NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
IT WAS A BUSY SPRING ON THE EAST Nashville development front, from new restaurants and shops to growing restaurants and shops.
Nashville vegetarians and vegans got another regular hometown haunt when “Plant-based Bistro & Bar” Graze opened in the former Silly Goose space (1888 Eastland Ave.) in late April.
Led by the same folks who brought us the nearby Wild Cow, Graze serves fresh-made juices and smoothies, desserts, breakfast, entrees, and snacks, from breakfast burritos with seitan chorizo to a Goose’s Couscous dish that calls back to the space’s muchloved former tenants.
The restaurant is open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. More at grazenashville.com.
East Side fitness fanatics also got another new option: New “boutique movement studio” Well Body Pilates hosted their grand opening celebration in April at 1000 Fatherland St., #202.
Nashville-raised, New York-trained instructor Elizabeth Wilkinson leads Well Body, which offers individual, duet, and small group Pilates and Gyrotonic sessions, including introductory classes if you’re new to those methods. If you’re super into this stuff, Well Body also offers teacher training; the next session kicks off July 11.
More on the studio and their classes at wellbodynashville.com.
Prefer more outdoorsy fitness options? Here’s some good news: In June, the Margaret Maddox Family YMCA cut the ribbon on a new urban park and trail, replete with open exercise areas, eight fitness stations and a quarter-mile trail.
The park, at 2624 Gallatin Road, is available to members and open to the public, too.
“This was all a dense thicket, and it’s been transformed into a really wonderful-looking, positive environment,” Maddox center board chair Neal Doherty told attendees at the ribbon-cutting celebration. “You can see how popular the pool is, and now we’ve got an outdoor space as well for kids to get stronger and healthier at a younger age.”
The reimagination was made possible by a land donation from local real estate investor Jim Crossman and gifts from the Maddox Charitable Trust and Memorial Foundation and other donors. We’ll see more improvements from the Maddox facility soon — next on the agenda is a renovation of their former preschool space (their preschool moved into 1008 East Trinity Lane) to accommodate more family programs.
On to more holistic health: Chiro Nash recently joined the neighborhood, hosting a grand opening at 604 Gallatin Ave., Suite 100, in late April.
They offer chiropractic care, nutritional recommendations, and other holistic/all-natural health care. More at chironash.com. From feeling good to looking good: Several new clothing/accessories shops joined the East Nashville scene.
In May, Atlanta-bred vintage shop Gunstreet Goods started welcoming folks into their new East Side space at 3701 Gallatin. (At press time, they were still open by appointment and for weekend sales and events only.) Owner Keri Workley is filling the place with vintage clothes, accessories, home goods, and more, spanning various eras and various styles.
In mid-June, musician Vero Sanchez opened The Bowery Vault at 2905 C Gallatin Pike, behind Mickey’s Tavern and Nicoletto’s Italian Kitchen, and her approach marries a love of music with a love of fashion.
The “Customized Rock ‘n’ Roll & Western” clothing boutique and private listening room includes lots of stage-worthy clothing and accessories, from boots to jackets, plus a full stage with a full backline.
During business hours — noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m. on weekends — songwriters are welcome to bring a guitar and give the stage a workout. Sanchez is also making the listening room space available for event rental after-hours. Facebook.com/theboweryvault gets you lots more info.
In April, Eastside Nails, led by technician Michelle Pegues-Pruitt, joined the Shoppes on Fatherland (1006 Fatherland St., Suite 306-A), offering manicures and pedicures, from basic to deluxe. Hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Jewelry designer Danica Van Horn opened “one of a kind men’s and women’s jewelry” shop Doxahlogy in late May, sharing pieces that range from bold statement pendants to rugged men’s cuffs, crafted from gemstones and beads, metals, leather, wood, vintage/antique finds, and more.
The unusual name, Van Horn told us, has spiritual underpinnings.
“Doxah is Greek for glory and Doxology is an expression or a praise of something,” she said. “I wanted the jewelry I made to express individuality as well as bring glory to God; hence, Doxahlogy.”
Doxahlogy isn’t new so much as all growed up, though: Van Horn has been creating/ selling online from her East Side home since 2012, so when it came time to go brick-andmortar, staying in the neighborhood was a natural choice. Peruse/shop/learn more at doxahlogy.com.
Need a new option for getting your home looking good? Furniture Wholesale Plus took over the former Southern Thrift space at 2701 Gallatin Pike, adding a second location to their roster.
The locally owned furniture sellers’ other store is over at 3870 Dickerson Pike, and in both locations you can find couches and tables and chairs and all the other pieces you might need to make your house a home.
At press time, they were prepping for their grand opening celebration at the new East Nashville location. More: wholesalefurniturenashville.com.
Another local business adding a second location: Remember the Green Wagon, which long held down the corner at 1100 Forrest Ave., but closed in 2014? Their former space has a new face: Nowadays, Gaslight Vapor Room is bringing “a next-level vaping experience” to that 5 Points building.
The first Gaslight shop is in Gallatin; both offer “name-brand vaping hardware and boutique-quality handmade e-liquid.”
Their initial hours were set to change, so check out gaslightvapor.com for the latest.
CLOSINGS AND MOVES
SORRY TO SAY, BUT LITTLE OCTOPUS is leaving us.
After a year of serving seasonal and fresh food out of POP at 604 Gallatin Ave., chef Daniel Herget and his team are headed over the river, to take over the former Ru-San’s space in The Gulch, at 505 12th Ave. S.
To be fair, it shouldn’t be too surprising — POP is meant as something of an incubator, so the intent is to road-test, then graduate concepts there. The Gulch shouldn’t be too surprising either, since owners/operators Sarah and Brad Gavigan’s other concept, Otaku Ramen, is in that neighborhood.
The last day to enjoy Little Octopus in East Nashville is July 31. But the POP space shouldn’t stay without a locked-down concept too long — reps told us the plan is to debut a new one in August.
Another impending move: In May, chef/owner Drew Bryant announced that French-inspired Porter House Bistro was losing its lease at 1115 Porter Road.
“The landlord has decided our space is worth much more than we are currently paying,” a social media update said. “We have tried to negotiate, in good faith, a more balanced rate, but it does not at this point look like we were successful.”
Bryant said the French-inspired restaurant would be open in their current location until July 3, and noted that he and his team were “very interested in staying in East Nashville,” and that they were touring properties in the neighborhood.
Another move: Sewing-and-more shop Nutmeg, which opened at the Shoppes on Fatherland in 2014, closed its doors in mid- June, but isn’t shutting down. Owner Meg Anderson said she’d outgrown the shop’s cozy confines.
While she searches for another location in the neighborhood, Anderson is continuing to work out of her dye studio, with plans to keep “grow, grow, growing our Nutmeg Fibers brand and (host) pop up shops and special events.”
High Garden also outgrew their cozy confines, but the husband-and-wife team behind that herbal tea outpost has already secured a new, bigger space here in East Nashville.
At press time, Joel and Leah Larabell were packing up their current location at 1006 Fatherland St., and getting ready to open their new High Garden home at 935 Woodland St. (barring any issues with Metro Codes) on July 11.
The roughly 2,000-square-foot space will give the Larabells four rooms to flank with apothecary-style fun, including a root cellar where they’ll serve house-made kombucha and fermented herbal sodas on draft, and a tea drinking room outfitted with “little tea huts” Joel constructed out of trees from the couple’s property. They’ll have a new kitchen, too, that’ll lead to expanded food offerings, plus restrooms, a nonpay parking lot, and more.
To keep up with the latest: highgardentea.com. And one more Shoppes on Fatherland business graduating to a larger space: Eastside Music Supply — a go-to spot for instruments, boutique effects pedals, and more since 2014 — took over the former Logue’s Black Raven Emporium space at 2915 Gallatin Pike.
The new location ups the EMS square footage from 400 to about 900, which brings room to round things out.
“Our new space is going to lift the restrictions of products and services we’ve had due to the small size at the Shoppes on Fatherland,” owner Blair White told us ahead of the move, noting increased space for repairs and building, and plans for a drum room.
But “the vibe of the store is going to stay the same,” White said. “We are not trying to turn ourselves into a Guitar Center. We will still have very unique, curated, hand-picked guitars, basses, amps, and effects and will be keeping the customer-focused vibe that the musicians in the community have grown to love and expect from us.”
More: eastsidemusicsupply.com.
And a closure: Restaurant and wine bar The Vine, open since 2014 in the 5th & Main complex, shuttered abruptly in late May “due to unforeseen circumstances.” A message announcing the closure at v-thevine.com offered little info, but lots of thanks: “We cannot begin to express our gratitude to our customers, our staff, and our vendors for the past few years of service to our community.”
This is the fourth concept to close in that location (501 Main was previously home to Feast, Germantown Cafe East, and Allium).
COMING SOON
PERHAPS THE BIGGEST COMING- SOON tidbit to get talked about recently — in the literal sense: The Wabash, a huge mixed-use project in the works at 901 Woodland St. from developers/onetime East Nashvillians of the Year March Egerton and Dan Heller.
The building is set to include office, retail, and restaurant space over four stories and 40,000 square feet, its “elegant and modern with a nod to the past” design helmed by East Nashville’s Powell Architecture + Building Studio (also a onetime East Nashvillian of the Year honoree).
It’ll be a minute before we see businesses moving in there — spring 2017 occupancy is the plan.
Renderings and more detail at thewabash.com.
The Wabash isn’t the only theoretical home for theoretical restaurants getting thrown around. The Tennessean reported in May that the Fresh Hospitality restaurant group was in the process of purchasing 969 and 975 Main St. (part of the Hunters Custom Automotive campus), with plans to develop them into “a multi-concept space with more than half a dozen fast-casual restaurants in addition to retail uses.”
The FH folks, who are responsible for Biscuit Love, Cochon Butcher, and a slew of other concepts around town, aren’t the only ones to see food possibilities in that particular area, either. Late last year, the new owners of nearby 974 and 978 Main St. talked plans for a “casual dining restaurant.”
From theoretical restaurants to more solid ones:
The former home of Khan’s Desserts at 733 Porter Road should soon be home to husband-and-wife team Whitney and Khalil Davis’ new The Terminal Cafe.
Whitney told us plans are to serve breakfast and lunch, and host theme nights led by guest chefs, as well as private dinner functions produced by her event company, Pink Mink Productions.
The two owners are longtime East Nashvillians, and bring other hospitality-biz experience to the new venture, too; Khalil is the former co-owner of Gulch spot Coffee, Lunch, and worked with Bongo Java for more than a decade, off and on.
An opening date wasn’t set at press time, but they’re aiming for this summer.
Over where The Wabash is being built, another new neighbor is on the way: Eater Nashville reported that Philadelphia chef Michael Solomonov and his team were working on opening an East Nashville location of their Federal Donuts concept at 900 Main St., in the former Hot Yoga of East Nashville space.
Federal Donuts serves coffee, creative donuts, and fried chicken; Philadelphia has five locations, but this’d be the first Nashville outpost.
No word on timing yet, but worth noting: Solomonov is a James Beard Award winner, which bodes well.
Eater Nashville also got another hot coming-from-outta-town scoop: Popular New York cocktail bar Attaboy, they say, is planning an East Nashville location, too. Last we heard, plan was for late summer at 8 McFerrin Ave.
All that food talk got you feeling a bit bloated? We’re also due to get a new “smartgym method” workout space.
Quantify Fitness is aiming to open this summer at 224 South 11th St., in the Fatherland District, with an approach based on “optimal results in minimal time,” with workouts of as little as 10 to 20 minutes. Owner Josh Jarrett told us he was hoping to soft launch in mid-July. Lots of info at quantifyfitness.com.
A chance to work out your brain, too: “A nook for people who love books” called Her Bookshop is slated to open this summer at 1006 Fatherland St., #103A, in the Shoppes on Fatherland.
Owner Joelle Herr told us she’d have “a little of everything, with a slight focus on illustrated, gifty books” in the shop. At press time, the longtime publishing pro, author, and born-and-bred Middle Tennessean was shooting to get the doors open in late June.
Another new addition to the Shoppes, Gift Horse, will be located at 1006 Fatherland St., #301 and has a grand opening planned for Saturday, Aug. 13.
Long-time East Nashville residents Jessica Maloan, co-founder of Porter Flea, and Andy Vastagh of Boss Construction, a full-service design and screen print studio specializing in handprinted concert posters, have teamed to open the shop which will feature handmade greeting cards, art prints and other gifts. Hours will be 12-6 p.m.Tuesday – Friday; 10-6 p.m. Saturday; 12-5 p.m. Sunday. More info is available at gifthorsenashville.com