Eastside Buzz, March 11
By Randy Fox
Eastside Buzz
Fri 11 Mar 2022 12:30 CST
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A few sunny days and the usual spring daffodils were a welcome counterpoint to international news this week in East Nashville, but one possible final blast from Old Man Winter tonight may put a crimp on your plans for the weekend. Whatever the weather, it won’t affect our weekend plans since we’re hard at work getting the next print issue of The East Nashvillian ready for the presses. If you act fast, you might still get your ad in the March-April issue which will be hitting the streets soon. Just contact sales@theeastnashvillian.com now!
Oh yeah, don’t forget to “Spring Forward“ at 2 a.m. Sunday.
Tiger Bar — “Mister, I Was Made for It”
People who have noticed the recent construction at the former location of Walden, 2909B Gallatin Pike, can wonder no more. A new “sideshow inspired neo-noir cocktail bar,” The Tiger Bar was announced this week. The project is the brainchild of Jamie White, Ben Clemons, Corey Ladd, and Matt Spicher, the same team of hospitality veterans that masterminded Pearl Diver. The description in the press release was intriguing but short on details, and Ben Clemons says the enigma was a deliberate choice.
“We want to keep [Tiger Bar] a bit of a mystery,” Clemons said in an interview with The East Nashvillian. “A lot of early press on Pear Diver described it as a tiki bar, even though it never was or has been, and we’ve spent the last four years trying to reclaim our concept. So there are certain things about Tiger Bar that we want to keep hush-hush so the assumption train doesn’t go crazy.”
Clemons says Tiger Bar will have a strong emphasis on pre- and post-prohibition cocktails done in an era-specific style with a strong, classic neo-noir feel to the decor, name dropping the film Nightmare Alley (both original and remake) as a reference point. “There’s going to be a lot of nods to sideshow elements from the late 1930s to the mid-40s as far as colors, some of the decor, lighting, and design aesthetic, but it’s definitely not a big top-Barnum & Bailey deal. It’s more of an elegant, dark play on that time frame. We’re really sticking to our guns on the feel of the space. You’re not going to see any digital impact. All of our point of sale systems will be hidden from view, all of the audio systems will be disguised and possibly filtered to have an era-specific sound. It’s a time travel moment and a great spot to meet up with friends for cocktails and small bites. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
An early Fall 2022 opening date is planned. For updates, follow @tigerbar_nashville on Instagram.
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Porter Road Grocery Opening Soon
Porter Road Grocery, a new spin on the small neighborhood grocer concept, is on course to open by the end of April at 703 Porter Road. Owned by Jim Douglas, founder and owner of Sticky Tomato — a cannabis product company based in Murfreesboro, it is the first of three neighborhood grocers he plans to open this year.
The approximately 400-square-foot retail space will offer goods from local butchers, farmers, and producers as well as out-of-state suppliers of specialty items and Sticky Tomato cannabis products. Douglas says he will offer high-quality items at reasonable prices.
The second of Douglas’ neighborhood grocery stores will open in June at 502 S. Maney Ave. in the historically Black Murfreesboro neighborhood where Douglas grew up with a third opening planned in North Nashville this fall.
The Return of the Black Bean Salad?
While there’s been no official confirmation yet, rumors of local favorite Calypso Café’s return to their former East Nashville location at 301 Gallatin Ave., are running hot and heavy. The building recently received a new paint job and new Calypso Cafe signs were erected. Calypso’s business was hit particularly hard by the pandemic and, in November 2020, the local chain gave up the lease on the East Nashville branch while announcing plans to eventually re-open in a different location. At the current time, their 100 Oaks location is the only one open. Follow their Instagram feed @calypsobebetter for updates.
Shelby House Project Breaks Ground
On Wednesday, March 10, an official ground-breaking ceremony was held for the Shelby House project at the corner of Shelby Avenue and South Fourth Street. The mixed-use project will include a 71,000 square-foot recovery-services center and 484 affordable housing units.
Shelby House is a joint effort between Holladay Ventures, Evergreen Real Estate, and Samaritan Recovery Community — a local nonprofit with more than 50 years of experience in East Nashville helping people recover from substance abuse. The first 195 units of the project are planned to be completed by the fall of 2023 and made available to graduates of the recovery program on a first-come, first-serve basis.
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Matters of Development
A request was filed this week to rezone eight parcels that make up the Meridian Court development at 1405 Dickerson Pike. If approved, the request will permit a multi-family development on the 2.5 acres site consisting of 34 Residential Units within six buildings, two garage buildings, and surface parking. Once redeveloped, access to the development from Meridian Court will be limited to emergency vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
Plans for a 26-unit residential project on a 1.12-acre site located next to Apple Annie’s Inn at 1333 Dickerson Pike have been announced. Nashville-based developer Brandon Plunkett, in partnership with Nick Adler and Ashley Quinn (via BNA Development), hopes to close on the property this month with construction planned to start in the fourth quarter of this year.
Traffic Calming on the Way for Litton Avenue
A planned traffic calming project is moving forward for Litton Avenue and Burns Street. With the design completed, 70 percent approval from property owners on both streets is required to move to the next step. Residents on Litton Avenue or Burns Street are encouraged to contact councilmember Emily Benedict at Emily.Benedict@nashville.gov to express their approval or disapproval of the project.
Kids Fun Day on the Way!
South Inglewood Community Center’s Kids Fun Day will be held on Thursday, March 17, starting at noon. The event is open to kids ages 6-14 (and their parents or guardians). Activities will include a bouncy house, crafts. live music, free food, and more. South Inglewood Community Center is located at 1624 Rebecca St.; for more info call 615.862.8452.
Love Buzz
Amy Speace “Little Red”
Check out “Little Red” by Amy Speace from her forthcoming album, Tuscon (due out April 8, via Proper Records/Windbone Records). Recorded with longtime collaborators The Orphan Brigade (Neilson Hubbard, Ben Glover, Joshua Britt), the song uses the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” as an allegory for living as a woman in a predatory world. The album’s emotional foundation comes from her opening up about the trauma she experienced as a survivor of college date rape and her subsequent winding journey to finding peace and healing.
“To stand in my truth and talk about it, finally — it’s not like, ‘Yeah, this happened, I’m fine,’” Speace says. “I still don’t know what to make of this and it still affects me. But I’m working through it, and I’m able to look at it. So, I realized there’s power in speaking the truth. And if I can talk about it — and it’s scary — maybe it will give someone else hope, too.”
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For more information about Amy, please visit amyspeace.com
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