Better Batter’d & Fried: Boston Commons Arrives
Long time Five Points favorite, Batter’d & Fried (1008A Woodland St.) is making a few changes including cosmetic improvements to the building, a new menu, and new name. Say hello to “Boston Commons.” But to paraphrase the Bard, “fish & chips by any other name will still taste as crispy.”
“We’re taking the best of Batter’d & Fried and continuing to do those things, but we’re also trying to be more efficient with our menu,” restaurant owner Matt Charette says. “At one point we had 160 choices on our menu, right now we have 123, which is huge. When we were the only neighborhood restaurant we tried to be all things to all people. Now there are so many places specializing in burgers, pizza, or pasta, we want to be focused on what we do best.”
The tighter focus includes such neighborhood favorites as the eatery’s beloved Chef’s Fish & Chips, which Charette says constitutes about 20 percent of sales, but it also allows room for the new.
“We’ll still have a huge menu with over 50 choices,” he says, “but making things more efficient for our kitchen crew means they’ll have the time to focus on new specials.”
Opening in February 2006, Batter’d & Fried Boston Seafood House brought a taste of Charette’s native Massachusetts to East Nashville. One of the first restaurants to open in the just barely beginning to be renovated Five Points neighborhood, Batter’d & Fried quickly gathered a loyal following among locals hungry for more East Side dining choices. The new name reflects both changes in the neighborhood and in the restaurant’s clientele.
“Part of the name change is the result of so many tourists now visiting East Nashville,” Charette says. “They see the name, Batter’d & Fried and they walk on by, because they don’t want fried food, not knowing that we do so much more.”
The changes will be phased in over the coming months according to Charette. “I’m pretty excited,” he says. “We think we still have something unique to offer the neighborhood and Nashville with our fried favorites, grilled seafood, fish & chips, and American classics, but we also have some pretty cool new items we’ll be announcing in the coming weeks.”
For updates, follow Boston Commons on Facebook.
Strut, Stride and Roll at the 28th Annual Nashville AIDS Walk
It’s time to sign up, don your sneakers, and head to Public Square Park for the annual Nashville AIDS Walk. Sponsored by Nashville CARES, which seeks to end the spread of HIV/AIDS in Middle Tennessee, raising $200,000 is the goal of this 5K walk and run. In addition to the walk, there will be an accompanying music festival, food trucks, and family activities.
For information, or to register or donate, visit the Nashville AIDS Walk website.
Traffic Calming Project Coming to Cleveland Park
Metro Nashville Public Works announced plans this week for traffic calming projects in eight Nashville/Davidson County neighborhoods, including the Cleveland Park neighborhood in East Nashville and Oakland Acres in Madison. The eight neighborhoods were selected from 91 applications submitted from across the county and were evaluated on four criteria: safety/crash history, average speed, neighborhood destinations, and the presence/absence of active transportation infrastructure like sidewalks. The traffic calming projects will be at making local improvements to address those four areas.
In a press release, Public Works Program Manager Derek Hagerty said, “As we continue our work in Nashville neighborhoods, we are seeing tons of community engagement in the process. We’re excited to begin work on this second group of projects, and bring relief to local streets with speeding problems.”
Coordination with council members and neighborhoods will begin in the next few weeks. Public Works staff will attend neighborhood meetings and plan community workshops to collaborate with residents on the best design for each street. The first Cleveland Park meeting will be held Oct. 10, 6:30 -7:30 pm at Community Center at Cleveland Park, 610 Vernon Winfrey Ave. For more information on traffic calming projects visit the Metro Public Works website at Nashville.gov.
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I-24 Closures Through East Nashville This Weekend
Interstate I-24 will be closed this weekend to complete repairs to bridges over Woodland Street and the Cumberland River that began in August. The closure will run from Friday, Sept. 27 at 9 p.m. through Monday, Sept. 30 at 5 a.m. I-24 will be closed from I-40 at the Silliman Evans Bridge to the junction with I-65. Traffic will be detoured to I-40 and I-65. East Nashville traffic will be able to access local routes to cross the Cumberland River, including Shelby Avenue, Main Street, Woodland Street, and Spring Street and local traffic will be able to access I-24 westbound at Spring Street and I-24 eastbound at Shelby Avenue.
Access to current construction activity reports and live streaming feeds from SmartWay traffic cameras are available at TNSmartWay.com/Traffic or on Twitter @TN511. Information is also available by dialing 511 from any land-line or cellular phone.
Live Shows Roundup
As usual, lots of great shows this week. Here are a few we’ll be checking out:
Kelsey Waldon is celebrating the release of her new album White Noise/White Lines with a free, all ages, in-store performance and album signing at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music. As the first new artists signed to John Prine’s Oh Boy! Records in 15 years, we’re expecting a knock-out album from Waldron — a native of the tiny town of Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky. The music starts at 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 27. 1060 E. Trinity Lane
Gainesfest 2019 — A Celebration of The “Life” of Chris Gaines goes down at the Cobra on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. so grab your stick-on soul patch and slightly ratty Beatle wig and c’mon down to party with you friends in pseudo-pop rock places. The event features a Chris Gaines look-a-like contest, Chris Gaines tribute band, art inspired by Chris Gaines, and more. Garth who? More info at the Facebook event page.
Japanese garage punkers the King Brothers just about burned down Fond Object when they hit town back in 2014. Now they’re returning with all of their manic rock’n’roll energy locked, loaded, and ready to deploy on Monday, Sept. 30 at Drkmttr starting at 7 p.m. It’s rock ’n’ roll not for the faint of heart, more info at the Facebook event page.
The Black Keys will be rockin’ Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 1, with local favorites *repeat repeat in the opening slot. And if you haven’t already grabbed it, be sure to check out *repeat repeat’s new album, Glazed, which was produced by Black Key Patrick Carney. Tickets for the Bridgestone show are still available here.
Quick Bits
- Pet supplies retailer Baxter Bailey & Company (1004 Fatherland Street #101) is celebrating their 10-year anniversary this weekend on Saturday, Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They will have cupcakes and ice cream for pups along with some human treats, giveaways, discounts, swag bags, and more. They’ll also by announcing their new Dog Ice Creamery and expanding their Dog Bakery offerings to include cakes — including “mutt bundt cakes.” For more info, visit their Facebook page.
- Outdoor gear and clothing supplier Orbital Outdoors will be holding their grand opening on Oct. 5. They plan to specialize in high-end vintage outdoor clothing from brands like Patagonia and North Face, along with vintage national park memorabilia and upcycled outdoor furniture. For more info visit their website.
- Nashville Business Journal reports that the proposed motorcycle-themed restaurant and boutique retailer Moto Moda, that was to be located on Riverside Drive in the former location of Fond Object, has been removed from the development plans. The new plans calls for 44 residential units and less than 2,000 square feet of retail space.
- Nashville Post reports that construction is underway at for new yoga studio, Ola Yoga, to be located at 1077 E. Trinity Lane.
