Rendering of The Wash
Local commercial real estate investor and developer Tyler Cauble announced Wednesday six future tenants for The Wash — a food and beverage business to operate in the bays of a former East Nashville car wash building.
Located at 1101 McKennie Ave. and fronting Gallatin Avenue, The Wash is conceived to provide alternative options to chefs and restaurant owners who may not want to (or be able to) invest heavily in a permanent, conventional space. As such, Cauble says the operators can choose to incubate their food and beverage businesses via short-term leases. According to a release, the businesses — with an emphasis on international cuisine — are as follows: Two Peruvian Chef, Soy Cubano, The Poki, Tootsie Lou’s Tacos, ESP and Bay 6 Bar. Terms of the leases are not being disclosed, with some of the businesses to be operational by August.
Two Peruvian Chefs will offer authentic Peruvian cuisine, including ceviche, lomo saltado and pork belly sandwiches. Soy Cubano is a new concept focusing on traditional Cuban sandwiches and dishes “merging South Florida favorites with a twist on Latin cuisine.” The Poki will serve Hawaiian poke bowls bolstered by Japanese ingredients and flavors. It has operated in the city since 2018. Tootsie Lou’s Tacos is based in Austin and bills itself as a “chef-owned and -operated taqueria focusing on in-house nixtamalized tortillas made from scratch with heirloom Oaxacan corn. ESP will be the second concept from Gracie Jones Hospitality Group, the parent company of Vietnamese sandwich shop East Side Banh Mi (which opened on Gallatin Road in August 2020 and is led by wife and husband duo Gracie Nguyen and Chad Newton). Bay 6 Bar is described in the release as an “approachable fast-casual draft cocktail bar” that will be “cool, clean and concise.” With the exception of Bay 6 Bar, the businesses are owned by either women or people of color.
“The Wash has fully booked within a couple months of announcing the project, and we’re thrilled to partner with such talented chefs and bring new culinary additions to the community,” Cauble says.
Cauble and a group of investors paid $412,000 for the property via an LLC in 2020, according to Metro records. PTA is handling design work. Eshelman Construction, which also is locally based, will be the general contractor. Each suite is approximately 380 square feet and will be delivered with a hood vent, grease trap, three-compartment sink and a walk-in cooler, they said in the release.
