Bank On It

“We don’t know anything about the restaurant business,” says Bernie Strawn, sitting outside the construction zone that occupies the former Davis-Kidd building in Grace’s Plaza. He and his wife Jan plan to unveil an ambitious new restaurant here—Macke’s Fine Dining and Wine Bar—in less than two weeks. But Strawn is being modest. The Strawns already own the hugely successful MacK & Kate’s (see review on p. 55) in Kingston Springs, and if that restaurant can compel out-of-county residents to drive there, this prime location in the heart of Green Hills should be a piece of cake. Once they open, that is. Asked why in the world they would build a second restaurant in the first place, Bernie smiles and says, “Two daughters enrolled in University of Alabama.” The Kingston Springs restaurant is the namesake of the girls and serves as their employer when they are not away at school. The new place (pronounced Mack-ee’s) is named after the elder daughter, with plans to name the next one (?) for Kate. The Strawns, who live in Green Hills, first looked at the Cool Springs area but decided it was too congested and not friendly to independent restaurants. Tennessee Bank & Trust, a new bank with one other Franklin location, had already leased the Davis-Kidd space. The bank president, an acquaintance of the Strawns, suggested they look at the former Bronte’s corner, and then made them a sound offer. Completion of the restaurant is behind the original projection of June. After some soft openings this week, they officially begin cooking and serving Aug. 24. Darrell Manhold, the gifted young chef who with Devin Malcolm helped steer MacK & Kate’s to culinary prominence, is taking over the Macke’s kitchen, leaving the Kingston Springs store to Malcolm. Manhold says the menu will be a bit edgier than M&K’s, with even more focus on fresh fish. Have toque, will travel Summer is traditionally a slow season for Nashville restaurants. As eateries in ocean, gulf, lake and mountain destinations manage two-hour waits for tables, local dining rooms are barely half-full. But behind the scenes, there’s been plenty of traffic in kitchens, and diners will need a program to keep track of the players. Bound’ry, the restaurant that kicked off the development of nightlife in the Midtown area, settled a yearlong business dispute with landlord Jimmy Lewis in June when founder Jay Pennington announced a partnership with businessman Joe Davis. The new structure places Pennington as president of the new management company overseeing Bound’ry and its sister restaurant, South Street Smokehouse and Original Crab Shack. Davis, a Nashville native, owns the legendary Gold Rush bar and restaurant on Elliston Place. He is highly regarded for his philanthropic contributions to the community, particularly as founder of Backfield in Motion, a nonprofit organization designed to assist young inner-city athletes. The Bound’ry’s own backfield is currently in motion, with the loss of two key players in recent weeks. Pastry chef Sam Tucker forwarded his address from 20th Avenue South to 12th Avenue South, when he came into the Watermark kitchen under chef Joe Shaw. Not long after that, chef Ted Prater’s right-hand guy Guerry McComas gave his notice too, and is now cooking at Yellow Porch. Shaw hired Tucker for desserts and bread service at Watermark (which will celebrate its one-year anniversary in October) to replace Nicole Wolfe, the opening pastry chef at the popular Gulch restaurant. Tucker’s fabulous flan has won raves in the dining room and kudos among the kitchen staff, which absorbs another loss when Watermark line cook Estoban Cabrera moves to Franklin next week. Cabrera will join the staff of the Red Pony, a new restaurant in a century-old building on Franklin’s Main Street run by Jason McConnell. McConnell, a CIA grad, worked under Margot McCormack when she was at F. Scott’s in Green Hills. When she left to open Margot’s in East Nashville, McConnell worked his way up to executive chef, then relocated to Arkansas, working briefly in a microbrewery. On his return, he spent several months under Shaw at Watermark. That’s where he became friendly with Cabrera and Nicole Wolfe—who is also hitching up with the Pony. See, you really can’t tell the players without a scorecard. And apparently Watermark has room for more. Kim Totzke—former executive chef at Wild Iris, Yellow Porch, Flying Horse and Cross Corners—and former Wild Iris chef Laura Wilson have encountered another barrier to their plans for a new restaurant on a corner lot in East Nashville. As neighbors and developers clash over razing the appliance building currently at 11th and Fatherland, Wilson has taken a position—guess where—in the Watermark kitchen. She’ll be reunited with Wild Iris alum Jason Love, now Shaw’s sous. Finally, chef Scott Alderson (Lay’la Rul) and the corporate folks at Turnberry Associates—who are partnering with locals Mark Bloom, Ronnie Scott and Larry Papel in the multi-million renovation of Union Station Hotel—continue talks about the hotel’s corner restaurant, most recently occupied by Arthur’s. Hotel restaurants are typically either leased by a national chain or owned and operated by the hotel itself. The first choice has a proven track record in Nashville—witness Ruth’s Chris at Vanderbilt Plaza or The Palm. But The Hermitage Hotel—the city’s most historic hotel proper, since Union Station began life as a train depot—has had tremendous success going the independent route. By investing in dynamic young talent such as Willie Thomas and Sean Brock, the Hermitage distinguished the Capitol Grill as a unique-to-Nashville dining destination. Could something similar happen at Union Station? The Turnberry folks were seen having cocktails last week with Bloom at Radius10—which certainly makes a case for unique to Nashville.