Good morning, Nashville! It’s Monday, September 14th. New in Nashville’s neighborhoods: a beloved restaurant’s new home, the end of a bitter petition drive, a lawsuit over alleged “unnecessary force” at a bar, what TDOT will pay people and businesses forced to move for toll lanes, and much more.
⚡ Top stories
☀️ Weather
High: 94, Low: 71. Sunny!
🚦 The cost of “no right on red”
A controversial proposal to ban right turns at some red lights across Nashville is scheduled for its second of three votes by the Metro Council tomorrow night. Council member Sandra Sepulveda filed the legislation in July after a rise in pedestrian deaths in Nashville. According to an estimate just released by NDOT:
Each “no right on red” sign would cost $20 and installation would cost between about $230 and $500 each depending on whether NDOT or a contractor installs it.
NDOT said the original version of the bill, which impacted intersections across the city’s most populated areas known as the Urban Services District, would cost:
about $1 million for signage “at 418 pedestrian signals,” and
another $7.8 million if NDOT installs electronic “no right on red” signs.
However, I reported last month that multiple council members said they would not support the legislation unless it was scaled back. Sepulveda has signaled to multiple media outlets she plans to cut the number of impacted intersections, meaning the total cost for signage will likely change if the legislation passes. I’ll be watching for Sepulveda’s amendment today. An NDOT spokesperson did not respond to my questions about its cost estimates.
💰 Car companies to pay Nashville for the “Kia Boys”
Viral social media videos showed thieves, who became widely known as the “Kia Boys,” how to take advantage of a security flaw in Hyundais and Kias to steal the cars with something as simple as a USB cord.
Nashville sued after it said the “lack of reasonable anti-theft devices” led to a 555% increase in stolen Kia and Hyundai vehicles from 2022 to 2023. The companies just agreed to pay Metro about $748,000 to settle. The Metro Council is scheduled to vote on the settlement tomorrow.
Nashville’s on a much better track now with auto thefts. Reports have fallen more than 34% since last year, according to police data.
🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
West Nashville
A beloved restaurant’s new home: Melissa’s Sir Pizza was forced to close this summer after 60 years because, it said, the landlord sold its property on Charlotte Pike to make way for condos and apartments. The restaurant just announced it hopes to reopen by the end of the year at its new location at 1109 63rd Avenue North. In a Facebook post, the owners asked for “any recommendations, connections, or advice” so they can “move through this process as quickly as possible.”
Wedgewood-Houston
Petition drive ends this week: The latest fight over racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds has involved calls to police and alleged lies. The first step in asking voters next year to eliminate the racetrack wraps up on Friday. That’s when a petition in support of amending Metro’s charter needs the signatures of 10% of registered voters. If the petition drive is successful, the question could be on the ballot next year.
Bridge reopening: TDOT said it expects to complete repairs to the Hamilton Avenue bridge over I-65 by the end of the year. The bridge suddenly closed last week after TDOT found damage to the bridge deck. “The north sidewalk will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists” until construction starts late this month or early next month, TDOT said.
New coffee shop: Akirae Coffee and Tea just received a building permit to open at the Standard Assembly apartment building (715 Merritt Avenue).
Downtown (and nearby)
“Krooks” ban around Broadway: A Nashville judge banned nine scammers who target tourists and drunk people from going to the most touristy areas of Nashville around lower Broadway, Metro Police said. The alleged members of the “Krooks” gang convince people to hand over their phones under the guise of selling clothes or other merchandise, according to police, and then transfer money from the victims via a payment app. “If a victim detects/objects to the scheme, Krooks members are reported to have escalated encounters to intimidation and even assault,” police said.
“Unnecessary force” lawsuit: Two men sued the Red Door Saloon and Good Will Protection Services because the men claim multiple security guards attacked them after they tried to enter the bar last April. The lawsuit alleged the guards threw one of the men to the ground and then kicked and assaulted him, and the guards pushed the other man into the road. The lawsuit doesn’t give detail on how things escalated, but it calls the use of force “without justification or legal cause.” It asks for $400,000 in damages for personal injuries and other costs, along with punitive damages. I reached out to the bar and security company for comment. I’ll let you know if they respond.
East Nashville
The short-term rental that won’t quit: A home at 1016 Lischey Avenue already had an injunction against operating a short-term rental for three years, but Metro Codes said it’s on Airbnb anyway. Metro told the owner to “remove all ads and stop short term renting.” The three-year ban comes from a 2025 order when a judge found the property was operating illegally as a short-term rental without a permit.
Junk at construction site: A complaint to Metro Codes about a property at 604 South 16th Street said no one’s been on the construction site since June, a dumpster is overflowing with trash, “and people continue to toss their trash into the dumpster and/or around it causing a mess.” Codes sent a notice to the owner to take care of the trash, along with high grass on the property.
Dickerson Pike’s transformation: Along with the apartment projects going up in this quickly-changing part of town, now there are plans for a new 9,000 square-foot fitness studio called Big Pretty Moon Fitness at 1402 Dickerson Pike. I’ll let you know if I find out details about what the studio will offer and when it’ll open.
South Nashville
Payments for forced moves due to I-24 toll lanes: TDOT revealed how much it’ll pay homeowners and businesses for moving expenses, in addition to fair market value for properties, if they’re forced to relocate to make room for the $9 billion I-24 toll lane project from roughly I-440 to Murfreesboro. Details in this article by Main Street Nashville. Tennessee’s comptroller said last week he’ll consider Nashville State Representative John Ray Clemmons’ request to investigate the winning bid, WSMV said, after Tennessee’s attorney general declined to investigate. He requested the investigation after The Tennessean reported a former member of Governor Bill Lee’s administration took a job with one of the companies involved in the winning proposal.
Nolensville Pike widening: Access to Sugar Valley Drive at Nolensville Pike will reopen in mid-October, Nashville State Representative Caleb Hemmer shared. The closure is part of TDOT’s widening of Nolensville Pike from near Old Hickory Boulevard to north of Mill Creek to five lanes.
Library reopening: The Edmondson Pike library branch will reopen on September 28, the Nashville Public Library announced. It’s been closed for HVAC upgrades.
Donelson
A neighborhood visit by Metro Codes: After someone submitted a complaint about junk and debris at a home on Sanborn Drive to Hub Nashville, a Metro Codes inspector told its owner and the owners of two other properties to address issues like junk and tall grass. If you have a concern in your neighborhood, you can submit a report here.
Trinity Hills
Motel converting into apartments: Motel rooms at the former Days Inn at 1400 Brick Church Pike will be converted into 114 studio apartments, a new building permit application said. The average rent for apartments (not just studios) across Nashville is $2,200, according to Zillow.
📰 A few final headlines…
First guests at Dolly Parton’s new hotel: Reservations open today at the SongTeller Hotel in Downtown Nashville. “The venues will come alive with a dynamic lineup of live performances and entertainment programming, including Dolly Parton's family members and emerging artists. Parton's cousin Richie Owens will perform September 16 at Parton's Live, with Parton's niece Jada Star launching her twice-weekly artist-in-residence September 17 and September 19,” Dolly’s team said in a press release. The hotel and Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum will have a grand opening on September 29. Also, in case you missed it, Nashville’s airport board took the first step on Friday to rename the airport in honor of Dolly by changing its naming policy. The airport’s new name and more detailed plans for making the change are still in the works, the airport said.
Increased hiring for Music City Loop: After The Boring Company raised $3 billion from investors, it said the company will use some of the money to “significantly increase hiring across engineering, operations, and production, to build and scale Loop projects,” including the Music City Loop. I saw at least 30 jobs posted for the Nashville project.
Poll results: I asked nash.news subscribers on Friday whether they support any form of marijuana legalization in Tennessee. 74% of respondents said yes.
🧠 Today’s quiz: This or that
Test your memory of Friday’s newsletter.
Which project is larger? Redevelopment of the former Lincoln Tech property in East Nashville or Modera Chestnut Hill?
🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville
Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan
The story of "The Krooks" may sum up Nashville's pending doom better than any other. We have something we used to call "criminals" who roam the street preying on people, steal from them, and we basically ask them nicely, "Can you please not do that?' Better idea: imprison them for long periods. Let's say at least 5 years. All of them. Then get police undercover on Broadway to find the others. What is it with the leaders (and voters) of Nashville?
RIGHT TURN ON RED
Before Metro spends another dollar on this, look at the sponsor's own numbers. Sandra Sepulveda posted it herself: since January 2025, there's been exactly one pedestrian death at a crosswalk where right-on-red is even permitted — and her own team couldn't confirm the signal phase, meaning they can't say it was even a right-turn-on-red incident. Zero cyclist deaths in that same window. That's the evidentiary basis for a citywide ordinance.
And it's not a cheap one. This bill requires new signage at 59 intersections just to start, NDOT engineering and safety studies at hundreds more over the next nine months, a 90-day grace period where police issue warnings instead of citations, and a mandatory report back to Council a year from now. That's staff time, signage installation and maintenance, and enforcement hours — all spent chasing a problem the sponsor's own data says has produced one unconfirmed incident in nearly two years.
Meanwhile, Nashville's traffic is already something residents complain about daily. Right turn on red isn't some Nashville quirk — it's been the default at nearly every signalized intersection in America since the 1970s. Removing it at some intersections and not others means more cars sitting through full stops they didn't need to make, multiplied across every commute, every delivery driver, every rideshare trip, city-wide. That's not a safety upgrade, that's added congestion layered onto a system that's already strained — and it runs against the very mobility goals Connect Downtown and NashvilleNext were supposed to deliver on.
NDOT itself said it couldn't implement the original citywide version in the timeline Council wanted and asked for a more balanced, data-driven approach instead. That's the tell. This is a symbolic vote dressed up in a real tragedy, funded by real tax dollars, and paid for in slower traffic for everyone — to address something the data says barely happens.
Fix the roads. Don't tax the city's time and money to override a reflex every American driver already has, based on one unconfirmed incident.