Chris Hyndman, the restaurateur behind Virago and Lime, has cornered the real estate market on McGavock Street, between 11th and 12th Avenues, and is molding the block into a dining district to be known as "M Street."
In addition to launching The Whiskey Kitchen in the former Agave space in August and ultimately relocating the 9-year-old Virago to a 13,000-square-foot former Tennessean warehouse at 1126 McGavock, Hyndman will debut Kayne Prime steak house this fall in the space that formerly housed Radius10.
Named for the historic Kayne train yards parallel to 11th Avenue, Kayne Prime will be a boutique, female-friendly steak house with a contemporary menu designed by chef Scott Alderson. Alderson, an alumnus of Layl'a Rul, 6 Degrees and Saffire, currently operates Jambone restaurants in Florida, and will relocate to Nashville to serve as culinary director for M Street.
Hyndman, along with architect Barry Brechak and contractor John Templeton, is currently in the process of transforming the sleek, industrial shell of Radius10 into a steakhouse adorned with rich woods, stone and tile. The entrance will be relocated to the 11th Avenue facade. An extensive multi-level bar area, with a wine room, will have retractable doors opening to a view of Union Station, the railroad yards and the redeveloped Gulch streetscape. The steakhouse is slated to open this fall.
Virago is slated to relocate to M Street in 2010 and will continue to operate at 1811 Division until that time.
M Street represents a collaboration between Hyndman and Crosland developers Bill Barkley and Steve Armistead, who own the Kayne and Whiskey Kitchen properties and lease them to Hyndman. Through leases or direct ownership, Hyndman now controls the majority of the real estate along the block, which creates opportunities for M Street to close the road to through traffic for neighborhood events.
For now, the large buildings at 1124 and 1122 McGavock remain vacant, but Hyndman say he has plans for them over the next few years.
Whiskey Kitchen is undergoing extensive cosmetic renovation to transform the former hacienda-style architecture into a more sleek, contemporary building with a brick facade. The front wall is being moved forward to main room, and a patio will be built on the right side of the building. The neighborhood pub will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week, with a menu Hyndman describes as "the food you know, done right," including brick oven pizzas and healthy and vegetarian options, as well as an extensive array of whiskey.
Bites will update this story as details and renderings are released about about M Street.
