The menu has included Southern greens, chess pie, cornbread, black-eyed peas, and country-fried steak.

[4] Arnold's patrons have long been considered a diverse cross-section of humanity: day laborers, politicians, the downtown business crowd, music industry titans, and tourists.

Breakfast service ended after fifteen years when Rose took a nursing job at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

[11] Rose Arnold announced on Facebook that the restaurant would be closing permanently in January 2023, stating that the choice was "100% our decision, on our terms" and that the family believed "the timing is right for us to now step away for some rest and to begin a new journey.

[17] Arnold's re-opened for a wildly popular four-day Thanksgiving pop-up,[18] and again in January 2024 to "temporarily" resume lunch service.

[17][19] In August 2024, owner Kahlil Arnold announced a second location would be opening in North Nashville in early 2025 with sit-down service and reimagined versions of classic menu items, such as sandwich or taco adaptions.

[22] Local meat-and-three restauranteur Lynn Chandler, founder of successful businesses such as Elliston Place Soda Shop, hired Arnold to run an Eighth Avenue restaurant called Sylvan Park Restaurant, and Jack Arnold purchased and renamed it in 1982.

[21] Jack, who had nine children, typically wore overalls and a bow tie and was known for his large personality and risqué humor.

[21] Notable guests include Dolly Parton, who ordered chicken livers and creamed corn for takeout, and Chet Atkins, who was a regular and once missed a call from the president because he was at Arnold's.