Eastside Buzz, April 1

Eastside Buzz

Fri 1 April 2022 2:00 CST

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Lotsa news, events, and updates in this week’s Buzz, so get to buzzin’!

Gilda’s Gang 5K and One-Mile Fun Run This Saturday

The second annual Gilda’s Gang 5K and One-Mile Fun Run will take place this Saturday, April 2, 2022, from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. in Shelby Park. The annual event raises funds for Gilda’s Club, Middle Tennessee’s free cancer support program. Also, it honors the late Dr. Gail Addlestone, who developed and led one of Gilda’s Club’s most successful and longest-running fundraisers: Gilda’s Gang, a half-marathon training program.

“When Gail Addlestones’s metastatic breast cancer progressed to a place where she could no longer practice medicine, she focused her energy on her second love, running,” Gilda’s Club President and CEO Harriet Schiftan told The East Nashvillian in a phone interview. “At that point, Gail began working for Gilda's Club and created Gilda's Gang so that people training for the Music City Half Marathon could do peer-to-peer fundraising for Gilda’s Club. The last half marathon Gail was able to participate in [2007], her friends linked arms and walked the marathon with her. Three weeks later, she died.”

“Her friends continued Gilda’s Gang as a fundraiser, and they raised over a million dollars between 2006 and 2017,” Schiftan continued. “Last year, her friends came to us and said they wanted to invigorate Gilda's Gang and create an all-abilities, untimed run and walk where everyone can participate, get exercise, create teams, and build a community for Gilda's Club.”

The run starts at 7:30 a.m.at the Riverview Shelter at Shelby Park, Shelby Ave & S 20th St. There is a $35 registration fee, and children 12 and under may participate for free. Post-run activities will take place until 10:30 a.m. For more info on Gilda’s Club, visit gildasclubmiddletn.org.

Mel’s Overlord Bar Opens on Gallatin

After months of delay, Melvil Arnt’s latest addition to his growing Parisian-Tennessean hospitality empire, Mel’s Overlord Bar at 2503 Gallatin Ave., recently celebrated its grand opening. The 1940s Continental-themed space was designed as a tribute to the classic Gallic bars that greeted American G.I.’s as they liberated France after the success of Operation Overlord (aka the Invasion of Normandy) during World War II.

The jaw-dropping ornate transformation of the interior of the nondescript cement block building that houses Overlord was completed last Spring. Arnt’s original goal was to open the bar on June 6, 2021 — the 77th anniversary of Operation Overlord, but several months of pandemic-related supply-chain problems and other delays postponed the opening.

Mel’s Overlord Bar is now open seven days a week, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. For more information and updates, follow Overlord on Instagram @overlord_nashville.

Party Bus Crack Down on the Way?

Following the passage and signing into law of new state regulations designed to empower local governments to regulate party vehicles, the community activist organization Safe Fun Nashville calls on the Transportation Licensing Commission to fully enforce Metro restrictions on party vehicle operators in downtown Nashville.

The TLC met on March 24, and representatives from Safe Fun Nashville were present to make their concerns known. “With beautiful Tennessee spring weather just around the corner, Safe Fun Nashville is optimistic that the regulations passed by Metro Council will help make downtown Nashville safer this year than those of the past,” Safe Fun Nashville co-organizer Eloise Tyner said. “There are many following the rules, but just as many who have outright ignored them since December 1. Those bad actors have proven we were not able to trust them in the past, we obviously can’t trust them now, and we shouldn’t trust them in the future without facing real consequences. That falls on Mayor Cooper, the Metro Nashville Police Department, and the TLC to enforce, and we look to them to do so because Nashville deserves better.”

For more information on Safe Fun Nashville and updates about their mission to make Nashville streets safer, visit safefunnashville.com.

New Round of Community Grants Announced

Last week, mayor John Cooper said that Metro is opening another round of grants to support organizations serving residents within Nashville’s Napier Place and Sudekum communities. Eligible nonprofits can apply for $5,000 or more as Metro Nashville allocates $200,000 of grants provided by the federal American Rescue Plan. The mayor’s Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board will make grant award recommendations in conjunction with Nashville’s first Community Safety Coordinator, Ron Johnson. For more info and to apply for the grants, visit hub.Nashville.gov.

Matters of Development

The East Nashville-based Elegy Coffee at 2909A Gallatin Pike recently announced plans to open a second location in the Germantown neighborhood. Elegy’s cross-the-river site will be in The Griff building at 1390 Adams St., near The Optimist. Late summer or early fall is projected for an opening date. For updates, follow them on Instagram @elegycoffee.

Since last July, Brian Lea and Leina Horii have been wowing taste buds with their casual take on Japanese barbecue with a pop-up restaurant at the Patterson House in Mid-Town and other locations. The married business partners are now preparing to bring their business and cooking to East Nashville with a planned permanent restaurant in Highland Yards. The 25 seat takeout location of Kisser will be at 747 Douglas Ave. With an estimated opening date of this Spring. Follow them on Instagram @kisser_nashville for updates.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based Good People Brewing Company has announced plans to open a craft beer bar in the historic McGavock-Gatewood-Webb House at 908 Meridian St. in Cleveland Park. An opening date is planned for late 2023. For more on Good People Brewing Company, visit their website at goodpeoplebrewing.com.

The Eastland apartment complex at 1035 W. Eastland Ave. was recently sold to a Washington, D.C.-area company for approximately $14.87 million.

Bench Time for Plastic

Inglewood Elementary is collecting bottle caps and other types of recyclable plastic to turn into playground benches. Qualified plastics can be dropped in a bin located by the school’s front door at 1700 Riverside Dr. Saturday, April 2, is the last day for collection. Click here for a list of which types of plastic items are needed.

Speak for the Trees Next Week

Speaking for the Tree Art Show will open next week at the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center in Shelby Park. The three-day event showcases works by members of The Chestnut Group, a local nonprofit alliance of Plein air painters and conservationists. Funds generated from art sales will support Shelby Parks & Bottoms’ efforts to remove invasive undergrowth in Shelby to allow native trees to regenerate and, in partnership with the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps, help to create an operational endowment to support the newly formed “Friends” organization for Lockeland Springs Park.

Visit the Speak for the Trees Facebook page for more info and hours.

Shelby Park Welcomes the Neighbors

Speaking of Shelby Park, over 600 people attended the Friends of Shelby and the Shelby Park Community Center recreation open house on Saturday, March 26. With over 25 organizations represented, attendees had the chance to learn about all the programs offered at the park and celebrated the ribbon-cutting for the brand-new basketball court funded by the Nashville Predators Foundation. For more info and updates on Shelby Park Community Center’s many programs, follow their Facebook page @shelbycommunitycenter.

Suds on the Horizon

East Nashville’s annual celebration of craft beer will arrive soon with the East Nashville Beer Fest in East Park on Saturday, April 9. This year’s event will feature several Black-owned guest breweries, spotlighting a woefully underrepresented portion of the craft brew industry. This year’s roster includes Weathered Souls Brewing Co. out of San Antonio, Texas; Knoxville’s Ebony & Ivory Brewing; and Beale St. Brewing from Memphis.

For more info, a complete list of participating breweries, and to purchase tickets, visit eastnashvillebeerfest.com.

Just a note from Boston Commons owner Matt Charette: “We are looking for talented culinary staff. Depending on ability and role responsibilities, the pay is $16 to $20 an hour or more, and it’s a great team to work with. We value serving our community, and your approach matters to staff and guests. The kitchen closes at 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9:30 p.m. on weekends, so there are no late nights. Free parking is available. We treat you like an adult and a human being and expect the same from you. Apply in person Wednesday- Sunday, 2 — 4 p.m., or after if we are not too busy.” For more info, visit Boston Commons online at bostoncommonsnashville.com.

Love Buzz

Finally, we’re also throwing a little Love Buzz at Nashville’s own all-volunteer freeform listener-supported radio station, WXNA 101.5 FM (Full disclaimer, the writer of this newsletter is also WXNA’s Programming Director). WXNA’s new Spring schedule started this Monday. While many of the old favorites are still on the air, several shows made their debut, including “Tremble Under the Boom Light” — two hours of powerhouse rock’n’roll from Dirtbombs co-founder and Third Man Records partner Ben Blackwell, Hardcore punk on “Spin Cycle” with Guerilla Bizkits biscuit chef, Zach Halfhill, and a new early Sunday morning serving of classic African-American gospel music from WXNA DJ Mojo. Dig the entire schedule and listen online at wxnafm.org.

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