Julian 'Jerry' Baxter, Nashville fine-dining restaurant pioneer, dies at 86
Julian "Jerry" Baxter, a Nashville fine-dining restaurant pioneer who launched or help launch Sperry's, Julian's, Sunset Grill and more, died Wednesday. He was 86.
Baxter's self-named Julian's restaurant, launched in 1974, became Nashville's first four-star restaurant. His first Nashville venture, Brass Scales, boasted Nashville's first salad bar.
"Jerry helped lead the way for today's dining scene when Nashville was a virtual restaurant desert, with just meat-and-threes and country clubs," said veteran Nashville restaurateur Randy Rayburn, Baxter's best friend and longtime collaborator.
After Sperry's, which celebrates 50 years in business this year, Baxter went on to manage midtown hot spots Third Coast and Sunset Grill before helping launch the Pargo store chain nationwide. In 1997, he and Rayburn bought Midtown Cafe, and Baxter retired from the restaurant business a few years later.
Baxter's philanthropic efforts included founding the annual Soup Sunday fundraiser for nonprofit Our Kids, which provides medical services and crisis counseling for child sexual abuse victims, and the Harvest Moon fundraiser for Second Harvest Food Bank.
A Nashville native, Baxter went to David Lipscomb Academy and David Lipscomb College before working in banking in Los Angeles and restaurant management in Aspen, Colorado. He returned to Nashville in 1971 to open Brass Scales.
He is survived by his wife, Mitzi Bishop; daughter, Leslie “Lolly” Baxter; sons Julian and Timothy Baxter; and granddaughter Abigale Fulgrum. He also is survived by his sister, Norma Baxter Brown, and her husband, Dave Brown.
A celebration of life will be held at Baxter's wife's business, Bishop's Salon, 135 Belle Forest Circle in Nashville, from 3 to 6 p.m. on March 3.
Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com or 615-259-8484.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville fine-dining restaurant pioneer Julian 'Jerry' Baxter dies
