Abandoned car wash set to become six micro-restaurants at East Nashville's 'The Wash'

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As restaurant owners continue to look for ways to shift gears, a developer in East Nashville has come up with a new to-go concept he thinks is the wave of the future.

At an abandoned car wash on Gallatin Avenue, Tyler Cauble plans to build six micro-restaurants.

"We are just going to be renovating on to what is existing, which is cool," said Tyler Cauble. "That's why we're calling it 'The Wash.'"

The property will house eateries in all six existing car wash bays. The 380-sqft spaces will house front-facing kitchens. Customers will place orders at counters, then enjoy their food or drinks on a patio or at home.

"All of the seating and customer interaction is going to happen outside of the space. It's very COVID-friendly. It's very pandemic-minded," Cauble said.

Early on in the pandemic, the developer heard from his restaurant industry contacts that they were looking for options with less overhead.

"Yes, COVID certainly played a role in that, but Nashville's growth also played a significant role in that. It is very expensive to start up a restaurant in Nashville," he said.

He said The Wash is a low-cost option for restaurateurs who are opening their first place in East Nashville or their first place at all.

"[Here] they're not having to pay for empty tables, they're not having to pay for restrooms, they're not having to pay for cleaning and maintaining common areas... We see this as being an opportunity for some groups just to get a foothold on East Nashville. We also see this for chefs and line cooks who want to do a little pop-up for three months, just to test out their concept and see if it flies," he said.

Two weeks after announcing the project, five restaurants and one bar signed a one-year lease.