Photo: Andrea Behrends
For more than seven years, local chef/entrepreneur Vivek Surti has delighted and entertained his guests at the VEA Supper Club, his semi-regular roving dinner party. With VEA, Surti has collaborated with local chefs and restaurants to present multi-course meals designed around his personal culinary interests. While it has not been a full time gig for Surti, people have asked him for years when he was finally going to open up a restaurant of his own and where he would put it.
Well, the answer to those repeated questions are “really soon” and “in the same building as Mop/Broom Mess Hall.” When Mop/Broom chef-owner Tandy Wilson heard that Surti was searching for a space, he almost immediately reached out with the idea of converting the back room of the cavernous former Kuchnia & Keller into a dedicated dining area for Vivek to share the VEA experience on a regular basis. Surti jumped at the opportunity to partner up with one of his favorite chefs as a landlord, and he’s enthusiastic to actually share the same kitchen since both restaurants will prep and cook in the open kitchen at Mop/Broom.
“I’m really excited to be working side by side with Tandy,” Surti says. “I’ve been an active supporter of Nashville’s restaurants for years, and I usually dine at a new restaurant on the first night they’re open. I’m excited to join into the community, and everyone has been so supportive.”
Surti's new restaurant will be a standalone operation with a separate entrance from Mop/Broom, but guests will be welcome to enter through the larger space or even enjoy a drink and a snack at the bar while waiting for one of the two planned seatings at 6 and 8:30 p.m. With plans to serve Thursday through Sunday nights, the new iteration of VEA Supper Club will take reservations on its website for the full dining experience at a cost of $60 (plus tax and gratuity) for a meal that will feature eight to 10 dishes, from welcome snacks pre-set on the table to multiple courses and desserts.
Surti has named his new spot Tailor. Not to be confused with nearby Taylor Street or 5th & Taylor, the name is extremely personal to his family. “Tailor was my grandfather’s name, based on our traditional family profession. My dad’s father was actually a tailor, and my mother’s grandfather sold sewing machines, so it’s in our blood. It would have been my dad’s name, but his father changed the family name to Surti, because that meant that we come from the larger town of Surat, and that lends a little more prestige.”
If you’ve ever attended a VEA Supper Club event before, you know that Surti is a gregarious host and a fantastic cook. While it will be a multicourse meal experience, don’t call it a tasting menu or a prix fixe dinner in earshot of Surti. “I want people to consider it more like a dinner party," he says. "In India, people don’t traditionally eat out in restaurants often. Indian food is designed to be made in the home, and Indians eat in each other’s houses. We really want to emphasize that feeling of hospitality with high-touch service. We want everyone to leave happier than when they come in.”
Surti has hired local industry veteran Heather Sutherland as front-of-house manager, and it’ll be all hands on deck when it comes to service. The dining room will be arranged around a large table with two-top tables and a six-seat raised dining bar allowing a direct view into the small prep area. While most of the cooking will take place in the other half of the building, Surti intends to plate dishes at the presentation table, like a maestro at his podium. He’ll explain each dish and what it personally means to him before the entire staff comes together to serve the dishes to patrons’ tables. Drink pairings will be offered with every course for an additional cost, ranging from tea to wine to beer to coffee, and guests will also be able to order á la carte from a tight wine, beer and cocktail list.
With plans to change the menu every month, Surti draws from his personal experiences for inspiration. “Growing up as a first-generation Indian-American, I took Indian food for granted. I got made fun of at school when I brought my lunch from home, and when I started to cook for myself I wanted to make stuff that my mom didn’t — pizza, enchiladas, steaks. Over the years, I’ve gone back to my heritage for flavors and ingredients. My parents have taught me to understand my culture and our celebrations by passing on the traditions. I now feel obligated to carry them on.”
He describes his cuisine this way: “We’ll have Indian food on the menu, but homestyle like my mom makes. They won’t be dishes that you’ll see in most Indian restaurants. So many of these dishes are personal to me, but I expect most people have never had them.” That’s why he plans to do more than just describe the ingredients and preparation of each course to diners. “I want to give the context behind the meal. There aren’t many intimate 40-seat restaurants in this town where you can interact like that.”
Surti plans to source from the same local farmers and purveyors that he has used through the years at VEA Supper Club, and those long-term relationships put him far ahead of most restaurants just starting out. He hopes that locals will make plans for regular visits to Tailor, but he also recognizes that tourists will share the tables as well. He sees that as an opportunity to educate them about Nashville.
“It’ll be a fun, lively and homey experience, but I want to showcase the diversity of Nashville. Both Tandy and I grew up in Oak Hill, so I’m a product of this town. Every dish we serve will be the result of input from someone who grew up here. But mainly I hope to provide a unique, fun and delicious dining experience. And I’ll make sure ain’t nobody gonna leave hungry.”
With plans to open sometime this fall, and possibly sooner than later depending on the unpredictable nature of codes and permitting, Surti encourages future diners to follow the restaurant on their website and Instagram for official news about when they’ll first start serving. Until then, we’ll all wait with bated breath!
