Sean Begin has come full circle.
As the owner and chef of the nearly 14-year-old Daily Dish restaurant and catering service in the Grassland community, Begin has made something of a return with his latest concept. That is, he has turned the small and quaint venue back into a full-fledge restaurant that’s opened five days a week, quite similar to what it was when he opened the doors in 2007.
He likes to call it comfort food with a twist.
“It was good to get back into this, having a restaurant and doing things that are more about keeping it simple but keeping it real,” said Begin, who has been in the restaurant industry for nearly 30 years. “It helps us more on catering. At the same time, we can lend another choice [of dining options] to the community. People are happy that we’re back doing this again.”
The Daily Dish has been through quite the evolution over the years. It began as a cafeteria-style restaurant that offered ample indoor seating and later added outdoor seating, and Begin eventually brought in live music.
Within just a few years after opening, however, Begin’s propensity for catering led him to closing the restaurant and using the space to hold his equipment and supplies needed for a venture of full-time catering.
A native of Boston, Begin came to Nashville in 1994 to fully begin his career as a chef at the Capital Grille in the Hermitage Hotel. He later signed on as a chef with Big Guns Catering, an affiliate of the old Bound’ry restaurant in Nashville. While there in 2001, he was named Chef of the Year.
His catering career particularly took off after he and a partner opened Copper Kettle Café and Catering in 2002 near Lipscomb University in Nashville. He had the opportunity to cater for numerous celebrities and high-ranking officials throughout the Midstate.
But his desire to be more grounded with a daily “meat-and-three” restaurant led him to Franklin, where he opened the Daily Dish in a space that had been other iterations of dining spots. The restaurant served a variety of meats and vegetables, as well as sandwiches, salads, soups and desserts.
Some of what Begin created then became customer favorites, and can once again be enjoyed with the reopening — meats such as coconut chicken, catfish and meatloaf and sides such as smoked gouda mac & cheese, turnip greens and roasted sweet potatoes.
“I am more of a catering chef, but I’m almost a hybrid because I’ve been doing both for so long,” said Begin, who has lived in Franklin since the year he first opened the Daily Dish. “But you have to make sure that you’re able to do that, and you have to make sure it jibes and comes together, because it’s all chemistry and functionality. You have to make sure you figure it out.
“My whole mentality has been keep it simple but keep it real.”
The Daily Dish is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.