Our father taught us how to entertain. Our mother taught us how to feed people.
It started when…
LynnMarie and her brother Lenny were raised in a small suburb outside of Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of emigrant Slovenian Grandparents and entrepreneur parents, Ludwig and Lillian Hrovat. Her father, a popular accordion player in the area, also owned a family-run tavern, which became the town’s watering hole and gathering place. Lud’s Tavern, as well as their mother Lillians’ kitchen, were always full of laughter, music and amazing food.
LynnMarie grew up watching and learning from her parents how to entertain, from the stage with her own accordion, or in the kitchen. Throughout her successful career as a five-time Grammy nominated musician, LynnMarie always combined her love for the two stages, cooking meals for the band guys at every practice and personally catering for the large crowds that came to her performances. Her heart is about gathering, feeding, and bringing people joy.
In 2006, LynnMarie’s only child James was born with Down syndrome and later diagnosed with autism. As the years went on, she found herself entertaining more from her kitchen than the performance stage, perfecting recipes and experimenting with southern flavors. Family and friends came to visit often to support her and James, which meant more cooking! One very frequent visitor was LynnMarie’s brother, Lenny. In the mornings, while having a cup of coffee, talking about life’s twists and turns, while enjoying her fresh-from-the-oven Pecan Coffee Cake, LynnMarie and Lenny (James’ Uncle Lenny) would joke and often say, “you know, someday we should open a restaurant and call it Uncle Lenny’s.”
and then…
In 2017, LynnMarie was reunited with a past friend and fellow musician, Eddie Rodick III. A successful multi-instrumentalist in Cleveland, Ohio, (also of Slovenian heritage) who made his way south, to finally be with the love of his life. It’s a good ‘ole fashioned love story at its finest, that we won’t bore you with here. LynnMarie, Eddie and James became a new family in May of 2019.
Being a transplant from the north was not easy for LynnMarie. In fact, she recorded a song about it. “That’s What I Like About the North” which became a regional hit on morning country radio shows in the Midwest in the early 2000’s. Lyrics like “Diners, delicatessen’s, stuffin’ is stuffin’ it ain’t dressin’,” and “we ain’t fixin’ to do, we just do it, and when it snows we drive right through it” and “klobasi and fried bologna hard salami and provolone, we don’t eat Christmas dinner at Shoney’s – That’s What I Like About the North,” made northern listeners belly laugh. But as the years went on, LynnMarie truly fell in love with the south, sweet tea, southern sayings, the people, and the food.
When Eddie moved to Nashville he also struggled with the some of the differences between the north and south, at times feeling like a fish out of water. But he loved that his ethnic roots were still being kept alive in LynnMarie’s kitchen, often finding a shipment of Slovenian sausage from Cleveland on their doorstep. But it didn’t take long before Eddie’s northern clad accent “you’s guy’ses” became “y’all”, and he began to drink his tea a little sweeter. Eddie found his sobriety in early 2018, and jokingly commented that he replaced his addiction for alcohol with food, often blogging about his search for the best burger in the United States. He fell in love with southern BBQ, hot sauce and Chicken served with waffles. Besides being a successful entertainer from the stage, he built his professional career as a project manager in the communication and medical field. And upon moving to Nashville, he was able to combine his two loves - music and finance - by working in the music industry as a Business Analyst.
Lenny and Gail…
While LynnMarie was busy with her career and raising James in Nashville, her older brother Lenny was finding his own way in life. After working at his father’s tavern for many years, and then having a near-fatal motorcycle accident, causing life-long pain, Lenny found himself addicted to prescription pills. With the help of his wife Gail, he found sobriety in his thirties and never looked back. He made a profession out of helping others find their way in life without addiction, becoming a successful licensed drug and alcohol counselor.
His wife Gail, the daughter of a polish entrepreneur, was the oldest of six children. Her mother passed away when Gail was only nineteen, forcing her to put aside her own dreams and take care of her siblings, which meant learning how to cook for a crowd. Later in life, she become a nurse, and for many years was the head nurse on the heart floor at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic. Taking care of people is in her blood.
Why Fairview?
As James approached high school, LynnMarie and Eddie knew they would leave the Bellevue area (where LynnMarie had lived since moving here in 1994) and relocate to somewhere in Williamson County. They searched all over. Then, a chance meeting with a former Bellevue neighbor who had moved to Fairview a few years prior, brought them to Fairview for a visit and it was love at first sight. Everything about the area felt right. They moved to Fairview in 2020, James started school at Fairview High School, and they felt home. There was only one thing that bothered them. The fact that they found themselves often driving back to Bellevue for restaurant variety. And once again, the conversation began, “You know, we should open a restaurant and call it Uncle Lenny’s.” So, when the Fairview Country Café closed its doors after twenty years in December of 2023, LynnMarie, Eddie, Lenny and Gail knew that now was the right time to make Uncle Lenny’s a reality.
Together, LynnMarie & Eddie Rodick along with Lenny & Gail Hrovat are committed to providing Fairview a place to gather with family and friends. A place to have a good simple cup of coffee. A place to share stories and dream and support each other, over an ooey-gooey cinnamon roll or a dish of soft-serve custard. A place to introduce the food of their ethnic Slovenian culture to the local southerners, while keeping the food traditions of the Country Cafe alive. Uncle Lenny’s is about community and opening doors where their son James (and other Fairview individuals with disabilities) can come and work.
We want Uncle Lenny’s to feel like you stepped into LynnMarie & Eddie’s kitchen on Lincoln Park. We are thankful for our neighbor Ginny who led us to Fairview, and we never plan to leave. Lenny and Gail have two children (Chris and Nichole) who attended college in Middle Tennessee and stayed. So, although Lenny and Gail still reside outside of Cleveland, their visits are frequent, and they plan to retire soon to Tennessee to be closer to their grandchildren. We are sure Uncle Lenny will be a familiar face at the restaurant!
So come on in. Bring your friends and family. Get a good cup of coffee. Eat some southern comfort food or a northern specialty. No matter what you order, we know that after eating at Uncle Lenny’s, you will be happy.
P.S. In the south, out of respect your parents friends were called “Miss” or “Mr.”, but in the north, we called them “Aunt” or “Uncle”, whether they were related or not! So be sure to come see your new favorite Uncle Lenny!