Berry and Lachelle Smith, who operated Wynot Construction in Minot, relocated the business to Tennessee, where they also opened a North Dakota-themed bar called Wynot Saloon this spring. The name, Wynot, is a nod to the Minot slogan, “Why not Minot?”

Visitors to the bar will find a Minot State University Beavers logo on the wall, along with other signage from the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University and N.D. license plates.

Hockey is a theme in the bar as well. The Smith family had been active in Minot’s hockey community. Berry Smith ran a Sunday, pick-up hockey group and their sons played hockey.

Berry Smith lived for a time in Rugby, graduating from high school in Devils Lake. He then lived in various places around the country before he and Lachelle, a Kentucky native, moved to North Dakota in 2012 from North Carolina.

Wynot Saloon is looking for musicians with North Dakota connections to perform on its stage. The bar was remodeled, using wood and corrugated metal to create a rustic look reminiscent of rural North Dakota.

Berry Smith said the move to Dickson, Tennessee – just outside of Nashville – began in 2020, and they finally hauled their last load from Minot this year They expect to be regular visitors to North Dakota, though, especially since a son still lives in Minot.

Smith said buying a Nashville bar was his wife’s idea. It sounded like a good idea to him so they started looking. They found what they were looking for in west Nashville’s Bellevue district.

The remodeled interior incorporates corrugated metal and pallet wood to create a rustic design reminiscent of rural North Dakota. One wall has a sliding barn door, and a storage room was given an old outhouse look.

Railroad ties run across the ceiling. The idea for rail ties came about when it became necessary to tear out existing ceiling panels needed for acoustics.

“Once I put the wood up there, you could hear the difference in the room. So it worked really good for acoustics, but they look cool, and most people who come in say, ‘I love your railroad tracks.’ They know what they are,” Berry Smith said.

Having expanded the bar’s stage, Smith said they want to get as many artists with North Dakota connections on stage as they can. Smith noted the bar already is becoming known as a good venue for musicians who want to play their own sound and original music. It’s also led some professional musicians to drop in to listen.

“Any North Dakota musicians that come out there, I would definitely like to get them,” Smith said. “I like any up-and-coming band.”