Good morning, Nashville! It’s Monday, October 26.
⛅ Patchy morning fog with more sunshine and 70s this week. High: 77, Low: 44
📍 New in Nashville’s Neighborhoods: stalled safety projects, the Bluebird Cafe sues, a tire smell complaint, a restaurant closure reversal, protecting a neighborhood from more expansion, a bar’s legal trouble for “unauthorized public performances,” and much more.
📰 Also in today’s newsletter: an updated list of “No Right on Red” intersections, an alleged phone scammer caught, and a check on early voting.
🔒 The Cutting Room Floor
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🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
Downtown
Still unresolved: After an apparently distracted driver hit a pedal tavern on Demonbreun Street and injured nine people, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said some road safety projects in downtown Nashville are still on pause because of a new law passed by the state legislature. I reported in August that the law essentially gives the state more oversight and power in Tourism Development Zones in Tennessee, including downtown Nashville. But it’s led to confusion over what Metro can and can’t do — to the point that an NDOT official said a state commissioner had to “personally intervene” with a film permit. “We’re still coordinating with state partners to see what is still possible,” O’Connell said on Friday.
Will businesses get tax-funded grants? Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell is part of a new state board that will decide whether some of Nashville’s excess tourism tax money goes to grants for downtown bars and restaurants after their property tax bills increased. (State lawmakers limited the money to downtown.) Former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is also on the board, and I reported earlier this month that he said giving money to individual businesses could be a “nightmare” and that the board should “think about things that are going to be for the greater good.” O’Connell was asked to respond on Friday. He said, “I agree with Governor Haslam about the application of these things.” He mentioned the small size of the Metro Police Department’s Central Precinct, and said “we may look at potential for expansion of some kind of public safety expansion there that could include police, fire, and [Office of Emergency Management.]” But O’Connell also said he hopes for “bipartisan legislation that offers people a few types of relief,” though he didn’t give specifics.
Green Hills
The Bluebird Cafe sues: The owners of this iconic piece of Nashville joined neighboring businesses at 4104 Hillsboro Pike to sue over the mixed-use development next door known as The Rosette. The plaintiffs claim their building flooded in 2025 because the team behind The Rosette “rebuilt the drainage at the property line so that the stormwater … had to pass through a grate that was too small to carry it.” They’re asking for more than $300,000 in damages plus punitive damages. You can read the full lawsuit here.
Hermitage
Tire shop cleanup: After someone complained to Metro Codes about the smell coming from trash and tires behind a tire shop at 4724 Old Hickory Boulevard, an inspector told the property owner to address an alleged open storage violation. The inspector is scheduled to visit the property again on November 19 to verify the issue has been addressed.
New bar: Hermitage Social, a restaurant and sports lounge, received a permit to open at 5751 Old Hickory Boulevard. Its operating hours will be limited to 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to the permit. I haven’t seen an opening date. It appears to be replacing The End Zone Sports Bar and Grill.
Sylvan Park
Closure reversal: The owner of Punk Wok at Sylvan Supply (4101 Charlotte Avenue) planned to close the restaurant yesterday after saying on Instagram that “people just quit coming.” Not anymore. “Huge thanks to a partner, CBRE Management & the Sylvan Supply Owner as well as the massive wave of support, we will be able to stay open,” the owner wrote on Instagram. He said he’s taking a few days off and will reopen on Thursday.
West End
Protecting a neighborhood: When Vanderbilt University won rezoning approval last month for its 40-acre “Innovation Neighborhood,” which includes towers as tall as 30 stories, some neighbors worried Vanderbilt could eventually expand further into their neighborhood. Metro’s Planning Commission attempted to address those concerns last week by approving a policy that supports “continued residential uses.” You can see a map of the affected properties on page 8 of this document.
Madison
“Unauthorized public performances”: “Neon Moon,” “Two Princes,” “Goodbye Earl,” “Angel,” “Dirt Road Anthem.” The Lucky Nut bar at 701 Gallatin Pike North just got sued over alleged performances of those songs. Broadcast Music, Inc. claims it’s reached out to the bar more than 70 times about the need to buy a license to perform its songs. Now it’s asking for damages for alleged copyright infringement. You can read the full lawsuit here.
Cane Ridge
New neighborhood: Metro’s Planning Commission approved rezoning to allow 109 homes around 1010 Battle Road. They’ll be part of a 55+ community called Courtyards at Battle Grove. Developers plan to keep nearly 60% of the 82-acre property as open space by building the homes on only a section of the property. You can read more about the plans on page 15 of this document.
Donelson
New transit center: One of the “Choose How You Move” transit projects funded by a half-cent sales tax increase approved by Nashville’s voters is the new Donelson Transit Center. In addition to more bus service, the project includes six bus bays with covered waiting areas and eventually a climate-controlled indoor waiting area. WeGo Transit’s CEO told Metro’s Transit Authority last week that infrastructure improvement designs are going through the permitting process now and “we expect to be out to bid for construction of those improvements by first of the year.” All of the improvements are expected to be finished by the end of next year, according to WeGo’s website.
Antioch (and nearby)
New Second Harvest Food Bank campus: Construction appears to be imminent on a new 200,000-square-foot distribution center at 1301 Donelson Pike. The project just received a building permit for more than $39 million in construction. When Second Harvest announced plans for its new campus, the nonprofit said its current distribution center in Metro Center “has reached maximum capacity.” Nearly 113,000 people are experiencing food insecurity in Nashville, according to data shared by Second Harvest.
Record broken: An Antioch High School football player broke a state record at Friday night’s game, Metro School Board member Cheryl Mayes said. More from her in this post.
Germantown
Fixes at Nashville Sounds stadium: I reported last month that the concrete has settled unevenly in First Horizon Park’s center field, so the edges are being sanded down to prevent anyone from tripping. One of the unanswered questions at the time was who would pay for the fixes, but now Metro’s Sports Authority says it’s responsible. The authority also approved hiring a company to spend about six weeks developing a repair plan. A consultant recently said First Horizon Park, which opened in 2015, will need $107 million in investments over the next 20 years to keep it operating.
Nashville’s oldest library branch: Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie paid for more than 2,500 libraries starting in the late 1800s. The North Branch of the Nashville Public Library is one of them, and now it has a new historical marker to celebrate its 111-year history. More in this video.
Near East Nashville
New Mexican ice cream shop: La Michoacana Deluxe plans to open a new location at 3138 Dickerson Pike, based on a newly issued building permit. The Google listing for the Madison location gives you an idea of what’s on the menu and customer favorites.
North Nashville
Community meeting tonight: Metro Council member Kyonzté Toombs said she’ll give “important updates” tonight about several rezonings. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. You can join in person or virtually. More details here.
📰 A few more stories I’m following…
Updated “No Right on Red” list: WPLN confirmed where NDOT will ban right turns at red lights over the next few weeks. The sponsor of legislation that would’ve implemented the ban at 59 intersections across Nashville pulled her bill after NDOT agreed to roll out changes at some intersections without legislation.
Alleged scammer caught: I rarely see a phone scammer get caught, but Metro Police say a Texas woman was arrested. According to police, she was “involved in a scheme to coerce victims into paying bonds and fees for persons in the Metro jail.” A victim sent $1,275 to an account linked to the suspect, police said. So far this year, Tennesseans have lost more than $8.5 million to scammers posing as the government, according to the FTC. It’s the most common scam in the state for all age groups except for children.
Child sex abuse lawsuit: A federal judge rejected the Diocese of Nashville’s attempt to throw out a lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse by a priest decades ago, WKRN reported.
Early voting check: Davidson County is now pacing 93% ahead of the 2022 midterm and 16% behind the 2018 midterm, according to this dashboard from Tennessee’s Secretary of State. Thursday is the last day to vote early. Here’s a link to locations. Also, Nashville State Senator Heidi Campbell shared this update about voting machine concerns.
🍽️ Restaurant inspections
Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan