Slow Burn Heading South for the East
Madison fav, Slow Burn Hot Chicken, is headed down Gallatin Pike for a second location in East Nashville. Owners Marlon and Joy Reed have confirmed that they will be opening shop in the small, cinder block building at 726 McFerrin Ave., former home to Korean fried chicken joint The Birdhouse and before that, hamburger and hot chicken biscuit slinger Ruby Ann’s.
Located next door to Mas Tacos Por Favor and across the street from The Pharmacy and Lyra, it reaffirms the small section of McFerrin as one of the East Side’s foodiest blocks. It also alleviates worries over an East Side hot chicken deficit after Pepperfire Hot Chicken departed East Nashville just a few weeks ago and left the venerable Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish (624 Main St.) as the solitary dedicated purveyor of scorchin’ hot cluckery.
In this delightful but chilly Facebook video, Joyce gives a sneak peek of the Slow Burn mural and hints at an opening only a few weeks away. For updates, follow Slow Burn on Facebook @SlowBurnHotChicken.
East Nashville Business Pride
The Historic East Nashville Merchants Association is holding its first monthly mixer of 2020 on Thursday, Jan. 16, 4-6 p.m. at East Nashville Beer Works (320 E. Trinity Lane). If you own a business that’s located in East Nashville, or are a business owner who lives in East Nashville, this is a great opportunity to meet and mingle with the new HENMA Board members and your peers, along with learning how HENMA promotes the East Nashville businesses community through the sharing and implementation of fresh ideas.
The first HENMA business meeting of 2020 will be in February and will include the official presentation of the East Nashvillian of Year Awards (look for the announcement of the winners in our January-February issue, hitting the streets next week!) For more information and to become a HENMA member, visit eastnashville.org today!
Home Studio Reform Finally on the Way?
The long-standing impasse over Nashville’s regulation of commercial recording studios operating in residences may be finally coming to a resolution. Current Metro law expressly forbids home-based businesses from working with paying clients in person, and East Nashvillian Lij Shaw has been at the center of fight since his Toy Box Studio, located in a detached garage at his Renraw neighborhood home, was shut down by Metro in the fall of 2015.
After years of appeals, failed applications for waivers, several attempts to amend the law, and a lawsuit that was dismissed in October, Shaw has turned to rallying public opinion through a Change.org petition and a website, savehomestudios.com.
Shaw’s efforts have not only garnered more than 19,000 signatures to his petition, but they have also prompted proposed legislation from Metro Council District 35 representative Dave Rosenberg. Rosenberg’s proposal creates specific guidelines for home businesses to serve clients in person while still regulating vehicle traffic, parking, and signage.
The amendment received its first public hearing at Jan. 7 council meeting and was referred to the Planning Commission, which is set to hear it on Feb. 20. After any changes to the language of the bill, it should be returned to the council for two more readings.
For more information and discussion on this issue the SAE Institute is hosting “Save Music City: Home Studio Expo” on Saturday, Jan. 11, noon to 3 p.m., at their Music Row campus at 7 Music Circle N. The event will include a keynote address from Shaw and a panel discussion with Shaw and a representative from Mayor Cooper’s office. Admission is free, but registration is required. More info is available at the Facebook event page.
Poverty Awareness Month Returns to Nashville
A quick reminder that the month of January is also the start of the Martha O’Bryan Center’s Poverty Awareness Month campaign. Each year the anti-poverty, non-profit Martha O’Bryan Center recruits local Nashville businesses as allies to raise awareness, collect supplies, and donate funds throughout January to combat and defeat poverty in our city. Launched in January 2017 with the help of 10 East Nashville businesses, the annual campaign has now grown to include 34 businesses from across Nashville.
Nashville businesses donating a portion of their revenue to Martha O’Bryan Center on specific days in January include: C H O P P E R, Dino’s, Farm Burger, Five Points Pizza (East Nashville location), Galena Garlic Co., Green Hills Grille, Hot Yoga of East Nashville, I Dream of Weenie, Italia Pizza & Pasta, Kendra Scott, Mitchell Delicatessen, Mutts & Meows, Rudie’s Seafood & Sausage, Sunday Night Soul at The 5 Spot, Sweet Tea Candle Co., The Bookshop, Two Ten Jack, and The Wild Cow. For more information and a calendar of specific dates for each business’ participation visit the Martha O’Bryan Center’s website.
Triple-Header Saturday!
With all the great live music in Nashville it’s not unusual to have to make the difficult choice of which amazing to show to miss on any given evening. This Saturday, Jan. 11 brings a triple-header of great shows, but at least they’re arranged where you might be able to catch them all.
Start your frantic musical tour at Grimey’s (1060 E. Trinity Lane) with the Blackfoot Gypsies. The rock’n’roll boys will be throwing down a live set from 5-6 p.m. to celebrate the recent release of their album, Blackfoot Gypsies Live At The Basement. Based on past shows (and the set captured on the new LP), it’s sure to be a raucous time and just the type of music needed to rev you up for a sprint down Gallatin to the The 5 Spot.
When you arrive at The 5 Spot (1006 Forrest Ave.), you’ll be able to catch veteran singer, songwriter, and former poet laureate of East Tennessee, R.B. Morris, from 6-8:30 p.m. celebrating the release of his new record, Going Back to the Sky. Recorded in Lexington, Kentucky and produced by Bo Ramsey, Morris calls the new album his “dustbowl record” filled with “dusty old highway songs and stories that came from my early road trips out west.”
Then, just as Morris wraps up at The 5 Spot, head downtown to the War Memorial Auditorium for The Lantern Tour II: Concerts for Migrant and Refugee Families. Presented by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and WMOT Roots Radio, proceeds from the show will benefit the Women’s Refugee Commission and its work on behalf of migrant and asylum-seeking families. The lineup features Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Jerry Douglas, Steve Earle, Buddy and Julie Miller, and Amy Ray. Showtime is 8 p.m. and tickets are available from the War Memorial Auditorium’s website.
Quick Bits
- The building that formerly housed Walk Bike Nashville, Turnip Green Creative Reuse, and Woodland Thrift at 943-947 Woodland St. is undergoing extensive renovations according Nashville Post. No new tenants have been announced for the building at this time.
- Congratulations to Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery for their First 108 Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey being named one of the Top 100 Spirits in the American Whiskey category by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. For the full story of how Andy and Charlie Nelson rediscovered their family history and revived their family legacy, check out the feature from our November/December 2019 issue.
- United Way of Metropolitan Nashville has been renamed as United Way of Greater Nashville following its recent expansion of service areas to include Cheatham, Davidson, Hickman, Robertson, and Williamson counties. For more information on the many ways United Way helps Middle Tennesseans, visit org.
