When word first came out that Athens Family Restaurant was losing the lease at its location at 2526 Eighth Ave. S., fans were at least slightly calmed by the fact that they would have until the end of May to enjoy a few more down-home breakfasts or Greek-inspired lunches in the diner's convivial dining room. Owner Mohammed Rasras announced that he had already begun searching for a new location, and the neighborhood NextDoor boards were abuzz with rumors about a move to downtown.
Well, not so fast, friends. Earlier this week, Rasras was served with immediate eviction papers based on a loophole in his lease that allows landlords to kick Athens out early. Fortunately, a fix was already in the works while Rasras was shutting down his operation.
Anna Myint and her brother Arnold have been hard at work creating the next iteration of their family’s International Market at the former home of blvd. at 2013 Belmont Blvd. while operating their other restaurant, PM, two doors down the street. Needless to say, that’s a lot of plates to spin at once. As soon as she heard about the plight of Athens back in January, Anna made a call to Rasras asking if she could help in any way.
A solution was discovered in the form of a pop-up residency at PM for the month of June and hopefully beyond. In her official announcement, Myint explains: “We truly support the growth of Nashville and all the new places making this city an ‘it’ city, but in the same breath are saddened to see the places that built Nashville disappear. As lifelong Nashvillians, Arnold and I were saddened to see another one of the restaurants we’ve loved for years close. When we saw the news of Athens' closure, we called and offered Mohammed the opportunity to relocate and do a pop-up of sorts at PM.”
While they're hoping to reopen for a couple more days this weekend to take advantage of Mother's Day, you might want to check their Facebook page for the latest updates, because they are currently planning to pack up their pastichio pans and prepare for a move to the Boulevard. The timing really couldn’t be better for this sort of arrangement, as PM has only been operating from 4 until 10 p.m. during the pandemic, and while Athens had longer hours than that, their menu really revolves around breakfast and lunch food. They haven’t served late-night breakfast for a while now, so their clientele should be pleased at the chance to drop into the new PM iteration from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m., when the kitchen will close for a couple hours to turn around to the PM menu on Wednesday through Sunday.
I see this as a win/win for both businesses and the neighborhood. The Myints have gone out of their way to help out another independent restaurant owner who found himself in a tough spot. Fans of both PM and Athens will still be able to enjoy their individual cuisines through June, and who knows what will happen after that?
While many people in town bemoan the displacement of the sorts of family-owned restaurants that are the backbone of Nashville’s culinary community, usually developers hold all the cards. The fact that an entire strip of businesses like Mamma Mia’s and Back to Cuba were unceremoniously torn down on Trousdale so that a gas station could build a bigger gas station on its footprint is a telling example of how important parts of Nashville’s dining DNA are being squashed.
This time, though, the little guy just might win because another Nashville family was willing to reach out and offer a helping hand. “It really is a beautiful story,” Rasras says. “It has me tickled just thinking about how this other small business owner called to help, and even wanted to keep our loyal and hard-working staff employed as well. This is a fantastic opportunity, and I can’t wait to greet all of our loyal customers in this new space.”
While there will be a couple of weeks when you won’t be able to scratch that Athens itch, hopefully this arrangement will lead to a long-term solution. “We can’t wait to welcome the Athens family to Belmont,” Myint says. “And I can’t wait to eat lunch there every day. Athens is a true Nashville treasure.”
Athens Family Restaurant2017 Belmont Blvd.
