January

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Dinner as It Should Be

January is the flagship dinner restaurant of Southall Farm & Inn, situated on the farm's expansive grounds in Franklin, Tennessee. The kitchen's guiding principle is straightforward: let the farm set the menu. Produce arrives from Southall's own greenhouses, orchards, gardens, and apiary, while The Jammery – a dedicated on-site space for canning, jamming, and preserving – ensures that nothing from the harvest goes to waste. The result is a farm-to-table experience that changes with each visit, shaped by what the land is actually yielding that week.

The People Behind the Plates

Chefs Klamar and Leonard lead the kitchen, and while Southall does not raise livestock, they have built close working relationships with regional ranchers whose standards mirror their own. Bear Creek Ranch in North Georgia and Joyce Farms in North Carolina supply the premium proteins that anchor many of the savory courses. Slow cooking is central to the approach: meats are dry-aged for days, weeks, or even months, and techniques like 48-hour sous vide for the bone-in short rib – finished on the grill with a green curry sauce – demonstrate the patience the kitchen brings to every plate.

What to Expect on the Menu

The menu shifts with the seasons, but certain signatures hold their place. The Parker House rolls, served warm in a linen basket with spring onion butter, are a mainstay worth ordering without hesitation. Current dinner offerings span wood grilled oysters with preserved lemon and pink peppercorn, lamb belly lettuce wraps with habanada and pickled radish, Joyce Farms duck with sunchoke and braised cabbage, and a diver scallop with sprouting broccoli and kaffir lime. Vegetable-forward plates – Carolina Gold rice with kale and a poached egg, or lion's mane mushroom over farro verde with rosemary – hold their own alongside the proteins. The pastry team closes the meal with desserts that draw directly from the farm's bounty: think rum, lemon meringue, and honey, or white chocolate mousse layered with yuzu curd and matcha shortbread crumb.

Recognition

January holds a 2025 Michelin Green Star, awarded specifically for its sustainable approach to sourcing and its genuine commitment to the farm's ecosystem – a distinction that sets it apart from most fine dining rooms in the region. Forbes Travel Guide has also recognized the restaurant, noting that "seed-to-fork" is not a marketing phrase here but a daily practice. The wine program has earned both the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and the Best of Award of Excellence, reflecting a list that ranges from Grüner Veltliner and Sancerre to aged Bordeaux and California Pinot Noir.

Dinner is served Wednesday through Sunday, reservations required.