Happy Wednesday, Nashville! It’s November 4.
⛈️ Shower and storm chances today. Cooldown this weekend. High: 75, Low: 49
📍 New in Nashville’s Neighborhoods: a neighborhood’s package theft increase, an arrest in a vet investigation, a restaurant’s permit suspended after a health inspection, a codes audit heads to a new part of town, and more.
📰 Also in today’s newsletter: More restaurant closures and election results.
🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
East Nashville
Crime trend: “There has been an increase in the past month of package deliveries being taken from residences in East Nashville,” a Metro Police spokesperson tells me. I reached out because I noticed property crimes in the East precinct increased almost 30% in the past month compared to the month before. Nearly all of the increase is driven by larceny (theft) cases, which rose from 106 cases to 151. The package thefts are happening “primarily at apartment complexes and around the North 5th Street area,” police said. “There is no firm confirmation that thieves are following Amazon delivery trucks but that is a working theory.” I reported last week on the North precinct’s commander reporting an increase in package thefts in his precinct with thieves following delivery drivers in some cases. You can use this map to see crime reports in your neighborhood.
Arrest in vet investigation: Two of my dogs got routine care here over the years, so I’ve been following the investigation closely. Metro Police detectives and DEA agents searched Caudle Veterinary Clinic on Gallatin Pike yesterday. “The investigation centers around an unlicensed person performing procedures on dogs & cats resulting in adverse outcomes,” police said in this post on X. This started to unravel in September with reports like this one from WTVF: a family said their dog died during a routine surgery, and then no one could find a veterinary license on file in Tennessee. Police confirmed late yesterday that Prashant Pandya was arrested for a felony charge of impersonating a veterinarian.
Gallatin Pike repaving: Repaving the southern section of Gallatin Pike is set to start this week, NDOT said. “Safety improvements and striping are also continuing in areas not being resurfaced,” it shared. More: other safety projects expected to be completed by the spring.
Near North Nashville
Restaurant’s permit suspended: Moldy salsa, bread, hot dogs, and noodles. Those are just some of the concerns flagged by a health inspector who reviewed Staley’s Chicago Italian Dining at 614 18th Avenue North. The inspection mentions temperature-sensitive foods sitting at room temperature for four hours because no one was at the restaurant to take a food delivery. It also says “evidence of roach activity supports an infestation issue.” The restaurant scored a 67, with a follow-up needed after its permit was suspended. You can read all of what the inspector found here.
South Nashville
Fighting flight paths: A group that’s suing over the FAA’s new flight paths over South Nashville asked for donations to cover its legal fees. Course Correct Nashville says about 350 flights depart Nashville International Airport each day, and more than 150 of the flights “are now being funneled over one narrow corridor.” The group argues the FAA’s process to finalize the flight paths was flawed. It’s raised about $23,000 of its $100,000 goal listed on this fundraising website. The Metro Council will consider this week whether to ask Nashville’s airport board to collaborate with the FAA to “review the effects of flight patterns on affected neighborhoods.” A proposed amendment to the request said state and local elected officials have been told that the new flight paths are final.
Wedgewood-Houston
Losing money: Attendance at the Nashville Fair dropped 31% compared to last year after extreme heat and several days of rain, fair manager Scott Jones said. “Talking with other fairs that were basically going on at the same time as us, these are about the numbers that they pretty much experienced,” he said. The fair lost 52 cents for every dollar it spent, according to a finance staffer who presented to Metro’s Fair Board yesterday. The fair brought in $372,100 so far this fiscal year while spending $771,152.
North Davidson
Codes audit: I’ve reported for months on a codes audit in the Antioch area, and now it’s come to northern Davidson County. It’s essentially proactive codes enforcement. Instead of waiting on someone to complain about a property, Metro Codes looks for properties in violation of Metro property standards. This time, it flagged five properties on Chesapeake Place and two on Richmond Hill Drive — mostly for issues like junk on the property, parking on the grass, or broken down vehicles. All of the properties were issued an abatement notice, which is basically a warning to resolve any issues.
Brentioch
Restaurant gets a 69: The health inspector who visited Midori Japanese Korean Restaurant at 5628 Nolensville Pike reported “several live cockroaches under prep table inside kitchen,” along with concerns about hand washing, food storage, and food temperature. You can read the full inspection here. I share all of the restaurant inspections at the end of the newsletter.
Downtown
Courtyard renovations: Renovations to the courtyard of the downtown library should start soon. The library just got a permit for $3.5 million in construction. This note from the library will give you an idea of what the new courtyard will look like. “Library officials closed the courtyard in the fall of 2024 after tree roots perforated the adjacent parking garage roof, resulting in a leak hazard,” the library said.
12 South
Burger Up property’s next chapter: Levain Bakery just got its building permit for $600,000 worth of renovations at 2901 12th Avenue South. When I had a Levain cookie while visiting New York last month, I was surprised by the cookie’s thickness. You’ll find the different flavors near the bottom of this page.
Old to new: And just two blocks away… building permits have been issued to replace an old home at 1115 and 1117 Halcyon Avenue with two new homes, each with more than a million dollars in construction costs. Both are supposed to be two stories with a basement.
Bellevue
Halfway to goal: You can help support Warner Parks with this specialty license plate. Part of the money from every plate sold goes to Friends of Warner Parks. A thousand people need to preorder the plate before the state will produce it. The nonprofit says it’s halfway to that goal. This link shows you what it’ll look like and how to preorder.
Opening today: After I sent yesterday’s newsletter, Nothing Bundt Cakes responded to my email to let me know it plans to open today at 8133 Sawyer Brown Road. The cake shop’s Google listing initially said it would open yesterday. You can see the menu here.
Hermitage
Brenda’s Boxes of Blessings: Passing along this note from Metro Council member Erin Evans… Brenda’s Boxes of Blessings is back. Brenda Williams spends months collecting toys. Then, she gives them out to kids for Christmas. WKRN profiled her work earlier this year. If you’re able to help, just click here. And one more positive note: Metro Council member Jordan Huffman said he’s working with Evans on displaying artist Phil Ponder’s work in more public spaces, including possibly Old Hickory Boulevard at Central Pike, after Ponder’s death in September.
📰 A few more stories I’m following…
Election results: Here’s a link to results from Tennessee’s Secretary of State.
Three restaurant closures: Henrietta Red in Germantown said it’ll close in April. “Our lease is ending and the property is for sale,” the chef said. Urban Cookhouse in Midtown Nashville closed on Friday. And Vega Shawarma in Madison will close on November 19. “As with many small businesses in this day and age we just could not keep up with rising costs so we made the hard decision to close down Vega so we can put all of our effort in to [sister restaurant] Lyra,” it said on Instagram.
Poll results: I asked nash.news readers whether they expect to use toll lanes now that we know the rate caps. 90% of respondents said no. 10% said yes.
🍽️ Restaurant inspections
Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan