Here Are a Couple of Great New Pregame Options for Nashville Sports Fans

For a lot of sports fans, the pregame before the actual contest is a, if not the, highlight of attending a game. While the Titans and Predators may be in the midst of multi-season slumps, and Nashville SC is having a little struggle to figure out the team’s identity, and Vandy is well … Vandy, we Nashville sports fans ain’t never lost a pregame party!

And in that regard, there’s good news for Nashville sports fans. Geodis Park has recently announced a new concessions option for the upcoming season that sounds like a rare experience. Strategic Hospitality has struck up a partnership with Iron Chef winner Claudette Zepeda to bring her exciting take on regional Mexican food to the home of Nashville SC.

The chef boasts more than two decades of culinary experience, including as the founder and creative director of Chispa Hospitality, and has earned acclaim from national food periodicals. The James Beard Foundation also recognized Zepeda’s work at El Jardín in San Diego.

She’ll be translating her unique vision of Mexican food to stadium-sized with the new Taqueria Zepeda, with two locations at Geodis Park: the South Stand, near Gate F, and the North Stand, near Gate A. During match days and at all other events at the stadium, Taqueria Zepeda will feature three different types of Tacos Con Todo: Pulled Pork Adobada, served with charred pineapple, creamy avocado, salsa, and cilantro, steak tacos served with avocado mash and salsa de molcajete, and chicken salsa verde, served with creamy avocado salsa and spicy pickle. Maizmaniacs will be pleased to hear that all of Taqueria Zepeda’s tacos will be served on corn tortillas. The tight menu will also include a few snacks like a cheese quesadilla, queso with rajas, and cinnamon sugar crisps.

For the latest updates and more details, follow Taqueria Zepeda on Instagram at @taquieriazepeda.

Strategic Hospitality's upcoming work with Chef Zepeda follows the conclusion of a two-year partnership with Nashville chef Edgar Victoria to bring Alebrije's beloved tacos to Geodis. But don’t be sad because it’s over; be glad that it happened, because the talented chef is still delivering great game-day food, but at a different place for a different sport.

I hesitate to share my favorite secret pregame spot before Preds games, but because I’m a big fan of all involved and I want to see them succeed, I’m gonna give up the goods. I’ve been a fan of Bar Sovereign for years now, almost since it first opened, and Scene readers shared my love by voting it Best Bar in the 2023 Best of Nashville. The eclectic cocktail bar at 514 Rep. John Lewis Way S. isn’t quite as hidden as it used to be courtesy of a new awning and sign over the entryway. You used to have to search for the tiny gold sign to earn your reward of affordable inventive cocktails and a fantastic vibe, but now it’s your fault if you can’t locate it. While Alebrije has often popped up at Bar Sovereign, they're now operating there six days a week.

Through the years, the kitchen in the back of the bar has hosted various food options, including a beloved long-term residency by Black Dynasty Secret Ramen House. More recently, Chef Victoria has been working out of the kitchen, making a concise menu of tacos with traditional fillings like carnitas, carne asada, mushrooms, chicken, and al pastor-style pork. They are priced at half what they could be, so the power play is to order one of each, and maybe, just maybe, share them all with someone else over a few of Bar Sovereign’s excellent mescal-based cocktails before a Preds game. Or hell, order two of each because you’re going to want to hoard them thanks to Victoria’s insistence on using imported Mexican heirloom corn which he nixtamalizes and grinds into his own masa to make those delightful corn pockets.

A rotating offering of side dishes is also available if you want something besides tacos, but really, just order more tacos! Remember that the puck usually drops at 7 p.m. when the Preds are playing, so time your consumption to allow for the five-minute walk to the arena. Considering the Preds are in the bottom third of the NHL in first-period scoring, it probably wouldn’t be the worst thing if you showed up a few minutes late because you just had to have one more taco.