From left: Angel Bond, Kylee McCoy and Shauna McCoy in front of Hot Ticket
Friends Angel Bond and Kylee McCoy have a lot of experience working the dance floor at their house parties. But they say they’ve struggled to find places to go out and do the same in Nashville.
Enter Hot Ticket, which is set to open by the end of July at 311 Gallatin Ave., at the edge of East Nashville’s Five Points neighborhood. The bar will offer light bites, a late-night menu and music — and perhaps most importantly, a dance floor. Bond and McCoy will invite local artists to display their work on the walls and will offer programming throughout the week. They’re planning art classes and storytelling and spoken-word nights, as well as brunch offerings.
McCoy is joining in business partnership with her mother Shauna McCoy, the co-founder of Donut Distillery, which previously occupied the space. The dessert and alcohol business, which opened its brick-and-mortar location in 2019 after operating as a food truck, still has a location in Oxford, Miss.
“I watched her work her ass off and show me that you can really do whatever you want,” Kylee tells the Scene.
Kylee envisions a space to dance that isn’t inside an overwhelming club environment. Ingredients include low lighting and the right kind of music (she mentions R&B, soul, funk and disco).
Hot Ticket’s proprietors promise a spot by locals, for locals.
“We’re mom-and-pop still, so we don’t have all the money people have to throw at things,” Kylee says. “Everything we’re doing is very intentional. We're trying our hardest with what we have, and I think it's not about how much money you have — it's about what you do with it, and the vibe you can bring.”
Hot Ticket's Kylee McCoy (left) and Angel Bond
“Especially as a lot of New Nashville comes in, there isn't a lot of opportunity for the locals to have a spot where everyone feels included,” adds Bond, Hot Ticket’s director of operations.
Hot Ticket is smack in the middle of a potential bar crawl between the Five Points area and beloved longtime burger-and-beer spot Dino’s. It’s also near locally owned bars Coral Club, Pearl Diver, Martha My Dear and Cobra, as well as Brooklyn outpost Skinny Dennis.
“The neighborhood’s changed,” Shauna points out. “It’s getting more people, more younger people. You really didn’t want to walk a lot of places 10 years ago here — you can now.”
Hot Ticket seeks to be part of a rising tide that lifts all of the bars near Gallatin Avenue.
“We're all working together to make this area really important for people,” Kylee says. “I think it has to do with everyone. That's a big pull, is having all these cool places so close.”
Hot Ticket will be open every day from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.
