Restaurant closing time? Not so fast.

You could start listing the locally owned restaurants that have closed already this year and tell a pretty dire story: Margot, Varallos, Pelican & Pig. And we’re just three months into the year. But restaurants that are part of out-of-town investment groups have closed too — all while new concepts are opening up. Is it simply natural churn in a volatile business? We know it’s more expensive than ever to open and maintain a restaurant, so we're looking at the economics and the local food scene with the people who watch it most closely.This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. Guests: Jill Melton, Edible Nashville Editor & Founder Brandon Styll, Nashville Restaurant Radio Host and Nashville Area Restaurant Alliance Founder (NARA) Mackensy Lunsford, Senior Dining Reporter, The Tennessean Naima Walker Fierce, Germantown Pub Primary Owner