208: Nathan Brand, Timber! (Johnson City, TN)

A chef's life is often head down, hard work, a repetition of tasks and days where you see the sun for a few minutes on the drive in or if you have to walk out the kitchen door to take out the trash. You're more of a cooking station than an individual, but for some, the ideas of "what I would do if I had a restaurant" fill the drudgery with dreams. Opening a restaurant is always risky, but for Chef Nathan Brand of Johnson City, TN, intention led the way. He got his start at The National in Athens, GA, and went on to cook in Richmond and stage both in the US and Europe. When it came time to make his dream a reality, he focused first on location then sourcing locally to build a neighborhood restaurant. Timber! on West Walnut Street in downtown Johnson City is that dream, a restaurant whose menu mixes fine dining touches with plenty of french fries and comfort foods, and he's still dreaming of what's going to come next.