Entrepreneurship is notoriously tricky — carrying a dream from inception to reality is rife with challenges. But despite its trials, the pursuit of a dream offers rewards like no other. Nashville natives James and Brandon Littleton know that struggle all too well. The brothers took their lifelong love of French fries and turned it into a successful business: Bag Lady’s Chip & Fry Co.
What launched as a food truck during the pandemic graduated to a brick-and-mortar dining establishment on Buchanan Street in January of this year. We caught up with the duo to learn more about what set them on their enterprising journey, what drew them to their French fry-focused concept, and why opening a restaurant isn’t for the faint of heart.
Bag Lady’s founders, James and Brandon Littleton, share the raw truth behind entrepreneurship. Image: Emanuel Roland of Roland’s Photography
Bag Lady’s favorites include brisket fries, chicken cheese steak fries, chicken bacon ranch fries, and even vegan options! If this mouthwatering photo doesn’t grab you, their story will. Image: Facebook
Growing up, James and Brandon could often be found in the kitchen. Summers were spent learning the ropes from two women who sparked their culinary curiosities — their grandmothers — and finding common ground through a shared favorite dish. “When we were growing up, my brother liked spicy stuff, and I didn’t,” explains Brandon. “We never agreed on things or landed on the same food canvas, but one thing we could agree on was fries. That’s something our grandmothers really honed in on to make sure we ate!”
“It was one of our favorite foods as kids,” James adds. “Even now, as adults, fries are our favorite food. That’s what made us lean on them.”
They have their grandmothers to thank for the catchy restaurant name, too. “It was an inside joke between our grandmothers,” James says. “They used to travel with us quite a bit or stay with us for weeks or months at a time. They were always around. They had an inside joke, calling each other ‘bag ladies.’ It was [in reference to] the way they cooked fries. My grandmother would cook them two or three times before we would actually eat them, and she would store them in paper bags. She would seal them up and then put them in the freezer. So the whole bag lady thing came from how my grandmother bagged up fries.”
Meet Irene Foster (left) and Vesta Lou Sherrill (right), the incredible grandmothers behind the French fry magic. Images: submitted
When COVID put up roadblocks to success, James and Brandon decided to merge their grandmothers’ legacies and a love of fries to create opportunity. “I remember sitting in my mom’s basement trying to figure out some of the things that were still making money,” recalls James. “One of those things was food. Everybody was ordering takeout; it seemed like that was one thing that wasn’t stopping. That’s what made me take it from ‘something I loved in memory of my grandmothers’ to ‘something we could do to make a living and create wealth within our family.’” Bag Lady’s was born.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Bag Lady’s isn’t the brothers’ first joint venture. “Since we were kids, we’ve had the entrepreneurial bug,” says Brandon. “Our parents started businesses, and we saw them be very resourceful. As we grew up, we opened up a dry cleaner. We’ve done a lot of things together, and we thought this was a great opportunity to explore one of our passions and introduce it to the masses.”
“I want people to understand the journey and have it resonate with different audiences,” says Brandon of their story, “from the entrepreneur to the foodie. That’s really what our target audience is — those looking for unique dishes they can’t find anywhere else; it’s a very special type of dining experience.” Image: Facebook
In its initial stages, Bag Lady’s operated solely as a food truck, serving loaded fries and nacho chips and unconventionally elevating French fries to main dish status rather than forcing them to play second fiddle as a side. Brandon eagerly points out that fries deserve to be the star of the show, and he and James are out to redefine the perception.
“Our mission and the reason we started everything is that we want to expand the world’s food canvas,” he says. “A lot of people just eat French fries and ketchup, and that’s it. We believe there’s so much more you can do with it.”
With the addition of vegetables, meats, and sauces, they’ve built an entire menu around various fry iterations — from the Beef in the Streets (topped with Philly cheesesteak, peppers, onions, cheese, and their signature spicy ranch) to the No Capp (featuring Meatless Crumbles, spinach, black beans, peppers, onions, vegan cheese, and vegan ranch).
The food truck’s success laid the groundwork for the Bag Lady’s brick-and-mortar. Image: submitted
But it wasn’t an easy road to get where they are now. After months of preparation and construction woes, the brothers finally opened their doors … to a multitude of complications. Much to their dismay, things went wrong left and right — including technology failures that prompted a last-minute dash to Kinko’s for menu copies.
At the end of a long grand opening day, James took to social media with a raw and vulnerable post about the realities of being a fledgling restaurateur. “Everybody talks about entrepreneurship, and I’m being honest, man. This sh** is not easy,” James admitted amid tears of frustration. “Everybody’s been out of their comfort zone for a year.”
“We were watching YouTube and Googling just to make it happen,” James says of the restaurant construction in his January 2023 Instagram video. Image: submitted
In retrospect, James admits, “You can’t prepare for something you don’t know, and that’s what was revealed to me.” Brandon seconds the sentiment, saying, “This is a world we had no clue about … construction, permits … We were just happy to get to the finish line and be open. But after we beat one Goliath, another Goliath was right around the corner.”
Between no-show contractors and technical glitches — all while maintaining their existing food truck business until the shop opened — the pair faced challenge after challenge. In spite of the steep learning curve and mounting pressures, James and Brandon persisted, opening to a crowd of excited patrons. “We didn’t know there was going to be that amount of demand,” says Brandon. “It was overwhelming.”
A few months in, they’ve worked through the initial kinks, and Bag Lady’s is going strong. But that’s not to say they aren’t still adapting and adjusting as they go. “I’m glad I was able to do this with my brother. I wouldn’t want to do this with anybody else,” says James. “But we’ve definitely been learning the whole time. Every day. I’m talking even this morning! I learned three new things before 10 o’clock.”
Their advice to other young entrepreneurs? “You can’t just focus on being the best at whatever you’re doing — whatever service you’re offering or product you’re pushing. It’s a package deal. You have to do the marketing, branding, bootstrapping, and keeping up with your money,” says James. “You have to strategically approach this thing. And if you try to short the process, you’re going to short your product.”
Brandon adds that you should prepare for the mental challenges, too. “Looking at Instagram, entrepreneurship looks really sexy. Everybody wants to do it. But you have to mentally prepare for what it takes,” says Brandon. “It’s more than just the tangibles — the mission statement and the business plan. Of course, you need all that in order, but it’s about that mental component and keeping your vision long-term. Because it’s not going to go as planned in the beginning.”
Having grown up in the neighborhood, Buchanan Street felt like the perfect spot to open their flagship eatery. Image: Facebook
“The model doesn’t work with just one location,” Brandon says of the Bag Lady’s concept. “Growth is always in the back of our minds; we’re always actively looking at opportunities. Even with how hard and enduring this was, and all the trials and tribulations, we love it. We’re optimistic, and we’re definitely looking at other opportunities to expand.” Image: submitted
Since the opening, the food truck has taken a bit of a hiatus, but you can expect to see them out and about again in the coming weeks.
As for the brick-and-mortar location, you’ve got your next must-try comfort food destination. “I’ll hang my hat on our Tennessee beef brisket loaf,” says James. “We smoke it, and that brisket meat is about the best you’ll find on this side of Tennessee. I’m willing to back it. You have to try it! And one of our top sellers with kids and adults is our funnel cake fries. They come with powdered sugar; you can get them with strawberry, caramel, or chocolate drizzle. You can’t go wrong with some fresh, hot funnel cake fries.”
The moral of the story? Head to Bag Lady’s. We recommend the “It’s a Tennessee Thang,” with smoked beef brisket, bacon, green onions, cheese, onion rings, and the housemade “24K” sauce. Image: Facebook
For the record, they had us at “fries.”
**********
Discover more of what the Nashville restaurant scene offers in our Food & Dining archives!
