In addition to all the festivities for Dine Nashville happening between now and the end of the month, there are a few fun events operating independently of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp events. Speaking of independent, let’s kick off this week’s Monday Menu with a recognition of one the great unsung business stories in the city.
Ten years ago, Wesley Keegan opened the headquarters of his TailGate Brewery in a former Moose Lodge at 7300 Charlotte Pike. The seven-acre campus is home to TailGate’s large production brewery system as well as a tasting room, a party barn, a pizza kitchen and all sorts of outdoor space. Keegan actually got bigger by getting smaller, abandoning a national distribution model of beer manufactured by a third-party brewery to concentrate on the Tennessee market and nine taprooms between Nashville and Chattanooga.
In the past decade, TailGate has expanded to more than 250 team members without taking on outside investment — truly an independent success story. The company is notable for offering 100 percent paid employee health care in addition to other excellent benefits while maintaining a family atmosphere in the workplace.
To celebrate 10 years of great beers, Keegan and the TailGate crew are throwing a bash at the Charlotte Pike HQ on Saturday, Feb. 22, from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. with special beer releases, a “Pit to Pie” pizza collaboration with Edley’s Bar-B-Que, hourly brewery tours, a vintage market from noon until 6 p.m., and lots of other fun food and drink.
“Every time you drink a TailGate beer, you’re not only getting the best our team has to offer, but also helping our team bring their very best every day,” says Keegan in the event announcement. “I believe you show your appreciation by paying people great. The fact that we’ve been able to grow in Tennessee while keeping our promise to our team shows that putting people first just works.”
Four Walls' Rivers of Rain
I’ve shared before how much I have enjoyed the collaborative bartender events that the staff at Four Walls has scheduled around the openings of new exhibits at the Frist Art Museum — and they’re at it again! This Thursday and Friday, February 20 and 21, from 5 p.m. until midnight, Four Walls will welcome the mixology team from San Francisco’s True Laurel for collaborative cocktails and a celebration of the intersections of art and mixology.
The True Laurel squad is led by co-founder and beverage director Nicolas Torres, who has propelled the bar to a No. 30 ranking in the North America’s 50 Best Bars 2024 competition. Both bar teams will create cocktails based on the inspiration from the new Frist exhibition, Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism. Four Walls’ lead bartender Mickey Stevenson will serve as host for the evenings.
Closer to home, Four Walls has planned another special collab with Germantown’s Green Hour for a National Absinthe Day extravaganza on Wednesday, March 5, from 5 p.m. until midnight. They’ll be whipping up specialty absinthe cocktails made with a choice of Corsair Red, St. George Verte and Two James Nain Rouge absinthes, paired with tempered chocolates. It should be an entertaining night celebrating “The Green Fairy.”
Bagelshop teams up with Tailor, Mimo creates a symphony of flavors, and chefs join up for a Yucatecan feast
I had a great time attending the first installment of Fonda’s Flavors of Mexico series focusing on the cuisine of the Yucatan, and I still reminisce Fonda-ly of the turkey and lime soup that made me totally switch up my Thanksgiving menu. The second edition of the culinary tour will take place at 2316 12th Ave. S. on Wednesday, March 5, and will feature a novel combination of Mexican- and Asian-inspired food.
Fonda chef Roberto Santibañez will welcome renowned Mexico City-based chef Josefina Santacruz for the evening, which will kick off at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception featuring Tepozán Tequila, accompanied by passed appetizers, including lobster spring rolls and tuna tostadas. Guests will then sit down to a multicourse dinner highlighting Santacruz’s signature dishes, such as Thai shrimp with avocado and cumin, duck bao buns, and Peking-style carnitas tacos.
Make a reservation for what could prove to be a fascinating exploration of flavors at the event website.
