Why Restaurants? Why Nashville? Why now?
On one of my first days as a freshman at Vanderbilt, I remember meeting a fellow student named Aly and beginning to chat about restaurants in Nashville. Before starting at Vanderbilt, I knew Nashville was known for hot chicken and had heard of the famous Pancake Pantry; I was excited to try some southern food and understand the hype surrounding Southern biscuits and grits. However, as soon as I started speaking with Aly and learning more about all the food in Nashville, I realized that there is much more to offer than classic southern food. Aly and I exchanged numbers and she texted me her “bucket list” of restaurants to try before graduating, which I was shocked to see had more than 30 locations. Upon first glance at the list, I was surprised to see restaurants that sounded like they were Mexican, Asian, and Italian. As Aly gave me the lowdown on the places she wanted to try first, I quickly realized how much I had to learn about the restaurant scene in Nashville, and how much I would enjoy living here.
I have always been a foodie and appreciated great food; however, growing up in a small town, we had very few restaurants close to our home. In fact, there are only two restaurants within my town’s borders that my family frequents. We often find ourselves driving 20 or more minutes for great Greek, Thai, or Chinese food. Moving to Nashville, I was excited to discover how many fantastic restaurants were within walking distance from campus; I tried Bella Napoli, Giovani’s, Taco Mamacita, and more within my first few weeks. As the bucket-list that Aly sent me grew with my customizations, I became more and more excited about all the food that there is to try in Nashville.
Four years later, I now find myself as a senior, working at M Street for my HOD Internship. I was first introduced to M Street when I dined at Moto as a freshman. I didn’t realize that M Street Entertainment Group owned not only Moto but also Virago, Saint Anejo, Whiskey Kitchen, Tavern, and Kayne Prime. I slowly tried all of the various M Street restaurants until I was finally able to check them off my bucket-list when I went to Kayne Prime as a junior. I was excited and curious to learn more about how the restaurant group operates. After meeting the Director of People Operations for M Street at a Women in Business event when I was a junior, I was able to secure a spot as a HOD Intern for fall 2018.
As someone who has lived in Nashville for four years and has seen the restaurant industry grow and change, studying this topic is very fitting for me, especially now that I work at M Street and can understand the challenges of this growth first-hand. For this blog, my goal is to understand and quantify the growth in the Nashville restaurant scene, and learn how the restaurant industry is expected to change going forward, even mentioning some of my own predictions. I want to include research on changing demographics in Nashville and quantify these changes with research. I also want to include some conversations I have had with M Street workers to gather their perspectives.
I have seen first-hand how much change can happen in a city over four years. Nashville has changed drastically since I was a freshman, with new restaurants and hotels. I remember when Pastaria opened last fall and Caviar and Bananas opened and closed last spring. The excitement on campus when Biscuit Love opened a new location and Milk and Honey opened in the Gulch was palpable. I want to understand why the restaurant industry has been able to grow and what challenges could prevent future growth, ultimately using this information to help inform strategies at M Street.