Noshville Takes Its Bagels Into A Doughnut County

By E. Thomas Wood
– NashvillePost.com –

Hail a cab or saddle up the Escalade: There’s another Noshville in the works.

The New York-style diner concept will expand to Cool Springs later this year, bringing a certain hint of urbanism to the exurb and putting a whiff of corned beef and Dr. Brown’s root beer into the rarefied air around the patch of former pasture land along I-65 South that has become a major office and retail hub for Middle Tennesseans.

Majority owner Tom Loventhal says developers from Memphis-based Boyle Investment Co. approached him about moving into their Meridian Cool Springs office/retail/hotel complex, which has been underway in phases since mid-2005. According to Loventhal, construction will start in April or May, with the restaurant set to open in August.

Noshville is just the latest of many Nashville eateries to follow the money to Cool Springs. Sportsman’s Grille, Green Hills Grille, Jonathan’s, Sperry’s and a host of national chains have figured out that putting a reasonably priced eatery out there is like printing money. But the Meridian location will actually be something of an oasis within its quadrant of Cool Springs, as it will sit across I-65 from most of its competitors, which are clustered around Cool Springs Mall, and across Moore’s Lane from others on its side of the interstate.

"I didn’t want to go in on the mall side because it already has a ton of restaurants," Loventhal said in an interview Monday. "I would just be another face in the crowd." The restaurateur noted that the location on the other side of I-65 offers the best of both worlds for Noshville, as the diner can serve a business clientèle during the week and residents of upscale housing developments nearby on the weekend.

The original Midtown location of Noshville, which opened in 1996, and the Green Hills diner that opened in 2004 have each become magnets for breakfast and lunchtime crowds of business people seeking a quick way to fortify themselves in a central location where they can meet up with others of their ilk.

The new location will be on Carothers Parkway between the Corporate Centre development and the headquarters of Primus Financial Services. Boyle, which acquired the property from Primus in 2005, has built the recently occupied headquarters of Community Health Systems, a Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn and other structures on the 40-acre tract.

Highwoods Properties is building a new headquarters for Healthways nearby, and Nissan North America’s new headquarters will be a short drive down Carothers. The Primus building has been converted into multi-tenant space and now houses a Nissan call center as well as the main offices of local firms Cybera and Spheris.

Loventhal said other restaurants as well as office space would be part of the project that includes Noshville. A Boyle representative could not be reached today for further details on the project.