The pandemic has thrown several curveballs at Nashville’s restaurant industry. But one thing has remained true through COVID-19’s reign of terror: People want coffee.
In 2020, Moonshot Coffee Bar opened on the ground floor of TownePlace Suites on Gay Street downtown. Also that year, both Elegy Coffee and Weak Coffee joined the list of East Nashville offerings. The list continued to grow in 2021. Barista Parlor opened its seventh location in the lobby of W Nashville in the Gulch, Humphreys Street Coffee opened its second location not too far away on Broadway, and two newbies — Matryoshka and All People — opened near Wedgewood-Houston and Cleveland Park, respectively.
Frustratingly for an indecisive Gemini like me, none of them are bad. They’re all raising the coffee bar and making it increasingly difficult to remain loyal to just one or two shops. Now coffee connoisseurs can refuel at a new spot every day of the week for a month without repeating and, more importantly, without being served a substandard drink. It’s wonderful, it’s maddening.
Here’s the scoop on the latest shops to join the scene.
Barista Parlor Secret Garden
Barista Parlor Secret Garden
300 12th Ave. S.
The first time I walked into Barista Parlor, I rolled my eyes. It was 2014, and I had just moved to Nashville from Seattle, where coffee shops generally had cozy, get-out-of-the-rain-and-read-a-book kind of vibes. This weirdo shop in East Nashville looked like a Pinterest board had barfed all over it. Trend upon trend, and to top it off, the barista laughed at me when I asked if they had any Splenda. I carried a grudge for years.
Barista Parlor
But I have since calmed down. Barista Parlor has too. Now there are more than half a dozen BPs around town — including one in the Nashville International Airport — and Isle of Printing’s thoughtful if enthusiastic branding has been tightened up. It’s no longer a menagerie of ideas in one space — Barista Parlor is a cohesive collection.
The local chain’s newest spot is Barista Parlor Secret Garden, more a coffee nook than a coffee shop in the lobby of the W Nashville. During the day the space is awash with natural light — the only wall is the floor-to-ceiling panel of windows looking out to 12th Avenue. Plants curated and cared for by Oasis Design Studio are scattered throughout — hence the Secret Garden title — and at the center of it all is Isle of Printing’s mod-inspired Kodachrome-esque art installation. A collection of 12 large drum-shaped lampshades are all painted with black-and-white geometric patterns, with the light shining through two layers of transparent yellow, teal and pink circles that hang below. They’re cool as shit, like an arty crib mobile mixed with a View-Master reel. I could stare at them all day.
The coffee’s great too, as Barista Parlor’s coffee always is. Just bring your own Splenda.
Humphreys Street
Humphreys Street
601 Broadway, Unit A
The first Humphreys Street Coffee Shop opened in 2018 on Humphreys Street in Wedgewood-Houston. It’s one part great coffee shop and one part “social enterprise” — a business founded by the nonprofit organization Harvest Hands. The shop’s main goal is to serve a good cup of coffee, yes, but Humphreys Street also empowers young people by “teaching money management and employment skills.”
Humphreys Street
Not only are both shops staffed by local teens, but student employees also roast, package and ship all of Humphreys Street’s beans in South Nashville. The second location, on the corner of the Nashville First Baptist Church building on Broadway, is much like the original. It’s a bright, clean space, and a quiet reprieve from Lower Broadway’s usual chaos.
The La Cocada is a must-try, especially iced. The latte is inspired by a cocada, a coconut macaroon-like cookie served throughout Latin America, and it’s made with dulce de leche caramel and coconut. It’s creamy, rich and surprisingly not too sweet. When I took my first sip while walking down Broadway back to my car, I exclaimed, “Oh shit, that’s good.” I startled the two older couples walking in front of me.
Important parking tip: Park in the pay lot behind Nashville First Baptist Church and get validated at Humphreys Street to get 30 minutes free.
All People
All People
347 Douglas Ave., Suite 101
All People, opened in the Douglas Market Lofts in December by co-owners Corey Alexander and Bradley Bruce, is one of a few Black-owned coffee shops in Nashville. Their motto is simple: “Where all people feel welcome.”
The space is modern and cozy. There’s a moss wall with a neon sign that reads “created equal,” the perfect background should you want to snap a pic of your pretty drink for social media. There’s also a charming reading corner with leather lounge chairs, a checkerboard and a “take a book, leave a book” library. There’s also a small outside patio, which is a great place to dog-watch. (Dogs > people.)
All People
Along with Osa coffee and espresso — made with a custom Mavam Espresso machine that’s decorated with a 24-karat-gold logo — All People also has wine and a self-serve draft wall. The draft wall is very cool. It features 12 taps that offer a rotating selection of local beer — TailGate, Southern Grist, Jackalope, East Nashville Beer Works, Bearded Iris and more — as well as Switter’s Nitro Cold Brew. And don’t sleep on the bagels. All People’s countertop pastry case is often stacked with fat, hand-rolled bagels from Jersey Oven in Mount Juliet. The crust snaps upon first bite, and the inside is perfectly chewy and tender — they rival H&S, my personal favorite Nashville bagel shop.
Matryoshka Coffee
Matryoshka Coffee
370 Herron Drive, Unit 4
Matryoshka dolls, aka nesting dolls, are the perfect inspiration for this teeny-tiny colorful coffee shop. The cafe sits in the front third of a 960-square-foot space tucked away on the first floor of one of those weirdly faux-industrial buildings in the Alloy Apartments and Artisan Spaces. Blink while driving by and you’ll miss it. Hell, blink while walking by and you may have to double back. Once you get inside, though, Matryoshka is filled with treasure upon treasure.
Your eye will jump and skip around for several seconds before you remember you’re just there to grab some coffee and didn’t accidentally wander into an Instagram-friendly art installation. The space, opened by Abbey Chiavario in December, bursts with color. A wall that separates the cafe from its sister business Technico — a coffee equipment technician and distribution service — is covered with a vibrant Art Deco-meets-’80s-aerobics-aesthetic mural. Another is decorated with brightly colored merchandise — T-shirts, stickers, mugs and other coffee accessories — and a full-length mirror that’s perfect for selfies and framed with stickers and encouraging handwritten notes.
Matryoshka Coffee
The menu features that same energy. The Charlotte is a screamin’-pink drink made of pink matcha, vanilla, strawberry powder and your choice of whole or oat milk. The Confetti Cuban, my personal favorite, is a condensed-milk latte topped with sprinkles and edible glitter. The sprinkles melt into the warm milk foam as you sip, leaving swirls of color in their wake. It’s lovely.
There isn’t much room for food — it’s just 300 square feet, after all — but the shop does carry vegan pastries from Yellow & Lavender as well as a variety of instant ramen and breakfast cereals. Fun, silly, perfect.
Matryoshka is a whole world of positive energy packed into one tiny space, and it’s the playful, not-too-serious attitude Nashville’s booming coffee community needs right now.
