Charlotte Avenue Briefs

New Fire Station #19 breaks ground
Mayor Dean and other public figures broke ground for a new Fire Station 19 a block off of Charlotte on 26th Avenue (across the street from the new Public Health Center). The project is scheduled to be complete sometime in the fall.

New salon coming to 42nd/Charlotte development
Green Pea Salon (of 12South) is opening another location and will fill out the remaining empty parcel of the development that currently houses Blooma Yoga Studio, Flip Burger and Beer Pale. This would be third hair salon to enter the local market. Monty's has been open since last summer (Charlotte/46th) and East Nashville salon, Scout plans to open a location in Sylvan Park.

West 46th
The planned apartment complex at the corner of Charlotte/46th - West 46th - has a construction fence up and some grading equipment on-site. Scheduled to be open Spring 2016.

OneC1ty updates site plan
One C1ty has released an updated site plan for their major development at Charlotte/28th Ave. The first building broke ground several weeks ago and the City Blox portion of the development (that implements the use of large storage crates) is moving along nicely as well.

BRT lite coming to Charlotte Ave this March

The BRT lite line that was promised in Dean's budget for this year is becoming a reality. MTA officials have started holding public meetings to discuss the new service which is said to be online by March of this year.

The service will follow the same general path of the existing #10 route except that it won't divert from Charlotte at all. The current #10 route does a loop through the Charlotte Park neighborhood off of Annex and then another loop through the hospital district in midtown.

The aim of BRT lite is that there are fewer stops and more frequent service. The BRT lite service will run every 15 minutes on the weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends. Stations have not been set yet, but there are proposed stations in the presentation that is available online here.

Flip Burger opens TODAY!

The long awaited opening of burger boutique FLIP Burger is happening today. A lot of people have been salivating for weeks as progress on the burger joint has creeped along. If you want a preview of the menu, just click here. 

Based on the buzz surrounding this establishment, I fear it's going to be similar to Hattie B's opening (read: long lines). Good luck getting in!

IKEA is coming to Tennessee! Wait....Memphis?!?!

It's been confirmed. IKEA will be opening a store in Memphis. You read that right, MEMPHIS. While our "It City" has been on a seemingly unstoppable roll - this news no doubt has a lot of Nashvillians scratching their heads and wondering "Why not us?".

Rumors started to heat up yesterday amid a mysterious press conference to be held the following morning by Memphis mayor AC Wharton. The news broke late last night that it was indeed IKEA reps that would be standing on the podium next to Wharton to make the announcement that Memphis will be the first Tennessee city to land the Swedish furniture giant.

The press conference began at 11am this morning, and the few tidbits that I've gathered are that the store will be located in the Cordova area just south of I-40 behind a Costco. They plan to open in Fall of 2016.

While this news may seem to further diminish Nashville's chances of landing an IKEA store, Ryan Poe, a writer for the Memphis Business Journal, had this to tweet leading up to the presser:

And then this tweet came during the press conference:

So while this isn't anything concrete (more particleboard-ish...like most of IKEA's furniture) - it does give Nashvillians a bit of hope. And hey, even if we don't hear about an IKEA in Nashville before the Fall of 2016 - at least Memphis is 45 mins quicker than Atlanta...and we've still got better BBQ.

UPDATE:
Nashville Business Journal senior reporter Adam Sichko had a brief discussion with IKEA spokesperson Joseph Roth who was in Memphis today and was able to dive a little deeper into the how and why of IKEA's decision to open in Memphis. Great read here.

Business is Booming

What a year 2014 has been for Charlotte Avenue. So many positive things have happened this year–yet on the horizon–2015 is shaping up to outdo its predecessor.

A lot has happened since I last logged in (on Charlotte and in my personal life!), so here's a glimpse into what you may have missed, and what's coming "down the pike"...

• OAK Nashville opened on Black Friday - check em out!

• The Beer Pale has been open for business now for a little over a month and they've already made Thrillist's top 8 new bars in Nashville! thebeerpale.com

• Victory Tattoo has been open for almost two months now, they are located across from Richland Park.

• Primrose School Midtown is now open and taking applications

• Nashville Fit Lab, a nutrition, strength and conditioning fitness facility just recently opened in the space near Calypso.

• Blooma Family Yoga Studio had their grand opening last month. They are next door to The Beer Pale.

• Delinquent Debutantes, at 3723 Charlotte Avenue has been a open for a few months. I had to look this one up...it is a burlesque dance studio...didn't know that kinda thing existed, but if you're into it, you now have a place to go on Charlotte!

As for what's upcoming, here's a list of things that we should see in 2015:

• Flip Burger is getting closer to opening their doors. Latest forecast looks like late January.

• At Home - a home furnishings store is currently gutting the Strike N Spare with plans to open in the spring(?). Sad to see S&S go, but there are rumors that they want to relocate on the west side somewhere.

• A Panda Express is said to be moving in at the corner of Charlotte/Hillwood (I believe there used to be a Shell station here)

• Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant will be relocating a few blocks west - they pulled a permit to renovate the abandoned Hieu Giang Pho Vietnamese restaurant (not Kien Giang, which is up the hill in the K&S World Market shopping center) that is just past the White Bridge intersection on the south side of Charlotte. They look to open the new cantina in early 2015. No word on what's happening to the old building.

• Nashville West developers are looking to add two or possibly three new restaurants to the western portion of it's shopping center with a 70,000 SF hotel. One of the restaurants will be Outback Steakhouse, the other two were not named, but it was said that these establishments already exist in the Nashville market. A Pollo Tropical is also said to be opening a location here.

• Construction fences are up for the following:
  Hill Center Sylvan Heights (Charlotte & 40th)
  West 46 Apartments (Charlotte & 46th)
  OneC1ty Blox - not sure on when this is supposed to open, but there are two confirmed tenants: Avo, which is a raw, plant based restaurant and Nashville Sports Leagues will be moving their offices here as well.

That's all for now! Happy Holidays everyone.

OAK Nashville coming to Charlotte Avenue

A new, unique home furnishings store will be opening on Charlotte Avenue this year, and we took a moment to chat with owner, Ginny Pope as she prepares to open her doors...


Tell us a little about yourself, where you're from and why you decided to open Oak Nashville.

A little bit about myself.... hmmmmm, where to start?  I'm super funny (so I tell myself), my favorite color is black (not sure that's a real color) and in another life I'm pretty sure I would have been a great drummer in a rock band. 

My husband and I are both from the Middle Tennessee area.  We moved away for about seven years and have been back now for four years and loving it. We decided to open OAK Nashville to help people find one of a kind (OAK) items that inspire them to reimagine their space and redefine how they live in it. We also wanted to offer these one of a kind pieces at an affordable price. 

Is this your first endeavor into owning your own business?

This is definitely not our first rodeo, however this is the best one by far. In the past, money was the main driver in opening past companies and this one has been built on a passion for creating and learning to create new things.  With the failure of past businesses or deciding to walk away for various reasons, we were no longer interested in building an empire, we were more interested in building a life.  I used to define myself by what I did and now I choose to define myself by who I am.  Probably way more info than you were seeking, but I'm an open book. 

Give us glimpse into what sort of things your store will offer and when you plan to open your doors.

Most of the items in our store have been found and given new life or created by local artisans and craftsman.  We also have gifts, furniture, accessories, lighting, pillows, artwork and much more.  If we don't have what you're looking for, we'll find it or build it.  We will also offer classes each month.  Classes will range from painting a piece of furniture to Intro to Tools to building a piece of furniture.  We want to empower people to create things. Although it is our third "open" date, we hope to officially open our doors on September 29th! I can't believe it!

What made you decide to open your business on Charlotte Avenue?

Well, we live in Sylvan Park, so selfishly we wanted to be as close to our neighborhood as possible, plus we LOVE our neighborhood.  We also felt like the "west" side needed more small, locally owned businesses to bring some Nashville flavor to the area.  It's definitely getting there and we are super excited to be part of what Charlotte Avenue is becoming.  Headquarters, ML Rose, Hattie B's, Porter Road Butcher Shop, FABU, Yoga Harmony and many more have paved the road for the rest of us deciding to call Charlotte Avenue home. 

How did you come up with the name OAK Nashville?

OAK actually stands for one of a kind.  The idea for OAK started years ago when I was working for a designer in Atlanta.  Although her pieces were absolutely beautiful, I was never able to afford anything she had.  Being a young professional at the time, it was super frustrating.  It seemed like I would have to wait until I retired to actually buy a quality/unique piece of furniture.  Fast forward several years later when we moved back to Nashville.  We had the opportunity to build our dream home in Sylvan Park.  All our money was spent on building our home, so by the end of it, we didn't have any money left to invest in pieces that really spoke to our style, so I just started building and refinishing furniture.  From there, people started asking me to build or refinish pieces for them.  A quarter life crisis and some wine finally pushed me to officially launch OAK Nashville.  

Are there any particular businesses or restaurants you would like to see open on Charlotte Avenue? 

Word on the street is FLIP burger is coming to town (actually across the street from us), so that makes me super happy.  Other than a good cheese burger (thank you ML Rose), I can't really think of another business I'd like to see over here.  Scratch that, I would LOVE Barista Parlor to open a location on our side of town.  I would literally eat a sausage biscuit and drink a vanilla bourbon latte every day.  I could literally fund their location on Charlotte by my obsession with their coffee and biscuits. Then I would need to get a membership at Yoga Harmony....

What I'd really like to see are more small, local businesses on Charlotte.  I feel East Nashville has mastered what that looks like.  Maybe a small business incubator to help companies get off the ground (similar to the Shoppes on Fatherland).  That would be awesome.  We need to support the small businesses in Nashville.  They are defining what this city looks like and they will help define what Charlotte looks like as well.

What is your favorite thing about Nashville?
The community.  I never really knew the Nashville community until I started OAK.  Meeting people in the community, partnering with people in the community and just getting to know the community of craftsman and artisans has been such a rewarding process.  There is no place like Nashville when it comes to opening a new business.  The support and help we've received has been incredible.  It has literally taken a village to launch OAK and help open the doors to our store.  It wouldn't have been the same journey without the support and help from the community.

Taps at the Beer Pale will be flowing soon

I recently was in touch with Myers Lambert and John Craver – owners of The Beer Pale – who will soon open a beer filling station at the adaptive-reuse development at Charlotte/42nd. They were gracious enough to spend a little time telling us about who they are and what The Beer Pale is all about.

CAISU: Tell us a little about yourselves, where you're from and why you decided to open The Beer Pale.
(Myers) Originally, I am from Lewisburg, TN.  Ended up going to Battle Ground Academy from 7th-12th grade.  John and I met there and have been friends ever since. We always wanted to start a business, but we just didn’t know what that was! I called John a little over two years ago with the idea of opening a growler bar and to see if he was interested. We both were pretty tired of working for other people, so we gave it a shot.
(John) I was born in Nashville and moved to Arrington (outside Franklin) so my mom could start her own horse farm/riding academy. Myers' father owns Lambert Lumber in Lewisburg. So we both came from parents who run their own businesses. Seeing that side of things, where there is no day off and you eat, sleep and breathe for the business it gave us a perspective a lot of new business owners don’t have. The hard part was finding something to put everything we had into. Luckily we both love beer and figured if we can’t sell beer, there is probably not much we can sell. 

CAISU: Give us the low down on The Beer Pale experience (beer only? serving food? how many beers do you hope to have on tap? is this a bar too or just a filling station?)

24 taps. Beer is the only alcoholic drink. We will be serving Coke products as well. We will be serving food. We will be opening everyday @11, so please come for lunch! This is a bar as well, so you can sit down and enjoy a pint! Charlotte is where we’ve always wanted to be. We looked at a couple of different locations located in Nashville and Franklin. Charlotte is where it’s at especially in the coming years. 

CAISU: Is this your first endeavor into the restaurant/bar biz?

(Myers) Definitely our first endeavor, but we have both restaurant/bar experience.  We both work for Lipman Brothers, a Tennessee distributor for beer, wine, and liquor.  I have worked in the business for about 12 years now.  I use to work at Frugal MacDougals doing various things from cashier, stocker, and warehouse manager.  

(John) I worked in several different restaurants in Nashville, Knoxville and Franklin, doing everything from bussing tables to management. The ownership side is definitely new though. It’s been fun to actually start a place from the ground up, making every little decision along the way. From the floor plan, to light fixtures, to wall colors. Hopefully people like what we have done, if not I’ll just say that was Myers choice. (only kidding)

CAISU: When do you hope to open?

Any day now. Everything depends on construction and beer permit. We are going to open with a pretty simple menu. Just sandwiches, salads, and a few appetizers. We want to make sure we can do a few things well before we try to expand our food menu. We will also have some domestic cans and bottles of the bud/miller/coors variety. Of course we prefer craft beer and want to help grow the craft beer scene in Nashville as much as possible, but we don’t want to be beer snobs and we have some friends and family that don’t drink craft beer…Yet!

CAISU: What made you decide to open your business on Charlotte Avenue?

West Nashville is way underserved in many areas, particularly bars and restaurants. It feels like the perfect time and the perfect place for us to start  our business and become part of the fabric of the community. 

CAISU: How did the name "Beer Pale" come about?

(John) I think coming up with names can sometimes be the hardest part. Whether it’s your children’s names, a band name or a business. Good or bad, you’re gonna be stuck with it. When we were researching growlers and finding out they used to be metal pails, that led to Beer Pail. We both love Pale Ales, so the play on words of "The Beer Pale” just kind of felt right. If people don’t like it, I get the blame on this one.

CAISU: What are some of your favorite beers right now?

(Myers) Good People IPA, Sweetwater IPA, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Yazoo 10 year, Yazoo Pale, AND the go-to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

(John) Founders All Day IPA, Yazoo 10 year,  Little Harpeth Stax, TN Brew Works Cutaway IPA