Niche Businesses Keep Berry Hill Distinctive

There is likely no other neighborhood on the planet that hosts a store dedicated to miniatures, a scuba shop, a balloon-based business, a crystal store, a store dedicated entirely to nonalcoholic beverages and the headquarters of the people who make trampoline shoes. 

“It just works for us to be a niche business,” says Rob Harris, owner of Island Hoppers Scuba, located at 2806 Bransford Ave. “People will drive from an hour, hour-and-a-half away to come here.”

Island Hoppers has … well, hopped around the neighborhood since it opened in 2010, starting in a 900-square-foot spot on Iris Avenue and landing at its current 2,500-square-foot home. The company has built a loyal following, keeping the refrigerator stocked and the kitchen ready to host gatherings in the converted home ahead of monthly diving trips.

The niche business model has worked quite well for the Harris family. Rob’s wife Dawne Harris opened her wallpapering business Stella + Cole in June 2025, becoming one of the few wallpaper specialists in the area. 

The reason Berry Hill feels like no other neighborhood could be that it’s not a neighborhood at all. It’s a satellite city — an independent municipality in Davidson County, separate from Nashville. It has its own police force and local government, led by Mayor Andrew Rusnak. 

“What I find particularly interesting is the variety,” Rusnak tells the Scene via email. “You can have a recording studio next to a restaurant, next to a professional office, next to a specialty retailer. That mix gives Berry Hill a personality that is pretty unusual for such a small city.”

Berry Hill voted to incorporate as its own city in 1950 and retained its separate charter — not unlike fellow satellite city Belle Meade — when Nashville and Davidson County consolidated in 1963. With its own zoning processes, Berry Hill allowed small homes to be converted into commercial spaces and allowed people to live and work in the same building before mixed-use projects became ubiquitous. This means small businesses could and often still can still find places small enough to afford when starting out. It’s changed from a mostly residential to mostly commercial city.

Fresh out of college in 2023, Becca Turner — the owner of balloon and event decor business Bundled for You — needed to move her business out of her apartment. But she struggled to find an affordable place that wasn’t too big and didn’t require an extended lease. In August 2024, she moved to a space in Berry Hill. 

“If you want to pursue your passion, pursue your dream, you can do that, and it’s reasonable here versus in other parts of the city or anywhere else,” Turner says. “I was looking for an office space. I was almost at a point where I was like, ‘Am I even able to get an office at this point? Is this even an attainable goal?’”

Stephanie Styll, co-founder of booze-free beverage shop Killjoy, says when she found a converted home in Berry Hill to open a second Killjoy location, the bureaucracy she faced was nil. She just walked over to city hall, and they handed her the forms. For about the same cost as her East Nashville location, she gets a full kitchen and more space, plus another precious asset: parking. 

Berry Hill reminds her of Old Nashville, she says. 

“It’s just a lot of small businesses that all have charm, and there’s a lot of music studios,” says Styll, whose location is about a quarter-mile from John McBride’s famed Blackbird Studio. “It’s people creating things. It’s still relatively affordable. There’s free parking. You drive around here and it doesn’t feel crowded. You don’t see tourists really.”

Each business owner remarks that they feel supported by one another. 

“Everyone is following their dreams in Berry Hill,” Turner says.  

Berry Hill is not immune, however, to recent hikes in property value — and therefore property taxes. Plans for Universal Music Group’s $250 million film and music studio campus for the area certainly contributed. Two niche businesses, The Beaded Bungalow and Textile Fabrics, bit the dust in 2024. 

Still, in addition to Berry Hill’s many niche businesses, restaurants like Pfunky Griddle, Sam and Zoe’s and Baja Burrito maintain loyal followings. Relative newcomers like Vui’s Kitchen have won over locals too. 

The nearby Nashville Crystal Store supplied some calming, cleansing selenite for Vui’s Juice Cafe. Ataana Badilli has offered healing sessions and classes out of the 819 Columbine Place space for 10 years, establishing the crystal storefront seven years ago. 

“We’ve been here for a long time, because the energy is really good here,” says store manager Erika Leigh.“There’s a reason that we are here.”