Bill’s Sandwich Palace to Take Over Sweet 16th Space

After more than 18 years at Sweet 16th in East Nashville, Ellen Einstein served her last “one to go” over the weekend. Fans lined up early to enjoy a final meal and give thanks to Einstein, who operated the bakery with her husband Dan before he passed away earlier this year. When Einstein announced the impending closure, the East Nashville neighborhood began to wonder who could fill the void left by the Einsteins' departure.

Now we know the answer. Aaron and Christen Clemins will be moving their popular Bill’s Sandwich Palace into the space with hopes of opening soon after the start of the new year. Aaron burst onto the Nashville restaurant scene thanks to his talent in the kitchens at City House and at his short-lived but beloved Kuchnia & Keller in Germantown. Since 2020, Aaron has operated Bill’s Sandwich Palace on weekends out of the kitchen at his friend Ryan Bernhardt’s TKO in Inglewood.

In addition to those two ventures, the building at 4204 Gallatin Pike is also home to Aaron Distler's Mr. Aaron’s Goods, a bagel, pasta and general mercantile business that delivers house-made goods all over Nashville. Frankly, it was getting a little crowded in there.

“We’ve really enjoyed cohabitating with Ryan and Aaron,” explains Aaron Clemins. “But it was getting pretty tough to operate three businesses out of the same 8-by-8 walk-in. Bill’s features a rotating menu of elevated sandwiches, salads and sides, primarily for carryout. Aaron and Christen menu-plan and prep during the week to prepare for the weekly onslaught of orders, so the opportunity to have their own space should really improve their quality of work life."

The deal to move into the space came out of the blue in a gust of serendipity. Matt Leff of Rhizome Productions is good friends with both the Einsteins and the Cleminses, and he knew that Bill’s was beginning to look for a new home. “We’d been talking to realtors and friends within our circle,” recalls Aaron. “Then Matt called out of the blue and told us that Ellen was retiring. We couldn’t believe it.”

After announcing her well-deserved retirement, Einstein could easily have sold the building to a developer for a hefty profit, but that wasn’t on her radar. “The only way to protect neighborhoods is to encourage local independent restaurants,” explains Christen. “There aren’t a lot of available spaces with character in East Nashville, and we’d been looking all over. It feels like a huge honor to be able to pay it forward and continue to serve the community. Plus, having Ellen as a landlord should be great!”

“Ellen and Dan supported us at City House and Kuchnia, and everybody knows what they brought to the community with that bakery," says Aaron. "We’re just going to try to be as good as they were to everyone.”

After Leff formally introduced the idea to the Cleminses and Einstein in his role as Nashville’s unofficial “business yenta,” Ellen headed to Bill’s to try a sandwich and discuss the potential move. “It felt like we’d known her for a long time,” Christen shares. “She has 18 years of growing this community. We knew what we wanted and what we didn’t. We were just looking for a small space on a corner somewhere, and that’s what she offered us!”

The Cleminses are very aware of the big shoes they have to fill. “We asked Ellen how we can do something at the shop that could be an homage to them," says Aaron. "We will probably have some sort of breakfast sandwich, because their ‘one to go’ has achieved cult status and is really important to people.”

Christen continues: “We’ll always try to find ways to honor them in everything we do going forward. We’ve done a few baked goods, and maybe we’ll run some specials that will remind people of Sweet 16th. We plan to hang a picture of them on the wall as a tribute. They’ll always be part of that space. We feel like Ellen is passing the torch to us, and we’re incredibly grateful.”

This doesn’t mean that everything is going to change about Bill’s Sandwich Palace. “We’ll still be making a rotating menu of small-batch sandwiches with an attention to high quality and low waste, but it’ll be a little different with more space," says Aaron. "Hopefully, we’ll have fewer sold-out items. Initially, we’re talking about being open Thursday through Sunday with expanded hours on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll probably offer some brunchy/breakfasty items on weekends, but mainly we’ll be listening to what the neighborhood wants. Do they want us to be open later so that they can catch a sandwich on the way home?”

Christen expands: “We’re big on conversational research. We want people taking a walk around the neighborhood to stop at Bill’s for a sandwich.”

Aaron sees great possibility in the larger space. “We’re going to just do more of what we’re already doing, things with vegetables, salads and sides. It was hard to do everything we wanted with only two days and the smaller space.”

While Aaron is considering taking on a little more baking in the new location, he’s realistic about what might be best for the business. “I’m talking to friends — bakers and pastry people. My philosophy has always been if somebody is really good at something, why not buy the perfect thing from them instead of trying to replicate it? That goes for bread, baked goods and salumi.”

The Cleminses plan to maintain their “Midwest corner store” vibe after the move. They currently operate with about 80 percent of their business purchased for carryout, but they hope to make more space for dining in. “We’ll have a rail bar and hopefully put out some patio tables in the spring,” says Christen. “We want to make it an easy stop with self-serve options for grab-and-go, but we also hope that neighbors will spend more time here in the shop.”

Aaron is particularly excited about the ability to offer more beverage options. “Our drink game will be strong. In the new space we’ll be able to offer Maypop on tap, and I’m excited to be going into some more international options like this Italian soda that I’m obsessed with. We’re going to have more sodas and some great homemade lemonade and limeade. We’ll also have frozen drinks and some sort of coffee options, but we’re a sandwich shop, not a coffee shop. There is plenty of great coffee in this neighborhood!”

In the meantime, Bill’s Sandwich Palace will continue to operate on weekends at the TKO location while they build out the new space at 311 North 16th St. “It will still be Bill’s Sandwich Palace. Our motto is ‘sandwiches, snacks and shenanigans,’ and we’ll still be heavy on the shenanigans!” Aaron jokes.

While they transition to the new space, one overarching emotion guides the Cleminses. Aaron says, “We feel super grateful to be coming into that space. We’re taking that responsibility seriously.”