Craig Clifft
General Manager/Owner 

As a child, Craig Clifft made numerous appearances on the hit TV show Hee Haw, and was in some of the first commercials produced by American Airlines. As a teen, he spent many hours in, around and above Nashville's John Tune Airport earning a pilot's license. His love of flying inspired him on to a Bachelor's of Science degree in Aeropsace with a concentration in commercial airlines.

Craig began his restaurant career while still in college, as a host, bartender and server at F. Scott's. As fate would have it, he was hired at F. Scott's the day before Randy Rayburn was hired as general manager. Craig learned all aspects of running a restaurant and moved up the management ladder. Randy soon moved on to open Sunset Grill, and within three years Craig joined him to serve there as general manager.

During Craig's tenure as general manager, under the watchful eye of Rayburn, Sunset Grill blossomed. Sunset Grill has won more local and national dining awards than any other restaurant in Tennessee. Craig also discovered another passion, wine. As wine director at Sunset Grill, he became a somellier, and created the popular series of wine classes which he still teaches. Currently with more than 400 wines by the bottle and 100 by the glass, Sunset's wine list has garnered the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence every year since 1992.

A native Nashvillian, Craig is immensly poplular with patrons and employees alike. He has an endless supply of smiles, hugs and uplifting words. Diners are drawn to his warm hospitable mood and attention to detail. He is is deeply admired for his boundless energy and positive nature. One of his greatest strengths is acknowledging talent and empowering those in his charge with responsibility and trust. He has a gift for knowing when to intercede with guidance and encouragement.

Craig also has a passion for electronics and computers. Cabana will be in many ways a fruition of this passion as well as his desire to create a unique dining experience in Nashville. He has carefully reviewed every detail of the restaurant which will include more than 200 programmable LED lights throughout, plus private cabanas equipped with plasma screens, dvd, surround sound and wireless broadband internet.

Brian Uhl
Chef/Owner

Brian Uhl specializes in wild game dishes in the framework of contemporary cuisine. Uhl trained as an apprentice to Sigi Eisenberg, and has also worked under many other noted chefs, including Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, Jean-Louis Palladin in New York, and Boris Keller, a Michelin-star chef of Germany. Since settling in Nashville, he has been associated with Wild Boar and F. Scott’s and with the Opryland and Stouffer Hotels. 

Brian’s innovative cooking has brought recognition from such specialty publications as World Wine News, Bon Appétit, and Food Arts, as well as The New York Times, USA Today, and GQ, and he has been featured on the Food Network. He has represented the Tennessee Titans at the NFL's Taste of the NFL for the last 5 years and has given his time to several other charity events including Second Harvest Food Drive, March of Dimes Generous Helpings, and Soup Sunday.

At Midtown Cafe, Brian still offers local favorites, but adds his own distinctive flair, such as the Seared Maine Day Boat Scallops over creamed leeks and spinach, finished with tomato chive concasse and balsamic syrup.

Brian serves as Executive Chef for Cabana,  Midtown Cafe and Sunset Grill.

Randy Rayburn

Owner

Sunset Grill, Midtown Cafe, Cabana

Most people first meet Randy Rayburn at one of his nationally renowned restaurants, Sunset Grill in Hillsboro Village, or Midtown Cafe on 19^th avenue south. But they are just as likely to meet him in and around Nashville, giving his time as a philanthropist and community leader. Randy is passionate about giving back to the community. He designates one percent of all sales from his restaurants to non-profit and community organizations. In the last five years alone that has totaled more than $300,000.

 An avid supporter of hunger-relief and non-profit arts organizations, Rayburn also passionately cares about Nashville’s economic development. He serves as the Chairman of the Nashville Convention Center and on the Nashville State Community College Board. He was most recently elected to sit on the board of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce.

Rayburn believes that Middle Tennessee prospers as each individual and business succeeds. To that end he has focused many of his efforts in and around the revitalization of Hillsboro Village.

He created the Non-Event Patron’s Party for Nashville’s Table which has raised more than one-million dollars for the expansion of the only local food-rescue and delivery organization in Middle Tennessee. He is also a past president and board member. In addition, you have probably run into him while he was organizing fundraising events such as Taste of the Nation, Taste of the NFL and Generous Helpings. For the last 7 years his Sunset Grill was chosen to represent Nashville at the national Taste of the NFL dinner benefiting United Way.

Rayburn is part of the Leadership Nashville class of 1998 and was nominated for the Mary Katherine Strobel Award for Community Volunteerism the same year. In 2000 he was named Outstanding Volunteer of the Year by the Nashville Society for Fund Raising Executives.

Sunset Grill (Randy Rayburn) was also selected as the single-unit finalist for the National Restaurant Association Neighbor Award in 2001, an award given to recognize the philanthropic efforts of restaurant operations. He was named statewide restaurateur of the year in 2001 and serves on its advisory board.

Read about Randy in the Nashville Business Journal.