First thing: We’ve decided to change the name of our weekly news column, in hopes of avoiding confusion with a local blog. So, henceforth, please enjoy reading the online version of East Side Buzz. Same old column, fresh new name. (Kind of; it's been in the magazine for forever. But still.)
Another important note: There's still time to get your message in the next issue’s pages. Our Jan/Feb 2018 issue is coming soon, and it'll feature the newly crowned East Nashvillians of the Year. This’ll be the last chance to take advantage of 2017 ad rates in 2018, too.
More info/to get your ad in: Email Lisa at lisa@theeastnashvillian.com. Meantime, here’s 2017’s ENOTY issue.
Fittingly enough with the aforementioned Buzz thing, this go-’round, we’re talking about hair, plus Hawaii, pottery, festive festivities and more.
On to this week’s East Side Buzz:
A Taste of Hawaii coming to East Nashville
Something for East Nashville food lovers to look forward to: Come spring of 2018, we should be strolling into Kawai Poke Co., an East Nashville eatery that means to bring “a taste of Hawaii to Music City.”
On the menu at the new restaurant, set for 901 Woodland St. Ste. 105 in the new Wabash building: fresh baked goods, tropical breakfast bowls and smoothies, creative desserts (like matcha tiramisu) and titular poké bowls, along with other traditional Hawaiian favorites. (If you’re not familiar with poké, it’s cubed, raw, marinated fish — often tuna — and the bowls generally include rice and vegetables too.)
The kitchen is set to be helmed by Chicago-bred chef Yev Mikhailov, who led Eastern European sausage and salami company Gurman Food Co. for a decade. With that business, he “built a distinctive reputation for providing customers nationwide with unique products, bold flavors and excellent service,” his Kawai bio says.
The KPC folks stake a claim to this new concept being Nashville’s first Hawaiian poké stop, and we don’t have any evidence to argue with ’em.
If you’d like to get some early looks at what they’ll be serving (and keep up with the latest opening news), follow Kawai Poke Co. on Instagram.
Nashville Beard and Barber has East Nashville roots
The East Side has a new hair-care provider, geared specifically toward gentlemen: Nashville Beard and Barber opened last month at 726 Mcferrin Avenue, offering a far more involved experience than a simple snip or three.
The business, led by master barber Kevin Hagewood and partner Eric Miller, mixes old-fashioned barber-shop skills with a spa-like level of attention — think sharp classic haircuts, steam towels, shoulder massages and the option for a mini-facial to nix the manly blemishes, maybe a glass of whiskey if you like too.
WKRN stopped by the salon to get the full rundown from Hagewood and Miller; watch/grab a read here.
The space itself is fittingly masculine — stations built out of tool cabinets, corrugated metal and raw wood decor, classic red-and-white stripes.
The shop’s open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 to 3 on Saturday, and you can book appointments for an array of services online, from cuts and shaves to ear, nose and eyebrow waxing (the latter: surprisingly affordable, at just $15). Head to nashvillebeardandbarber.com to grab your slot, and for more, visit Nashville Beard and Barber on Facebook.
(Above photo: Lauren Napier Photography, via Miller’s Instagram feed.)
Summer Triangle Pottery moves East
If you’ve ever admired the custom tableware at Lockeland Table, you’re already a fan of Summer Triangle Pottery, a duo of local artists who “create handcrafted ceramics for the simple lifestyle.”
And as it happens, the two makers — Paul A. Craig and Dorothy Valcarcel Craig — just moved their studio to East Nashville, too, so their earthy plates and platters, bowls and mugs are now born right here in the neighborhood.
Curious about what else your crafty neighbors are shaping? Check out the Summer Triangle Pottery Etsy page for lots of ceramic creations, from platters emblazoned with the Tennessee Tri-star to those very plates you’re eating from inside Lockeland Table.
They do have a few ready-to-ship pieces that might make it for Christmas gifts, but beyond, many of the options are custom-made. If you have specific ideas for what your home-dining (or business-dining) experience oughtta look like, you can also have Summer Triangle Pottery create custom designs.
For more insight into what's coming out of their East Nashville workshop, follow Summer Triangle Pottery on Instagram.
Get festive Saturday with Jinglewood and Night Bazaar 2017
For the second year, independent shops/businesses in Inglewood are teaming up for a one-day-only shopping and celebrating event, dubbed Jinglewood, featuring special sales and extra perks, from free gift wrapping to refreshments for weary shoppers.
The event comes via Steluta/Fort Louise leader Jessica Bower, and she’s gotten a lively list of neighbors to join in alongside her two businesses, including:
— Vintage shops High Class Hillbilly and Old Made Good
— Records-and-more spots Vinyl Tap and Fond Object
— Plants/accessories stop Flora Plant Shop
and more
Every business will have specials and surprises, and it’ll all go down on Saturday, December 16. Check Steluta’s Instagram (and social media outposts for the other Inglewood businesses) for updates.
During/after your Jinglewood excursion, another East Nashville option: Night Bazaar 2017 at Barista Parlor East, with a busy mix of fashion designers, vintage purveyors, artists and artisans all sharing their wares inside Barista’s flagship outpost.
Among the 20-plus vendors:
East Side fashion names Amanda Valentine and Black by Maria Silver
Local artist Julie Sola
East Nashville jewelry designer Riveter
and lots, lots more
The Bazaar runs 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at 519-B Gallatin Avenue, and there’ll be music spinning and cocktails via Cathead Vodka, too. More at the Night Bazaar 2017 event page.
‘East Side of the River’ returns
If you’ve been in East Nashville a while, you’re probably familiar with East Side of the River, neighbor Ron Coons’ directorial debut, focused on how our neighborhood changed through the late ‘90s and early aughts, stocked with interviews with local musicians that shed light on a moment in East Nashville time.
If you’re new to East Nashville — and love it here — the film’s a perfect way to get a little more back story, and dig into the early part of a now-long-simmering season of East Nashville change/some of the people that helped tighten this community.
We dug deep into Coons’ work a while back (you can read that piece here), but you’ll also get another chance to see the 2012 film among neighbors early next year: The Family Wash/Garage Coffee is hosting a screening on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. (No cover; they may pass the tip hat for a local charity.)
A lot’s changed since the documentary first hit East Nashville eyes — including the Family Wash’s address (it’s at 626 Main Street). But among the truths that remain: The music community in East Nashville is a special thing.
Learn more at the East Side of the River website, and register your screening plans on the East Side of the River Facebook event page.
QUICK BITS
— Butcher & Bee is hosting a Hanukkah Beer Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 19, with a menu full of "classic Jewish dishes with a modern twist.” Cost is $80 per person (including dinner, drinks, tax and gratuity), tickets available online now.
— Sunday at The 5 Spot: “It's Yuletide at High Tide on the East Side with Tom Mason and the Blue Buccaneers! We're having a party, playing songs from A Pirate's Christmas, A Slide Guitar Christmas, some piratical faves, and a few yet-to-be-released holiday classics. Hang the mistletoe from the mainmast, we're going to splice the mainbrace!” (If you don’t know Tom Mason & Co., you have to read this piece by Tommy Womack — ain’t nobody do what they do.)
— Miss former East Side chocolate shop Chocolate F/X? There’ll be a pop up on Saturday at Galena Garlic in the Shoppes on Fatherland, 12:30 to 4 p.m. Chocolate assortment boxes and peppermint bark will be on hand.
That’s all for this week. Have East Nashville news tips to share? Please email Nicole.
