East Nashvillians never thought they'd see the day. Three or so years ago Niko and David Gehrke took over the space at 1115 Porter Road, across from the Family Wash, and after months and months of dealing with codes and liquor license hassles and a brief life as Niko's bar (not to mention working other jobs to pay the bills), the brothers have retooled the space and reopened as a restaurant, Zavós—a development that makes the liquor license more attainable, and that they hope will lead to a more profitable business.
So it sounds like the Gehrkes are just going to serve passable food to get the liquor license, right?
WRONG! After two trips to Zavós, I can tell you it's one of the most exciting East Nashville dining developments in years, rivaling the opening of Marché in late 2005, for a couple of reasons. First, the food is really good, fresh and authentic. Second, it's very affordable and has a great atmosphere, a combination East Nashville is surprisingly lacking in. Though there have been some notable recent additions to the affordable-dining landscape—Mitchell's, Calypso, Pied Piper, to name a few—there's not much that offers a nice bar/restaurant atmosphere in the $5-$10 range.
