Tànsuǒ, with its accent-mark style and its promises of fine-dining Chinese food, opened to high hopes in the North Gulch in March 2017. And for years, it was a go-to destination for high-end, contemporary Chinese dining and photo-worthy private dinners. This week, Morph Hospitality Group co-founder Maneet Chauhan announced that Tansuo, which has dropped the accents in recent years, will close permanently on Sunday, Jan. 14. Morph Hospitality decided not to renew Tansuo's lease in 2024 after ongoing losses following the COVID-19 pandemic. The contemporary Chinese restaurant is located in between Morph Hospitality’s Chauhan Ale & Masala and Mockingbird restaurants.
“I’ve always loved what we’ve created at Tansuo, but unfortunately, its chapter must come to a close,” says Chauhan in a statement. “While our other concepts continue to thrive, Tansuo has not seen enough demand in the last few years to be sustainable and we’ve been operating with a highly reduced staff.” Many of those staff members also work at other Morph Hospitality restaurants, a spokesperson says. Employees were given advance notice of the closure and will be paid severance, the spokesperson adds.
The two-story Tansuo space made diners feel like they were someplace special with arched booth entrances, rich colors, soaring ceiling, abacus-like railings and stunning artwork. The menu included forbidden grain fried rice with lobster, duck two ways, Szechuan okra and other dishes that offered new takes on traditional Chinese dishes and Southern American ingredients. The drink menu offered similar fusion approaches, such as cardamom bitters and Japanese whiskey in an Old Fashioned.
The Morph Hospitality team is not sitting idle. Last summer, they opened eet in Orlando, Fla.'s Disney Springs. Mickey Corona and Brian Riggenbach, the team behind Mockingbird, recently opened Tio Fun, a brightly colored taco shop on Buchanan Street. A spokesperson says the Tio Fun opening is unrelated to the Tansuo closing.
“We are also looking forward to welcoming a new Nashville neighbor when the time comes,” Chauhan says. “[We] are confident that a fresh concept will do well here in our North Gulch neighborhood.”
If you want to get into Tansuo for your last dim sum and Singapore noodles, it will be open 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 5 to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
