Bar Roza — which focuses on specialty cocktails and a limited menu of small, shared plates — has opened in downtown Nashville’s the Arcade.
Owned by local restaurateur Julia Jaksic, Bar Roza operates from 1,600 square feet in an Arcade Alley building sitting adjacent to the space home to The Peanut Shop. Jaksic is known locally for her cafe concepts Cafe Roze in East Nashville and Roze Pony on the West Side.
The building’s back — and accommodating Bar Roza — fronts Arcade Alley across from bar Buddy’s Tiny Tonk.
Harrison Drost and Owen Gibler at Cafe Roza
Jaksic worked with beverage director Owen Gibler (Mother's Ruin, The Violet Hour, Pouring Ribbons; pictured with frequent collaborator Harrison Drost) to create Bar Roza’s cocktail program.
The intimate space from which Bar Roza operates previously was used by Arcade businesses for storage and features original brick walls and black tin ceilings. A release notes the space offers “clean, inviting lines, warm veining of marble and textural depth of surfaces.”
A few weeks ago, a woman walked into Cafe Roze and asked to sit at a table in the back. She was alone, and the table seats three, but the staf…
The visuals and vibe of the bar space have been influenced by midcentury and Deco Italian design, according to a previous release. Dryden Studio was the architect for the project, with EMC Structural Engineers also having participated in the effort. Both are locally based.
A former New York chef, Jaksic served as executive chef of restaurants Employees Only Singapore and Jack’s Wife Freda. Bar Roza is open daily from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Originally, and as reported in November 2022, Jaksic was eyeing a fall 2023 opening.
An entity that includes local real estate industry veteran Rob Lowe (executive managing director and partner with the local office of Nashville-based Stream Realty Partners) and New York City-based Linfield Capital owns the Arcade (and the building from which Bar Roza operates), having acquired the property in April 2021.
The Arcade opened in 1902 and offers an address of 65 Arcade Alley. Spanning Fourth and Fifth Avenues North, it was Nashville's first “shopping center,” as it replaced what was called Overton Alley as the city’s retail commerce epicenter.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
