Bites' colleagues over at Nashville Cream report the legendary music venue (and sometime restaurant) 12th & Porter plans to return from the dead this February, with new owners. The new team is giving the space at the corner of 12th Avenue North and Porter Street in the Gulch an extensive renovation and is already booking an eclectic lineup of shows. Here's what Megan Seling reports on Cream:
Right now the club is still in the midst of some pretty hefty renovations, including sound and light updates from 4 Wall Entertainment and an extended balcony with a second bar (no more going downstairs to get a drink). Owners Nathaniel Beaver and Tabor Luckey (the latter of whom is also the chef) are working with Infinity Hospitality Group (The Bridge Building, The Bell Tower, Harding House, etc.) to give the kitchen a makeover, too. Callahan tells us the menu will include "upscale bar food" including flatbread, wings, sandwiches and salads — "not just deep-friend everything," she says — and they plan to keep the kitchen open until 3 a.m., possibly filling the frustrating late-night bite void in the Gulch.
It's worth noting that owners Nathaniel Beaver and Tabor Luckey are definitely restaurant guys. One of their current projects, Harding House, is the dining spot at the Belle Meade Mansion. They're also veterans of the late Whitfield's in Belle Meade.
Jody Faison opened the original incarnation of 12th & Porter in 1984, according to a profile of the colorful restaurateur that Kay West wrote for the Scene in 1999. The club closed for a while, then relaunched in 1991.
For years it was one of the hottest epicenters of Nashville's music scene. Faison also served lunch and dinner at various times at 12th & Porter; popular menu items included Pasta YaYa and Black and Blue Pasta.
12th & Porter was also the original nightlife spot in the Gulch, long before the land along the downtown railroad tracks became coveted real estate. Faison exited the restaurant business in the Aughts, but 12th & Porter continued under different owners until it shut down Feb. 28.
We at both Bites and Cream will be very curious to see the new incarnation, which is scheduled to reopen Feb. 5.
