It sometimes feels like the only constant in Nashville is change. New residents are still moving to town in remarkable numbers, companies continue to move large corporate headquarters into towering new buildings, and old, reliable restaurants are shuttering and replaced by shiny, new options. Frankly, some parts of the city are unrecognizable from a decade ago.
Major projects like the construction of the new Titans stadium and redevelopment of its surrounding East Bank neighborhood are underway, but still years from completion, and the city has just kicked off a total redesign of the transportation infrastructure that will stretch for over a decade.
But as the calendar flips to 2025, some exciting developments are finally coming to fruition, and the energy they inject into the city is definitely something to look forward to. Here are some upcoming additions to Nashville’s landscape!
The Pinnacle at Nashville Yards
More Info: thepinnaclenashville.com
The Pinnacle will be the gem of the new Nashville Yards project, bringing 19 acres of new residential, commercial, recreational, and entertainment opportunities to the urban core. The live entertainment venue will be managed by global entertainment giant AEG Presents and will anchor the mixed-use district, providing a world-class atmosphere for live performances.
With a capacity of 4,500 seats, The Pinnacle will fit nicely between the Grand Ole Opry House and Ascend Amphitheater, attracting touring artists looking to perform in front of larger audiences without sacrificing the intimacy they would at an arena show. In addition to state-of-the-art sound and production capabilities, The Pinnacle will offer on-site parking and easy walkable access to Broadway, ride shares, and public transportation routes.
Kacey Musgraves has already been announced as the opening night act on Thursday, February 27, followed by an eclectic slate of artists over the next few months, including Deadmau5, Journey, T-Pain, Kevin Hart, and Jack White. There will be something for just about everyone on the performance calendar at The Pinnacle!
Ashwood 12 South
More Info: turnbridgeeq.com
If you’ve driven along 12th Avenue South toward Sevier Park, it’s impossible to miss the huge new development looming over the neighborhood’s north end. The new Ashwood 12 South development will add a host of retail and dining opportunities to the already-burgeoning shopping district. Among the stores already signed on are shoe retailer Birkenstock, jewelry from Kendra Scott, Todd Snyder, eyewear from Krewe, and Rancher Hat Bar.
Dining options at Ashwood 12 South will include La La Land for coffee and specialty toasts, as well as nigiri and rolls from Chicago-based Sushi-San. Flexible office space is also available for companies that want to offer their employees all these amenities while working in one of Nashville’s hottest neighborhoods.
The Arcade: New and Improved!
More Info: dryden.studio
When the Nashville Arcade opened downtown in 1903, 50,000 people showed up to see the new glass-covered shopping atrium modeled after a similar structure in Milan. That’s a pretty amazing turnout when you consider the population of Nashville at the turn of the 20th century was only around 80,000 people. After 120 years, the Arcade has undergone a significant renovation to revitalize it as a shopping, dining, and entertainment destination.
Old favorites like The Peanut Shop and Percy’s Shoe Shine Service still have a home at the Arcade, and new retailers like Faherty, Any Old Iron, Mimi & Dottie, and Songbird will join them. Visitors will also discover new dining and drinking options from the local restaurateurs behind Urban Cowboy, Roze Pony, Tiger Bar, Pearl Diver, and Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge.
As a longtime host to small independent art studios, the reimagined Arcade will still be home to the the Arcade Arts Program, offering periodic exhibitions and events from local artists and galleries.
The New ‘615 Indie Live’ Music Festival
More Info: visitmusiccity.com
Nashville is known as “Music City USA” for more than just country music. From gospel and jazz to rock and Americana, Nashville is a cultural center of many musical genres. The inaugural 615 InMusic Festival on February 1 seeks to recognize the breadth of musical talent in the city.
For one night only, clubs around town will showcase independent musicians and bands to draw attention to two cores of Nashville’s creative scene — local acts and independent music venues. More than 40 bands will perform on 14 different local stages.
Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Music Venue Alliance Nashville, including the organization’s Emergency Relief Fund, which supports independent venues during times of financial crisis. Tickets are available for purchase, and t-shirts featuring all 14 venues are on sale from Project 615.
New International Flights at BNA
More Info: flynashville.com
Try to find a spot to park at Nashville International Airport, and you’ll quickly recognize what a popular travel destination Music City has become over the past decade. On the bright side, those planes travel in two directions, and BNA has plans to greatly expand international flight opportunities that Nashvillians can take advantage of in 2025.
Air Canada will expand service to include seasonal travel to Vancouver, increased flights to Montreal, and the current twice-daily flights between Nashville and Toronto. Other new destinations served by non-stop service from other airlines will include Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and weekly flights to Los Cabos.
Aer Lingus will open a new Nashville-to-Dublin route four days a week, opening Ireland up for easier travel on an 8 ½-hour flight on a modern Airbus A321XLR. Come April, Iceland will be less than seven hours away thanks to non-stop service to Reykjavik via Icelandair. If you’ve ever wanted to see the Northern Lights or experience the awesome natural beauty of Iceland, it’s about to get a lot easier.
Music City Food & Wine Returns!
More Info: conservancyonline.com
The popular Music City Food & Wine Festival will return after almost a decade-long absence. Under the management of local company FW Publishing, the new iteration of MCF&W will be a three-day celebration of local culinary talent staged on the Great Lawn at Centennial Park from April 24 through April 26.
Friday night will kick off with an al fresco dinner in the park featuring some of the best chefs and sommeliers in Nashville. The multi-course seated dinner with cocktail and wine pairings will raise money for the festival’s charitable partners. Saturday will feature a Grand Tasting event where attendees can sample bites from more than 50 local restaurant favorites and drinks from beverage sponsor brands.
The highlight of the weekend will be Saturday night’s edition of the Nashville Scene’s annual Iron Fork competition, where local chefs will compete for the crown by preparing their best dish using a secret ingredient revealed right before they start cooking.
On Sunday, a Food Faire takes over the festival grounds with a gourmet market featuring locally-made products. Dozens of vendors will be offering their wares for sale, and shoppers can get in the eating and buying mood in the Biscuits and Bloody Mary Garden. The day will also offer cookbook signings from local authors, chef demos and seminars, beverage sampling, and live music.
Other festival elements will include special pairings dinners and chef collaborations at restaurants around the city and the Big Gay Brunch, featuring LGBTQ+ chefs in a fun and inclusive atmosphere.
Pro Basketball Women’s League to Play 24-Game Season at Municipal Auditorium
More Info: auprosports.com
Women’s basketball has never been hotter, thanks to the new young stars joining seasoned WNBA veterans. The unfortunate reality of pay disparity means that many of the best players have to travel overseas to play in the offseason to help (barely) close the pay gap between female pros and NBA players.
Athletes Unlimited aims to address that inequity by offering women’s hoopsters the opportunity to stay closer to home to participate in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball. The league invites 40 of the best women’s basketball players in the world to participate in an abbreviated season during the winter, and this year, Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium will host all 24 games of the AUPB season between February 5 and March 2.
The innovative league selects four captains to pick teams every week of the season for five-on-five round-robin mini-tournaments. Athletes earn points for their statistics in the games and their team’s success that week. Each week, the top four points leaders become the captains for the next round, and season winners receive big cash bonuses.
Individual game and season tickets are available and affordable, so if you want to be a part of the women’s basketball revolution and the playoff-intensity race to the championship, grab your seats for Municipal!
New Chinatown District in Antioch
More Info: tnnashvillechinatown.com
A development group has been working on a new dining, shopping, and entertainment district in Antioch at 5255 Hickory Hollow Parkway that aims to bring a taste of East Asia to South Nashville. Tennessee Nashville Chinatown will combine traditional and modern Chinese architecture to offer almost 100,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial space filled with a gigantic Asian supermarket, restaurants, office space, and an events center.
Plans are to open the development in phases, but once the first section is in business during 2025, Nashville shoppers will have a one-stop shopping destination unlike any other in the region.
High-End Retail: Hermès Comes to Wedgewood-Houston
More Info: hermes.com
Nashville’s high-end retail game will continue to expand in the year to come!
Before 2025, the closest Hermès store to Nashville was a three-and-a-half-hour drive away in Atlanta. Fortunately, Nashville is on the Paris-based luxury brand’s radar — a new Hermès store will open in Wedgewood-Houston at 510 Houston St. in the May Hosiery Mills complex, also home to the SoHo House Members’ Club.
Nashvillians can shop for Hermès legendary Birkin and Kelly handbags, home goods, equestrian supplies, ties, scarves and other accessories, jewelry, watches, and fragrances. Considering what those handbags cost, it’s a good thing that Nashville shoppers will at least be able to save a little gas money to get their fix of eye candy.
Exciting New Dining Options
We’ll continue to update you monthly with the latest local restaurant openings via our New Nashville Restaurants series, but there’s one name in particular that we’ve been watching!
Pastis
Right next door to the new Hermès in the Mays Hosiery Complex, Pastis will continue the French theme as the NYC-based restaurant group plans to open an outpost of their uber-popular French bistro concept. The newest Pastis promises a similar inviting ambiance as the original in New York’s Meatpacking District, so diners can expect vintage mirrors and lighting, penny tiled-floors and exemplary service during all three meals of the day, plus brunch.
Any guesses as to the opening date are just that — guesses. The project was first announced in 2022 with plans for the summer of 2023, but construction is still underway. On the plus side, the Pastis location in Miami is now serving after a 2022 announcement, so hopefully, Nashville has the owners’ complete focus now.
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