Melvil Arnt had a dream: to someday open a wine bar. His father, Laurent Champonnois, had a similar, but a different dream: to someday open his own restaurant.
Arnt, a Parisian who moved to Nashville, had spent years working in cocktail bars and restaurants (influenced by his father, a chef) and missed his native cuisine. So the two combined their dreams into one and their vision is about to become a reality.
Once Upon a Time in France will be a 45-seat restaurant in the old Steak & Pizza spot on Gallatin Avenue (near the West Greenwood intersection) — and what a transformation it is: from a fast-food takeaway spot to an authentic 1920s-style French bistro and wine bar. (Check out the restaurant's Instagram for some before-and-afters). Arnt spent nine years renovating houses, so he wasn’t intimidated by the considerable work that was needed to overhaul the space, which now features tile floors, Art Deco-style wallpaper, and a tin ceiling. Some of the decor came from the house he grew up in back in France.
The vision is for an “old school” bistro, open six days a week (closed Mondays), befitting a team Arnt describes as “old-school immigrants.” (Arnt’s mother, Valérie, will work in the restaurant too.) The bistro will not take reservations, and may expand to lunch in the future, but the initial focus is on dinner. The menu is heavy on the French classics: steak frites, beef Bourguignon, escargot and more. No entree on the menu will be priced at more than $20, and glasses of wine — all French — will start at $5. “We want this to be a neighborhood bistro,” Arnt says. “We want it to be a combination of Old Nashville prices and New Nashville quality.” Wines and cheeses will be imported from France; otherwise local and regional ingredients, such as Gulf shrimp, will be used. Menus will change monthly, but some classics will be mainstays. There will be about 50 French wines, 20 European beers, as well as cocktails and cordials on the menu.
Arnt and Champonnois named the restaurant after Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America,” one of their favorite movies. “Everyone wants a short [restaurant] name. That’s trendy. But the 1920s ambiance of that restaurant [in the movie] was an inspiration to me. And we want this to be a fairy tale, to feel like you can come travel, be in a different country, when you eat at the restaurant,” Arnt says.
Once Upon a Time in France will open later this fall — they’re waiting for inspections and permits — at 1102 Gallatin Ave. in East Nashville.
