New Year’s Eve didn’t just ring in a new year — it rang in new ownership and a reopening for The Authentique, East Nashville’s French wine bar. Opened in 2021 by Melvil Arnt, The Authentique is now being guided by two other French immigrants who have a mission to “continue bringing out French culture in Nashville.”
That's according to Alexandre Meunier, who was raised in Paris, has worked for Arnt’s Once Upon a Time in France restaurant for three years and hung out at The Authentique in his off hours. “I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and own a business,” he says.
So when his friend Philippine Maillard told Meunier that she heard Arnt was open to selling The Authentique, Meunier knew it was time. Arnt loved the process of building, designing and opening the businesses — he still owns several ventures, including Once Upon a Time in France, the restaurant across the street, and Mel’s Wine & Spirits next door — but didn’t feel the need to continue to run the day-to-day operations long-term.
Maillard’s family owns one of the biggest bars in the Champagne region of France, and she was looking forward to bringing her family expertise Stateside. Meunier and Maillard closed on the bar in October and started making changes for the New Year’s reopening.
“One of the bigger reasons we wanted to take over the space is the decor,” Meunier says. “We could not let a bar that beautiful go. Melvil is very talented and we wanted to keep its super clean, classy environment.” They did switch out some of the smaller physical items and added pieces, like an antique globe, that have personal meaning to them.
The Authentique will remain a wine bar, with an emphasis on wines by the glass. The bar is stocked with mostly French wines, plus a few favorite Italian wines. Efforts are underway to stock some Champagnes not available elsewhere in Tennessee. “One of our goals is to bring French authenticity to the city," says Meunier. "It is a little cliché with the name, but we speak French behind the bar and we want it to feel like you are walking into a high-end, classy yet affordable French wine bar. We want you to feel teleported.”
Together the duo is overhauling The Authentique menu. Wine is still the focus, but it will have more food than it used to, including cheese, quiche, salads, foie gras, caviar, duck rillettes and several desserts. “A nice glass of wine and good dessert is one of the best combos,” Meunier says. One of the signature desserts is a family recipe called “top secret ice cream,” made with vanilla meringue ice cream and coulis.
The Authentique is located at 925 Gallatin Ave. and is open Tuesday through Thursday 4:30 to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 4:30 p.m. to midnight.
