Nashville developer Tony Giarratana is planning to reinvent long-closed Elliston Place dive bar The Gold Rush.
WKRN reports Giarratana will offer the business in a future building, construction for which is unfolding on the so-called Rock Block and that is part of the developer’s Rock Block Flats mixed-use project (read here). Currently, only the facade of The Gold Rush stands.
Rock Block Flats
The future The Gold Rush could open in 2026, according to WKRN.
Opened in 1974 and known for its vibe, dark lighting and simple menu highlighted by a massive and popular bean roll, The Gold Rush closed abruptly in 2019.
The since-razed (except for the facades) pre-World War II-constructed buildings from which The Gold Rush operated had addresses of 2201/2205 and 2209 Elliston Place, with other tenants having included clothing retailer Smack and Japanese restaurant Samurai Sushi.
Via Ridgefield Properties, Marc Stengel, a longtime friend and business partner of Giarratana, paid $2.88 million for the property in October 2020. Giarratana (the local company named for the developer) is underway with the Rock Block Flats project and is expected to lease from Ridgefield the ground on which will rise the seven-story, 30-unit residential building, to be positioned behind the future retail spaces fronting Elliston Place.
Southeast Venture is handling architectural work.
Giarratana told Scene sister publication the Nashville Post Wednesday he is not ready to offer specifics regarding the form and function of the future Gold Rush space. Creating a replica of the original bar business — with its three spaces — would be highly challenging. For example, the previous confines were not accessible for some patrons with mobility challenges.
Relatedly, Giarratana is planning to purchase in February a property located one block north of Elliston Place and reinvent it with an apartment building (read here).
The purchase of the property, with an address of 209 22nd Ave. N., will allow the company to undertake “a continuation of our development in the neighborhood,” he said.
Giarratana Restaurant Group operates Elliston Place Soda Shop (which the company also reinvented) on the Rock Block.
Located within no more than 1.5 blocks of the former Gold Rush space are two properties Giarratana redeveloped with apartment buildings it later sold: Artemis Midtown (originally called Edge Midtown) and Infinity Midtown (originally called The Dallas).
As the Post reported in November, on-site restoration work has resumed at Rock Block Flats. Construction at the site had slowed as Giarratana focused on preserving the remaining segments of the property’s existing buildings, including one previously housing Buffalo Exchange (which relocated within the street one block west).
Giarratana skyscrapers include 505, Viridian and Alcove.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
