Kid Rock Nashville Steakhouse Closes Amid ICE Immigration Raids

Kid Rock's Nashville restaurant, Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse, owned by conservative restaurateur Steve Smith, shut down its kitchen during a busy weekend night after management instructed undocumented workers to leave amid fears of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. This move came as part of a broader Trump administration crackdown targeting undocumented immigrants, with increased enforcement activities resulting in numerous arrests, including many without criminal records. Despite Kid Rock's vocal support for President Donald Trump's immigration policies, his restaurant and other Smith-owned establishments heavily depend on undocumented labor, revealing a stark contradiction between public political stances and business practices. The raids and resultant labor shortages severely disrupted service during major local events in Nashville, highlighting the human and operational impact of the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement. Public reaction has pointed to perceived hypocrisy given Kid Rock's alignment with Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric. Authorities and restaurant managers have not provided extensive comments, but the situation underscores the complex dynamics between immigration policy enforcement and local economies reliant on undocumented workers.