COUNTRY MUSIC artist Craig Campbell was playing piano at a Nashville bar decades ago when he spotted Mindy across the room. Campbell’s bass player, Todd, was dating Mindy’s roommate, so he recognized her and knew she was a singer on Broadway. Campbell always thought she was attractive, but she always had a boyfriend. This time, things were different. Mindy was single.
Campbell asked her and her roommate to stick around until he was done playing, and after the set, he asked Mindy for her phone number. Mindy told him no, but her roommate gave him Mindy’s phone number herself. The next day, he called and asked her out, but again, he was rejected.
“I was just enjoying being single, and he has long hair, and he wasn’t really my type… until I saw him sing that Randy Travis song, ‘On the Other Hand,’ and then I was like, ‘Oh, wow, maybe he is my type,’” Mindy said.
Three months later, she called him back, needing a piano player for a show.
“I hired him to play piano for me, and then he came to the house to practice, and we’ve been together ever since,” Mindy said.
Twenty years of marriage later, they’ve built a family, a music career, and two thriving music venues in small-town Tennessee.
In the late 1990s, Craig had come from Lyons, Georgia, and Mindy from Loveland, Colorado, both chasing country music dreams in Nashville. The two musicians married on June 4, 2004. Craig found the town of Eagleville on a motorcycle ride to Tullahoma, and Mindy fell in love with it.
“I just always wanted to live in a really small town, and we were about to have kids, and we wanted our kids to grow up in a K-12,” Mindy explained. “The school was like a private school you didn’t have to pay for.”
Craig, who played downtown Nashville often, was discovered by a record label during a show. He signed a record deal right after their daughter, Preslee, was born and released his first song, “Family Man.” The couple’s second daughter, Kinni Rose, came along two and a half years later.
“My first song came out in 2010. Having my songs on the radio and being able to tour has been pretty awesome,” Craig said. “It’s opened a lot of doors to opportunities that I don’t think I would’ve had with a normal 8-to-5 job.”
Touring meant Craig was gone 200-plus days a year, while Mindy stayed home with their young girls. Craig’s shows sometimes have him in 3 different states in a matter of days.
“People always chuckle that I just don’t know where Craig is,” Mindy laughed. “I know he’s gone, but if I don’t look on Facebook, I honestly don’t know where he is.”
Even though Craig launched his music career, Mindy wasn’t done with the business of entertaining. She loved staying home with the girls, but she also had a dream of bringing a music venue to Eagleville. Craig wanted to open a coffee shop. It started as a small venture during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Craig’s shows were cancelled, and grew into a full-blown restaurant with food, a bar, a coffee shop, and a stage for live music.
Mindy had specific requirements: the business had to be in Eagleville, have a drive-through, be within a half-mile of their house, and they had to own the building.
“We’ve owned businesses before where we’ve leased the building, and that’s where we’ve lost it,” Mindy said. “If the coffee shop didn’t succeed, we at least would have property.”
“I didn’t expect to make a living off of it,” Craig said. “I just thought it would be fun to have a place where the kids could sing, and they’d have a stage.”
Both their girls have musical talent like their parents. They help at Grindstone Cowboy with hosting open mic nights and karaoke nights. Grindstone also has trivia nights and other events.
“It’s fun being able to share the music with the kids because they love it just as much as we do,” Mindy said.
The success led Mindy and Craig to expand into Shelbyville. When the city approached them about a condemned 1800s hotel, they partnered with Mike and Beth Davis to renovate the 12,000-square-foot space. It took a couple of years, but when they opened the doors the first night, 300 people showed up.
“Eagleville feels like a cozy Hallmark movie,” Mindy said. “The Shelbyville location looks more like a Nashville honkytonk.”
The music is especially close to Craig’s heart. He books most of the bands and handles sound, but open mic nights are what he loves most.
“I wanted to give that opportunity to up-and-coming artists that were newer to the game and just needed somewhere to play,” he said.
His industry relationships bring in bigger names who play for less just because of their friendship.
“Everybody you talk to in the music industry will say he’s the nicest guy you’ve ever met,” Mindy said.
Running a business together while Craig still tours about 75 days a year isn’t always easy. Craig jokes that Mindy is the 51% owner.
“She’s just an amazing woman,” Craig said. “Grindstone would be nothing if Mindy wasn’t there working it like she does.”
They just celebrated 20 years of marriage in June, and they say the key to staying strong is to roll with the punches.
“If we get upset with each other, we’re really quick to just forget about it, forgive, and move on,” Mindy said.
“You gotta like each other and be friends, too,” Craig added.
Craig and Mindy said their Shelbyville location will be adding a speakeasy in the basement, a second-floor event venue, and a rooftop bar in the near future. Craig’s new single, “Missing You,” is now available on streaming platforms. GN
