I had heard that Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria was planning to open at 911 Buchanan St. in North Nashville in an effort to contribute to the revitalization of the historic neighborhood the owners of the restaurant refer to as “The Buc.” But I didn’t know a lot of the details behind the place or the three partners who started up the venture until I started asking for help looking for some more African-American chefs and restaurateurs to investigate and feature.
So while I wasn’t the first to discover that Slim & Husky’s had officially opened after their soft opening earlier this month, I figured I was still early in the game. I figured wrong. I also figured that if I got there on a Friday at 11 a.m., I could possibly talk to some of the owners or management to see how their opening week was going. Again, dead wrong. Admittedly, the gravel lot next to the restaurant isn’t really laid out to indicate the most efficient way to park cars, but it wouldn’t have mattered much because it was packed to the gills. The line to get in poured out the front door and wrapped around the inside of the restaurant.
Apparently, Slim & Husky’s has a hit on their hands. Owners Clinton Gray, Derrick Moore and Emanuel Reed grew up in Nashville and have been friends since childhood. The name of the restaurant comes from the fact that one of their mothers shopped for “slim” clothing while the other two had to shop in the “husky” department of the kid’s clothing store. (I personally remember finding out that I needed to buy husky Toughskins as a kid, and was not enthused.)
I was in a bit of a hurry, so I didn’t jump in that line, but I did spend some time walking around the really attractive dining room and checking out the menu and ambiance. Since First Bites are meant to be more of a preliminary profile anyway, I’ll leave it to commenters who have actually eaten at Slim & Husky’s to share their opinions. I do promise to get back there soon when the lines die down a bit and I’m not running between appointments.
First of all, the building is a fantastic addition to the neighborhood, which is still in transition with some run-down and abandoned buildings but also plenty of remodels and new tall/skinny builds, for good or for bad. Since The Buc has been a traditional arts district, Slim & Husky’s spared no effort in creating an attractive environment to meet and eat, but they also don’t seem to take themselves too seriously. The overall design scheme emphasizes black and white with dramatic overhead lighting fixtures and plenty of communal seating. Old school music plays over the sound system and '90s sitcoms run in a loop projected on the walls. Bold art pieces hang on the walls, along with graffiti murals to add splashes of color to the otherwise duotone environs.
A wraparound patio should be a popular gathering spot as weather allows, and a nice variety of local beers is augmented by cans of wine and a couple of frozen boozy drinks. While the menu isn’t extensive, it is nice to see how much focus they place on local products. The food menu is also designed around the use of local and seasonal products whenever possible, and it basically revolves around pizza. Even with the big crowds waiting for their pies, service seemed pretty efficient thanks to conveyor pizza ovens that bake the pies quickly and continuously. Pizzaiolos need not apply.
In addition to “build your own pie” options that offer the choice of an 8-inch (Slim) or 16-inch (Husky) crust, and a multitude of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings options, there are also 10 pre-designed pizzas to choose from. Signature pizzas include vegetarian and vegan options, including “The Fat Vegan,” with multi-grain crust, garlic shallot oil, bean ragu sauce, spinach, vegan cheese, roast corn, roasted peppers, garnish greens and balsamic molasses. But of course I’m already making plans to return to try the Barnyard Pizza with garlic shallot oil, choice of spicy or classic sauce, Four Cheese Blend, Canadian bacon, ground beef, Italian sausage, pepperoni and hickory cured bacon and “The P.R.E.A.M.,” (for Pizza Rules Everything Around Me) with more of that garlic shallot oil, asiago white, spinach, Four Cheese Blend, mushroom blend, premium Italian sausage and pepperoni.
Slim & Husky’s makes me happy for many reasons. Despite the proliferation of great new pizza joints over the past few years, we'll have to go a long way before I say we’re oversaturated with good pies. And adding a top-notch dining operation to a historic Nashville neighborhood is an important development. Locally imagined and locally developed, Slim & Husky is something I can definitely get behind. Now if I can only get in the front door to actually eat there ...
Slim & Husky’s Pizza and Beeria
911 Buchanan St.
Nashville, TN 37208
615-647-7017
