would go play, I would think, "Oh, that place smells great. People come out and look so happy." But, you know, looking at the price when you're 16 years old, I couldn’t afford that, so I never really got an opportunity to go. I had some friends who went there for prom in '98 and raved about it.

Well, I was working a job in Franklin at a really high-end restaurant that closed back in 2001. When it closed, I was looking for another server opportunity because I was paying my way through college. I was looking at downtown restaurants and thought, "Well, I should go check out the Melting Pot since I wanted to go there as a kid but never did. Let me go check it out." So, I applied there in July of 2001, got hired and worked there for three years as a server. I graduated college in 2004 with my degree in mechanical engineering, but I was a little burned out. It took me five and a half years to finish school, and all my friends who had gone on to do engineering were like, "It’s okay," and "It is what it is." They didn’t seem passionate about it, and that kind of concerned me that people in my age group didn’t seem passionate about doing it. I’ve always been passionate about being in the restaurant business.

So, the owner at the time, who is now my business partner, said, "Well, if you want to manage here, you could do that for a while and figure out what you want to do in life." We came to an agreement that I would manage, so I did that for about a year and a half. Then the general manager left, and there was turnover, so I moved up the ranks pretty quickly. By 2007, I was already director of operations and [general manager], and by 2009, I actually became a managing partner of that location. From 2001 to December of 2020, I was employed there in some capacity, either as a server or as a managing partner.

Of course, we had that unfortunate tragedy on Christmas of 2020 when someone parked an RV on the street possibly targeting the AT&T building, and we were collateral damage. It’s been hard-fought with a lot of issues with the building, downtown historic regulations, the city’s direction for how they wanted to redo the streetscape and the landlord being unsure about what they were doing. Originally, the plan was, and had always been, that when the current owner, Mark, was going to take a step back — he was older, and his kid had already graduated from college — the business was going to be mine to take over. That was the exit plan. But, of course, things changed. So now, starting up, the franchise agreement for that store expired in the middle of our rebuild. We’ve established a plan for reopening the location, with me being the front-runner for the business and those guys in the background. So it’s kind of mine at this point to ensure everything gets up and going.

1851: What made you stick with Melting Pot through thick and thin? 

Kelley: The restaurant business is hard, and the Melting Pot is no easier to run. If anything, it has its challenges, given the style and concept. You have to tell people, "Hey, you go to a place and have to cook your own food." And they might think, "What? I cook my own food?" But the one thing I’ve always loved about the concept is the experience itself. It’s designed for people to enjoy the actual experience.

A lot of times, when you go to restaurants, everything runs on the kitchen's timing, everything is on the timing of the server. There are lots of gaps — did they cook my food perfectly? Are they just trying to get me in and out so they can turn the table for the next guest? Sometimes, you feel rushed.

One of the reasons I’ve always loved this business is that we’ve designed a dinner experience that allows you to forget what’s happening outside. You’ve had a stressful, long day, but hey, it’s your anniversary. You’re going to go in there and have a nice, leisurely dinner where the server caters to what you need and want. If you cook a shrimp and eat it, it’s hot and perfect because it’s right there in front of you. If you want to take two minutes to have a conversation with your significant other and then cook the next one, it’s still hot.

In every other concept, there’s a deterioration point — from the moment it hits the table, the first bite is perfect and hot, but by bite number 10, it’s not quite so hot. By bite number 20, you’re thinking, "Let me just box this up, take it home, and reheat it to make it perfect."

The combination of being able to provide an experience that is pleasant and enjoyable, where you don’t feel rushed, and where the server is attentive instead of just dropping off your food and walking away, has always appealed to me. The biggest thing for me is that, even though we’ve been gone, we’re constantly getting emails, texts and Facebook messages from guests asking, "When are you reopening?" It’s just a different approach to operating a business, and that’s always been the thing for me. 

1851: Why did you want to return to the city and serve the perfect night out again? 

Kelley: The one thing that we always said was that we're trying to create the perfect night out for people and create experiences and memories — not just dinner. You know, you can go anywhere you want to eat. Frankly, you could probably do any concept out there faster at home yourself. But there’s something special about being able to say, "I don’t want to fuss. I don’t want to have to prep anything or clean anything up. I just want to go in and have a really fun dinner." And people want that. People want to be able to come in and forget about everything else.

And it’s missed. If you do that every year for your anniversary — if you’ve done it every year for 25 years, if that was your anniversary spot, and your kids did it with you for birthdays, special occasions and graduations — all of a sudden, that frequency, that repetitiveness that you’ve grown accustomed to is gone. It throws your life off because you’re like, "Oh, what’s going to become our anniversary spot now?" And if you’ve been doing it for so long, nothing ever seems as good as the original.

One of the coolest things people share with me is, "Here’s a photo from every birthday my kid had from age three until they went off to college. We keep every photo in a frame on our mantel. Here are 14 or 15 years of photos — every year, you’re part of that progression." Then that kid goes off to college, comes back and gets engaged. They do their rehearsal dinner there. And people want that. People want that consistency of, "I go there, the service is always good, the food is always good, they always treat me great," and it becomes part of their memories. Then the next generation starts that over again. They get married and have a kid, and it builds generational love for the concept. When everything is so inconsistent in the world, having some consistency is important for people.

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Kelley: The one thing that’s happened is we never had any intention of going away. When the restaurant was, unfortunately, destroyed, our goal was to be back in six months or a year. But when we weren’t able to do that because of things outside of our control, it left some guests and people feeling disappointed. They’d say, "Oh, you’re the only store; the next closest ones are in Georgia, Kentucky or Alabama — not here." People get frustrated, especially around holidays like Christmas. You’ve got people who bought gift cards on Christmas Eve with the expectation of using them up until Christmas, or on New Year’s, or Valentine’s Day. So, you get some people who are discouraged and disheartened, asking, "How much longer? How much longer?" They start to lose faith in you as a person or as a business, thinking you’re not being forthcoming. And that’s never been our thing.

Our thing is, we set our sights on getting back. We love our original location, and that was always our goal. But at the same time, we have to be realistic about wanting to get back. Sometimes you make decisions to return to the same building, but other times you realize you have to move on so you can get your concept back out there in front of people, because you don’t want to be forgotten. I also want people to know that we haven’t forgotten them. We don’t want you to feel like you’re not relevant. Your anniversaries, your birthdays — they’re all relevant. You’re relevant. We love you.

It’s significantly more complicated than we ever wanted it to be. The goal would have been to never have had any of this happen and not have lost four years of memories for people. I guess that would be the biggest thing.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?

Kelley: You do have to be prepared if you've never done a restaurant before. Restaurants are not easy. Some people run out and say, "Oh, I want a restaurant because I think restaurants are cool," and they are — they’re awesome. There’s nothing better than having a great experience. But there’s definitely a lot of work that goes into providing that experience for people. Everybody’s priorities at dinner are always going to be different. Some people are going to need to be in and out because they have kids, and it’s like lighting a fuse on their child the moment they walk through the door. So, they want everything quick and expeditious. And some people are like, "I don’t want to be bothered; I want to take five hours to have dinner because I have all kinds of life things going on outside, and I want to take advantage of this opportunity to see my significant other and not feel rushed." Then there are a lot of people who are just in between.

So, you have to have staff that are patient, care about people, and aren’t necessarily always focused on money. Some days are going to be great — everybody’s making money and everybody’s having a great time. But some days are not, and you still have to be able to provide that perfect night out to people on a daily basis, even when days aren’t great. You have to be committed to doing it. You can only make a business successful with the amount of effort you’re willing to put in.

If you’re expecting to just push the start button and walk away from it, thinking it’s going to be great, you won’t be happy with the end result because you have to be willing to put forth some effort. I always tell people, restaurants are like babies. You nurture them, support them and take care of them, and they’ll take care of you when you’re older. But it takes some effort upfront to make sure you’re setting them up with the right standards and values to make them good when they’re grown. Some of that involves finding the right people and making decisions that sometimes don’t benefit you as a franchisee because it might mean just a little bit more work. But you’ll see the benefit in the long run with success, profitability, and all those wonderful things that come along.

About Melting Pot

Founded in 1975, Melting Pot has offered a unique fondue dining experience for more than 45 years. As the premier fondue restaurant franchise, Melting Pot has 92 restaurants in 31 U.S. states and Canada. Known for offering a variety of fondue cooking styles and unique entrées, Melting Pot’s menu also features cheese fondues, salads, fine wines, spirits and chocolate fondue desserts. Fondue fans can join Melting Pot’s Club Fondue for exclusive promotions, special events and advance holiday reservation privileges. Melting Pot is an affiliate of Front Burner Brands, a restaurant management company headquartered in Tampa, Florida. For more information, visit www.meltingpot.com. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Melting Pot, please visit www.meltingpotfranchise.com.

About Front Burner

Headquartered in Tampa, Front Burner is the restaurant management company for Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc., and the new casual whimsical dining concept Melting Pot Social! Melting Pot currently has 92 restaurants in 31 U.S. states and Canada. Melting Pot Social opened its first location in July 2021 in Asheville, NC. For more information, visit http://www.frontburnerbrands.com.