Food Notes: Details released for entertainment concepts in ex-Jones museum space
Details have been released regarding the DraftKings Sports & Social planned for downtown’s former George Jones museum, with the multi-component entertainment concept to open in phases beginning this year.According to a release, Baltimore-based The Cordish Companies plans Nashville Live! to offer — in addition to, and as the Post reported in January, anchor concepts DraftKings Sports & Social and PBR Cowboy Bar — rooftop venue AVA Rooftop Bar, 10,000-square-foot private event space The Gallery (with room to host up to 450 people) and a below-ground speakeasy-style bar.
The cost to get the businesses, to occupy the building’s five levels, operational was not disclosed in the release. The brick building is located in The District at 128 Second Ave. N. and will offer 50,000 square feet of space with the various concepts once it opens.
“It is incredibly exciting for The Cordish Companies to announce this major entertainment district and revitalization project in the heart of historic Second Avenue in downtown Nashville,” Reed Cordish, company principal, said in the release. “With five levels of new-to-market brands including DraftKings and PBR — two of the most exciting names in sports and entertainment — we are creating a premier dining, entertainment, music and sports experience for downtown.”
The release notes that eligible patrons will be able to use DraftKings’ mobile platforms to place bets using the DraftKings Sportsbook app. In addition, they can play daily fantasy sports — via their mobile devices — including football, basketball, baseball, golf, MMA, soccer and tennis.
PBR Cowboy Bar will be a flagship location for PBR with the Nashville Stampede, one of eight teams in a new bull riding league. The release notes 14 locations are planned in other markets.
Cordish’s Live! Concepts draws about 55 million visitors annually to the company’s various restaurant, entertainment venues, hotels, casino resorts and live music venues nationwide.
Atlanta-based The Ardent Companies and local real estate investor Jeffrey Welk paid $28.5 million for the building in July 2022 — only seven months after it changed ownership hands for $21 million.
Based in Boston and founded in 2012, DraftKings bills itself as a fantasy sports contest and sports betting company. DraftKings Sports & Social — a partnership between the company and The Cordish Companies — can also be found in Troy, Mich., near Detroit.
Wedge Pizza and Pub opens in Wedgewood-Houston
Neighborhood bar and restaurant Wedge Pizza and Pub, has opened in Wedgewood-Houston’s The Wedge Building, nashvilleguru.com reports.
The address is 2026 Lindell Ave.
The business operates from 5,500 square feet and offers pool, arcade basketball, a Golden Tee golf simulator and darts. It also offers outdoor seating.
Wedge Pizza and Pub joins Scout’s Barbershop and Th e Loading Dock in the Wedge Building.
Nashvilleguru.com reports the pizzeria’s menu features a Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza with hot sauce, dill pickle and ranch dressing. All pizzas can be made with a cauliflower crust for an additional charge.
Memphis Italian restaurant set for ex-Demos’ space
The owners of Memphis-based restaurant Villa Castrioti will open in downtown Nashville in space last accommodating Demos’ Restaurant in March 2024, Nashville Business Journal reports.
The address is 300 Commerce St.
NBJ reports the first Villa Castrioti opened in Memphis in 1989, with a sister restaurant having opened in Bluff City suburb Lakeland in late 2022. The menu offers standard Italian fare, with entrees starting at $15.
Nashville’s Solomon Builders is overseeing construction, via a permit valued at $42,500, with CS Studio Architecture (which is located in Memphis suburb Germantown) doing the design, NBJ reports.
Demos’ closed in September 2020.